The Man of the Crowd

Discuss the topic of obsession in the story. How does the narrator’s obsession with the old man expose the darker side of human nature?

Consider the unreliable nature of the narrator’s perceptions. What potential limitations and biases could influence his interpretations? How do these limitations and biases reflect the complexity of his character?

Consider the story’s epigraph, which translates to “This great misfortune, of not being able to be alone.” What purpose does this epigraph serve? Why is isolation desirable, and why is the inability to achieve it a great misfortune?

Examine the portrayal of poverty and socio-economic class in the story. How does Poe comment on these issues in relation to city life? What is the effect of defining characters solely by wealth, class, and poverty?

One thing that is notably absent from “The Man of the Crowd” is dialogue. Why does Poe avoid external dialogue? How does the absence of dialogue illuminate the story’s themes?

Choose two areas of London that the narrator and the old man travel through, then compare and contrast them. How do these two areas contribute to the readers’ understanding of setting, characters, and events? In what ways are the areas symbolic?

Consider some of Poe’s other works of Gothic literature. How do the old man and the narrator relate to characters in his other stories? What patterns arise, and to what purpose?

Analyze the representation of age and illness in the story, focusing on the narrator’s unspecified sickness and the old man’s old and feeble appearance. How do these details contribute to Poe’s use of symbolism? How might the story have been different had the roles been reversed?