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Edgar Allan Poe’s The Mystery of Marie Roget to Rick Geary’s The Mystery of Mary Rogers.

Compare Edgar Allan Poe’s The Mystery of Marie Roget to Rick Geary’s The Mystery of Mary Rogers. Consider how each author has chosen to present Mary Rogers’ story and describe each work briefly.

Consider stylistic features like tone, mood, form, and type of storytelling. Why do you think each writer chose to use a certain type of presentation?

Where and when were they created? Who do you think the intended audience for each work might be? Consider time period and cultural context: how would these works be understood in the 19th century (Poe) vs the 20th century (Geary)?

Do the two texts agree on certain ideas about Mary Rogers? Do they disagree? If so, in what way? Do they come to similar or different conclusions about her fate? Is one work more effective or “better” than the other? In what way?

Full Answer Section

The Mystery of Mary Rogers (1994): Rick Geary's graphic novel tackles the real-life story of Mary Rogers, a young New York City cigar girl who vanished in 1841 and was found dead in the Hudson River. The story unfolds through newspaper clippings, police reports, and fictionalized dialogues, offering a historical account of the case and its sensationalized coverage.

Stylistic Differences:

Tone:Poe's tale is suspenseful and analytical, focusing on Dupin's intellectual deductions. Geary's work adopts a more neutral tone, presenting historical documents and leaving interpretations open-ended.
Mood:Poe's story builds a dark and mysterious atmosphere, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding Marie's fate. Geary opts for a more factual and investigative mood, capturing the public frenzy of the real-life case.
Form:Poe utilizes the short story format with a fictional narrative. Geary employs the graphic novel format, incorporating historical documents and visuals.
Storytelling:Poe's story relies on deduction and unraveling a fictional mystery. Geary presents historical documents and allows readers to draw their own conclusions about the real-life events.

Authorial Choices:

Poe:He fictionalizes the story, creating a more captivating mystery with a clear resolution. This allows him to explore themes like human psychology and the unreliability of appearances.
Geary:He prioritizes historical accuracy, presenting the case through primary sources. This approach invites readers to participate in the investigation and grapple with the ambiguity surrounding Mary Rogers' death.

Context and Audience:

Poe (1842):Appealed to 19th-century readers with a taste for gothic fiction and intellectual puzzles. The focus on logic and deduction resonated with a growing interest in scientific reasoning.
Geary (1994):Targeted a 20th-century audience familiar with true crime narratives and historical fiction. The graphic novel format, with its visual storytelling, caters to a broader audience.

Similarities and Differences:

Agreement:Both narratives portray Mary/Marie as beautiful young women whose disappearances spark public fascination.
Disagreement:Poe's tale offers a fictional solution, while Geary leaves Mary's fate open-ended.
Conclusions:Poe delivers a definitive answer, revealing the murderer. Geary allows readers to interpret the evidence and draw their own conclusions.

Effectiveness:

Poe:Offers a satisfying fictional resolution with a focus on intellectual engagement.
Geary:Provides a historically accurate glimpse into a sensationalized news event, encouraging critical thinking.

Neither work is definitively "better." They each achieve their goals effectively: Poe delivers a suspenseful fictional mystery, while Geary offers a historical exploration of a real-life tragedy.

Sample Answer

A Tale of Two Mysteries: Poe's Marie Roget vs. Geary's Mary Rogers

The Works:

The Mystery of Marie Rogêt (1842): Edgar Allan Poe's short story presents the fictional Marie Rogêt, a beautiful Parisian perfume vendor who disappears and is later found murdered. The story is narrated by an unnamed character with C. Auguste Dupin, Poe's famed detective, solving the case through logic and analysis of newspaper reports.