Poe's narrator tells us almost nothing of his past; his personal qualities are revealed through his responses to the horrors of imprisonment. what do we know about him? what aspects of his personality allow him to survive this ordeal?

It might be useful context to know that Poe's mother died when he was only two and he was ostracized by his family as a young adult and then his wife, the love of his life, fell ill and died at just 25. This may be why the themes of death and isolation are so prominent in his works. 

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