Edgar Allan Poe

The first thing I question when I read a work of Edgar Allan Poe is what inspired him to create such stories full of supernatural components and ideas that go against society norms. Reading his biography I get a clue. At first I suspected that his military life might have been the main component to such dark stories, but then, upon reading that Poe's life is filled with sorrow, death of loved ones, and neglection, I realize that maybe it's not so much his military experience but his life that's filled with with ups and downs (mostly downs though). Poe lost his parents when he was just three and was taken to a rich tobacco man who neglected Poe in an indirect and strange way. He sent Poe to college with almost no money causing him to go into a major debt. He remarried without telling Poe and ,when the time of his death came, left Poe out of his will. To go along with such neglection Poe also lost his wife, step-mother, and brother. The depression that came with such tragic events can be seen in most, if not all, of  his work; such as the story of Ligeia. Ligeia is a story of a man deeply in love with a woman who later dies causing him to be depressed. He then moves and finds another woman, whom he doesn't feel as strongly about as Ligeia. This story strongly correlates with his own life when his first wife dies.
On a different note, is it just me or is there a sense of insanity in every work of Poe? It's rather inevitable for Poe to not become a bit insane. The amount of depression that must have accumulated over the years of such unfortunate events must have led Poe to experience some sort of insanity. Just a random thought to think about. :)

What is an American?

What is an American? You tell me because, well, I’m “American” and my parents are American. Which American are we talking about? The “American” American or the American American. Oh! We’re talking about the “American” American. Well, for the most part, people would say an “American” American is someone born in the United States, which is funny though because there are many countries in the Americas. Why does the term “American” only refer to the U.S., I’m not sure. So, what is an American? I would say an American is someone whose lineage has been in the U.S for many generations. But then that wouldn’t make me American, and I’m okay with that because I am more familiar with my Mexican traditions. Then again... Mexico, and many other countries, is greatly influenced by America. America the “Melting pot” (Creds to Keduse) of many other countries.  I feel like America is a fruit smoothie. A mixture that contains a little bit of everything and taste great. But it couldn’t be great without the actual all these different types of fruit.

 “American”, in my opinion, shouldn’t be considered an ethnicity or whatever it’s considered now. Neither should Mexican, or Asian, or any other race in the world. Why? Well we all come from the same origin. Why do we have to label ourselves? Labeling ourselves creates so much hate because of pride and patriotism. Even though when I am asked “What are you?” and I answer “Mexican-American”, most of the time I wonder why I am considered American. Yeah I was born in Chicago. But I grew up in a Mexican family, Mexican neighborhood, Mexican school, and spoke Spanish 90% of the time. Basically I was born in Mini-Mexico located in Little Village. Why are my parents considered illegal if the only difference between me and them is our place of birth and if their place of birth helps America the fruit smoothie taste great? I don’t know. I might never know. But I hope that the generations that come after us see what I mean and try to break down some borders.