The Murders in the Rue Morgue: Xenophobia and Orangutans

Mumu could be listening to Iron Maiden but they’re actually reading more Poe for The Murders in the Rue Morgue.      

TITLE: “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (pgs 90-136 from Great Tales And Poems Of Edgar Allan Poe)

AUTHOR: Edgar Allan Poe

GENRE: Dark Fiction

PAGES: 46

FORMAT: Paperback Book

PRICE: US $5.95 / CAN $6.99

Here we go, back to Edgar Allan Poe! He’s one of my favorite authors; great with scary stories. His descriptions of murder scenes makes the tale all the more chilling. And to think, this was focused on the idea of Xenophobia, not murder. Somehow there is an orangutan involved as well; a twist I certainly did not expect.

Xenophobia is the intense fear, hatred or dislike of those from different nationalities or countries. In this instance, they focused on people from France. Oddly enough, the orangutan is also from France, which makes this all the more chilling about how people are quick to judge and assume from immigrant status. Ah, but that is where Edgar Allan Poe shines: the complexities of society and how minds can be warped by fear. For example, when a Frenchman was on the scene, hearing the screams, he guessed the killer was a foreigner, speaking Spanish. According to another who was on scene, an Englishman, stated that the killer must have been a Frenchman due to the sounds they heard, thinking they spoke German, although they have never understood German in their entire life. Yet another witness, a Spanish worker, stated it sounded like an Englishman, and he couldn’t understand English. However, the last witness documented was an Italian, believing the sounds to be Russian, yet had no understanding of the Russian language.

Their Xenophobia and pointing fingers to those they find foreign fed into each other’s fears until an arrest was made. The poor French man they convicted was innocent, as he recounted what he saw. An orangutan (or written as Ourang-Outang in the story) was the murderer of the two women mentioned in the Rue Morgue. Although, it was mentioned that the orangutan was bought for a high price to be brought to that town in the first place.

I believe having the orangutan as the murderer is also a play on how society sees foreigners- as ape-like beings who are ruthless and vicious. At first, one wouldn’t suspect an animal capable of such cruelty, but a wild animal can do whatever they want. It is expected for them to be wild; it is expected that foreigners don’t follow the rules. It is also worth pointing out that those who brought the orangutan believed they could control them and cage them. I feel this is a representation of how society back in the day dealt with Xenophobia- some foreigners were put in cages and viewed like one would view animals in a zoo. I do believe it was common during the time period, at least in England.

All in all, it was the detective who didn’t have Xenophobia that solved the case, Dublin. He spoke to the captured Frenchman and that Frenchman recounted the whole ordeal he witnessed. Those guttural sounds were coming from the animal, not a foreigner; which explains why many witnesses were quick to blame foreigners for the murders. He looked for the facts and the truth behind all of the Xenophobia these witnesses demonstrated. That makes him a great detective. Now time will only tell if that poor Frenchman who was blamed was believed. I do hope he didn’t remain arrested for what an Orangutan did; that would torment the poor guy’s mind in addition to false imprisonment.

Mumu the Tricked loves to read and write. It’s easier to sit still and work with their eyes and hands than move around some days. They are hoping to become a successful author and book reviews are quite fun, too. Thank you!

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.