The 24th Annual Book Report Competition for secondary school students
Class: 6A
Student: Chung Fei Fei
Title: Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publisher: Longman
Have you read ghost stories? Do you believe them? Tales of Mystery and
Imagination will give you a chance to experience a fantasy world. There are six
incredible stories. They are ‘You are the man’, ‘The Gold Bug’, ‘The Stolen
Letter’, ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’, ‘Down into the Maelstrom’ and ‘The Pit
and the Pendulum’. These famous stories were written by Edgar Allan Poe,
who is the master of horror. He led me to explore the dark world of the
imagination, where the dead live and speak, where fear lies in every shadow of
the mind. The mysterious stories really touched my heart. Not only the
frightening ambiance, but the hidden message could produce profound
meaning. This is the reason why I thought the story is out of the ordinary and
extremely special. It has changed my impression of the other horror stories
that I have read before. Undoubtedly, this book is the best among all the horror
stories. Therefore, I would like to recommend the book to you sincerely.
Have you experienced any scary event? Edgar Allan Poe could make
frightening ambiance. It could be evident. The most frightening story’ You Are
The Man’ gave me deep feelings. It is about Mr. Shuttle Worthy’s story. He was
one of Rattle borough’s wealthiest and most respectable old gentlemen.
Unluckily, he died. Old Charley tried to find out the real murderer. When Old
Charley found the body of poor Mr. Shuttle, Worthy was covered with blood
and dirt sprang up in the box. I still remember the impressive sentences written
by Poe. “The dead eyes looked sadly into Old Charley’s face. The murdered
man’s clear but distant voice said slowly ‘you are the man!’ ” Poe used these
words to accuse the real murderer. He described the scene of that time to the
readers. This scene was one of the indescribable horrors. He wrote “the body
fell over the side of the box, onto the table” subsequently. It was horrible.
Moreover, there is an illustration next to the story. I thought I was terrified out of
my wits. After that,
I saw the picture was really ghastly. I admire him for his
imagination very much. Poe gave me a new impression about reading the
horror stories. I have developed enormous imagination through the book and
had a firsthand experience in reading mystery.
The inspiration from him could teach me more in my daily life. For instance,
The Stolen Letter said Duplin, who was a very clever detective, could solve the
mystery. Sometimes, we need to observe carefully. Otherwise, we will lose the
thread of a spider and the trail of a horse. If Duplin were careless, he would not
have tackled the mystery, or even could not have found a letter stolen by a
thief. So it is wise of us to keep an eyes open and use our hearts to see the
whole world.
Are you interested in this book? It is useful and significant. The more you read,
the more you find the joy in reading the unbelievable stories. However, each
story is too short. It is difficult to show whether the writer was aiming for one
single effect or just a number of events. It may be a blemish in an otherwise
perfect story. Personally, one flaw cannot obscure the splendor of the jade.
After I read all the stories, I do not fear anymore. Please do not be scared by
the book. I think I am accustomed to reading horror stories written by him. Poe
is an unusual author. He is totally different from other authors. He has
developed a unique style that belongs to him. Poe’s imagination is a heavenly
steed soaring across the skies. He successfully brings frightening messages to
me. I understand that he wants to give people more information in reading his
book. He hopes people will see not only the ordinary facts but also the facts
that are extraordinary. So we are able to find the real situation which other
people do not understand.
For example, The Murders in the Rue Morgue is about an orangutan from
Borneo and Sumatra. The murder of two women happened in the street
named Rue Morgue. They avoided the policemen. Nevertheless, Duplin finally
caught the murderer, because he could put facts together and understand their
meaning. He also had trained himself to see not only the ordinary facts of a
case. Thus, he found the answer to a mystery.
In our life, we could get information from different ways but there were
discrepancies of information in the reports. We need to compare and find out
the truth. Try to see an inner world and understand the meaning behind
instead of that on the surface. You will find the truth eventually. If we can have
different levels of thinking, we will be the winner one day. Would you like to
read this book? It will give you a new stimulus. You cannot afford to miss the
chance to read these stories.