“The Gold Bug” – By Adgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an author who was interested in cryptology and detective fiction, which is what his work "The Golden Bug" is based upon; he liked the idea of mystery and having to solve puzzles. This story allow takes place on Sullivan Island and that's a place where Poe spent some time when he was in the military. This story gave him a chance to show how he mainly focuses on plot structure and how the characters carry out their actions in a captivating way.

We can say that, This story can be compared to Poe's own relationship with his father. Growing up, Poe dreaded his family for not having more money. In the story, Legrand is said to have lost his riches, and change his name because he was so ashamed. Poe earned money to try and change his life around by writing full time. Legrand changed his luck around by finding treasure. The gold bug can symbolize Poe's writings, in a way. 

Setting:

- Takes place in South Carolina on Sullivan island and the mainland, near Charleston

Integral  to  the story:

Looking in the aspect of society in the 1840's, the slavery issue was a major conflict during this time. Despite the conflict, it was still legal to have a slave or a "black servant" such as Jupiter. Typically, an island it where most treasures are found, which would explain why Poe decided to host the story on an island.

Themes in the story:

-          The Power of Reason

-          Judging on Appearance

-          Everything That Glitters Isn't Gold

-          Loyalty is Important

-          It's Just a Coincidence

The Gold Bug is a story about William Legrand. He was bitten by a gold bug, his servant, an old Negro called Jupiter worries about Legrand going crazy so he goes to the narrator, wich is a Legrand's old friend and then Legrand convince them both to go with him to find a buried treasure by deciphering a super secret message.

It’s just a plain and simple story about three people who search for buried treasure and the adventure that got them there. The narrator, who is a physician, finds a specific type of bug while looking amongst the rocks on the beach. He thinks it is an unknown species, so he sends it to his scientist friend, Legrand. While searching on the beach, the narrator also finds a piece of parchment, while later he sketched the shape of the bug he found on it.  They find treasure buried by the infamous pirate "Captain Kidd", estimated by the narrator to be worth a million and a half dollars. Once the treasure is safely secured, the man goes into an elaborate explanation of how he knew about the treasure's location, based on a set of occurrences that happened after the gold bug's discovery.

The Gold Bug by E.A. Poe uses character dialogue, character action, and plot to show how background and previous tales aided him in composing this short story. By using these common themes that he used in numerous stories before this one, Poe brings in a deeper meaning by association because of feelings and thoughts already associated with those same themes in different texts.