In Romancing the Shadow: Poe and Race, editor J. In addition, certain absences are so stressed, so ornate, so planned, they call attention to themselves arrest us with intentionality and purpose, like neighborhoods that are defined by the population held away from them” (Morrison 11). By presenting race in this way, Poe is able to underscore rather than diminish the importance of race in America, as “invisible things are not necessarily “not-there” that a void may be empty, but is not a vacuum. What I am referring to, however, is the inconspicuous way in which race is handled in Poe’s writing-how it is only displayed through small, tertiary roles and how it is often abandoned altogether in the end. I would first like to start by defining what I mean by “absent.” I do not mean to say that the presence of race or of the African-American is simply not there, physically, socially, or otherwise. This paper will analyze the “absent negro” trope in Poe’s writing, pushing race out of the margins in order to reveal Poe’s possible beliefs on the racial issues in antebellum America. By identifying and analyzing the relationships between objects and people in Poe’s stories, some of these insights or opinions may become more apparent, potentially altering, reinforcing, or simply revealing many of the colonial-world anxieties hidden in Poe’s writing. Understanding Thing Theory may account for this absence. This “absence” of race in Poe’s writing, along with many works of the nineteenth-century, results in the trope of the “absent negro,” the one whom, after a fatal or violent act upon a white counterpart, departs from the scene, never to be seen again, or one who never appears at all, save for a small “guest appearance” that is not significant enough to color (literally and figuratively) the text in a new light. Moreover, if other races happen to be included, specifically members of the Black community, his representations tend to be oversimplified or even stereotypical, often casting black people as simple slaves with little to no agency. Though he did write about people of color, mostly in smaller, tertiary roles, none of their character arcs or roles seem meaningful enough to reveal any of his actual beliefs on the topic of race. One topic that Poe’s stories never clearly address, however, is race. Moreover, this paper will analyze how, even in tertiary roles or in texts where the marginalized characters are excluded altogether, there is always evidence of the Africanist Presence, as American Literature, especially the American Gothic, is unable to escape the reality that is the racist, sexist, homophobic hegemonic socio-political system created to keep marginalized people in second-class or tertiary roles in real life.Įdgar Allan Poe, one of the most studied nineteenth-century writers, was never afraid to tackle controversial or lofty topics, often discussing themes of grief, insanity, monomania, death, revenge, and incest. This paper will analyze Pompey, a side character in Poe’s “How to Write a Blackwood Article” in order to assess how his, as Toni Morrison would posit, “Africanist presence” adds meaning to Poe’s “Blackwood Article,” and how the depictions of Pompey reveal the fears of white beneficiaries of the hegemonic social and political class systems of the west during the 1800s. Instead, he often chooses to include marginalized groups of people in tertiary roles, intentionally or unintentionally utilizing stereotypes associated with each marginalized subject to enhance or reveal insights on many of the more overt themes included in his literature. However, one topic that his work tends to avoid is race and/or racism. Edgar Allan Poe is known for writing about a wide variety of controversial topics, such as death, murder, and addiction.
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