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"The Gold Bug" takes place on the remote Sullivan's Island off the coast of South Carolina. Therefore, the atmosphere is tropical. Also, the narrator describes the temperature as warm during the day; however, the temperature could be very cold at night. The story is an adventure. Readers and the characters journey to the island, back to Charleston, and then through a wooded tropical area. Look at the following passages that describe the setting in "The Gold Bug":
"This island is a very unusual one. It is about three miles long and is made up of little more than sea sand. It lies very close to the shore line, being separated from this by a very narrow river, which moves slowly past it. Few things grow on the island; those that do are small in size and badly formed. Now large trees of any kind are to be seen" (Poe 67).
"The winters in this part of the
country ar not generally very cold, and in the fall of the year it is seldom
that a fire is considered necessary. But toward the end of October
18--, there came a day when it was much less warm than usual" (Poe 68).
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"The Murders in Rue Morgue" has a contrasting set. It is based in Paris, France. The two men have taken rooms in a supposed haunted house. They have acquired old furniture for decor. However, the main setting in this story is not their home or the city; instead, it is the scene of the crime. Read the following passages from "The Murders in Rue Morgue" to get a visual image on the crime scene:
"The place was in a completely wild state--the furniture broken and thrown about in all directions. There was only one bed, from this the bed clothes had been removed and thrown into the center of the room. One a chair lay a razor covered with blood. On the floor near the fireplace there were pieces of white hair which seemed to have been torn from the head of some person" (Poe 20).
"Of Madame L'Espanaye nothing at all was to be seen--but an unusual amount of black dust being observed in the fireplace, the chimney was examined and (frightening even to tell) the dead body of the daughter was pulled down out of it" (Poe 20).
"There are two windows in the room.
One of them has no furniture in front of it and is clearly in sight.
The lower part of the window is hidden by the head of the bed which is
pushed up close to it" (Poe 41).
Works Cited:
Poe, Edgar A. "The Gold Bug." Evanston, Illinois: McDougal, Littel, & Co., 1980.
Poe, Edgar A. "The Murders in Rue Morgue." Evanston, Illinois: McDougal, Littel, & Co., 1980.