1.1 "The Man of the Crowd"

    The purpose of the epigraph in "The Man of the Crowd" is to set the tone of the short story. Roughly translated, "the misfortune of not being alone," could easily have been a subtitle for the tale as it centers around an invalid following a man who chooses to hide within the crowds of London. The transition from the epigraph to the first paragraph is rough and it was not until my second read through that I understood the first paragraph is actually an analysis of the older character followed by the narrator. Placing this analysis before the story influences the reader to conclude in agreement with Poe's intentions without directly stating the narrators opinion.    The narrator spends his day identifying class of all passersby of the nameless hotel in London. It is not essential to the outcome of the story that these descriptions be placed as they are, however by placing all of the narrators judgements before the section where he begins to follow the old man it becomes clear to the reader that the narrator sees himself as a good judge of character. The scene of the old man forcing his way through the crowd to hide among them mirrors the idea presented in the epigraph by illustrating a person who would be better left alone, but does not allow himself the peace of solitude. The narrator's inability to identify the personality of the old man returns the reader to the German quote of the book that "does not permit itself to be read."