Great Writer of the Science Fiction Genre Essay Example

January 19, 1809. Peter Ackroyd writes that “His torment-- a mixture of insatiable anxiety and no less helpless longing-- began early. His mother had already contracted tuberculosis before his birth and it may be surmised there was some loss or lack of nourishment in the womb” (Ackroyd, 7). Less than three years after his birth, both of his parents had died. Poe was unofficially adopted by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia, while his brother and sister went to live with other families. Mr. Allan wished Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had other plans for his future. He dreamed of surpassing his childhood hero, the British poet Lord Byron.

Poe went to college in 1826 at the University of Virginia, where he performed very well in school, but gained an incredible amount of debt due to the fact that Mr. Allan only gave him a third of the money he needed. In an attempt to pay off his debt, Poe soon took up gambling, but by the end of his first term, Poe was broke. Finally, disgraced and alone, he dropped out of school and returned to the Allan mansion. Poe’s last few months in the Allan mansion were shrouded with increasing hostility toward Mr. Allan, until Poe finally departed from the home with a determination to become a great poet and to find adventure.

He achieved both. He became a great poet when he published his first book, Tamerlane, when he was only eighteen. He found adventure when he enlisted in the United States Army. Two years later in 1830, he

entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, while continuing to write and publish poetry. James Hutchison writes that “he fell easily into the old routines of formations, drills, and parades, as well as adjusting to the added demands of classes and homework. As he had in the past, he excelled in French, and discovered a new interest in mathematics”(Hutchison, 25). However, after only eight months at West Point, Poe was thrown out. As one can see, Poe had a very complicated and sad life.

Poe would continue to publish and write for a large audience. What put him on the map though, and let him spawn connections he would later use to increase his fame, was his short story: “M.S Found in a Bottle,” which won a literary prize and was published in Baltimore Saturday Visiter in 1833. Two years later, he published “Hans Pfaal,” which was his first ever modern science-fiction story. The manuscript revolves around the protagonist Pfaall, who contrived a plan to reach the moon by benefit of a revolutionary new balloon and a device which compresses the vacuum of space into breathable air. In 1840, Poe wrote “The Fall of the House of Usher,” a story which takes place in a dying man’s gloomy old house when a childhood friend comes to visit. This story has contributed to every single other haunted house book ever written one way or another. Poe literally wrote the formula for interesting, suspenseful, and terrifying haunted house stories.

One year after writing “The Fall of the House of Usher,” he wrote, “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” which is considered to be the first modern detective story

and contributed largely to creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character, Sherlock Holmes. In 1843, he published “The Telltale Heart,” “The Gold Bug,” and “The Black Cat.” Poe submitted 'The Gold-Bug' as an entry to a writing contest sponsored by the Philadelphia Dollar newspaper. His story won the grand prize and was published in three installments, beginning in June, 1843. The prize also included $100, which was probably the most money, Poe ever made at one time. 'The Gold-Bug' was an instant success, and was the most popular and most widely read of Poe's works during his lifetime. It also helped popularize cryptograms (writing in code) and secret writing.

In 1848 after falling ill, he still managed to read “The Poetic Principle” to an audience of 1,800. Later that year he also wrote “The Bells.” He returned to Richmond in the summer of 1849 (two years after his wife's death) and reconnected with his first fiancee (one who cheated on him while he was attending the University of Virginia).