Abstract
It is common knowledge that the stories of Edgar Allan Poe often reflect some of his own personal problems. His works, ?William Wilson' and ?The Cask of Amontillado' are usually classified under the label "tales of the double (or evil) personality". They reflect one of the strangest aspects of Poe's life. He is believed to have had a blurred identity, and his quest for his real self is evident in the different names he assumed during his early life. Born Edgar Poe, he was orphaned at the age of three and was adopted by the Allans. He took their name for his middle name at the age of fifteen. Three years later his adoptive father drove him to enlist in the army, where he wanted to be called Edgar Perry. Poe is also known to have been an alcoholic and a drug addict, but at the same time he was keenly aware of these vices and tied to fight them. This duality may be viewed as another aspect of his blurred personality.
