I have never been all too interested in Poe and have had enough exposure to him over the last few years to last a lifetime. Saying that, I have never heard of "Pfaall" until it was assigned to read. I am not sure how I have never heard of it, but I kinda liked it. It was different enough from Poe's usual work that made me enjoy it a little more. I also love science fiction, which this one was. The story is weird and I can definitely see it sparking some interesting debate or interesting ideas. Since every teacher teaches Poe at some point, I think that this short story would be great one to use instead of the normal ones that keep rotating around. Poe is good, but we have to remember that there are more stories than just "The Raven" or Tell-tale Heart". I also know that some people really like those original Poe stories, so maybe it is just me who is ready for some new material. I think that this is a good way to mix in science fiction with literature. I am an advocate for bringing in science fiction as literature for the main reason of its popularity. Nowadays, alot of kids are into the dystopian future and sci-fi scene, and if we want them to read more, we need to find material that interests them. Force feeding the usual books to them may hinder their want to read.
It was an interesting story, although weird. It kept me reading just to find out what was going to happen. The ending leaves an open ended question that I think is great for students because it will allow them to formulate their own ideas. If I had to teach Poe, I would give some thought to this story since it is different from the usual ones that get read and analyzed to death. If I read this first, maybe i wouldn't dislike Poe so much!
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