The Murders in the Rue Morgue,' by Edga

We present the last of five parts of the short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," by Edgar Allen Poe. The story was originally adapted and recorded by the VOA Learning English.

I was stunned. August Dupin, my friend with the extraordinarily sharp mind and observational powers still had surprises for me!

He had uncovered so much about the horrifying Rue Morgue murders that it seemed there was more understanding than mystery left. But still the major question remained: Who?

Dupin had invited someone to our home…someone he believed knew the answer to that question. As we awaited his arrival, my friend began to put together other pieces of evidence from the crime.

“We add for our consideration the condition of the room. So we have: a strength more than human; a wildness less than human; a murder without reason; horror beyond human understanding; and, finally, a voice without a recognizable language.”

A cold feeling went up and down my back. “A madman, Dupin! Someone who has lost his mind. Only a madman could have done these murders!”

Dupin smiled a little. “Ah, but madmen come from one country or another, don’t they. Their cries may be terrible, but they are made of words, and some of the words can be understood. Let me help with one more clue. Look at this hair. I took it from the fingers of the old woman. Is this the hair of a madman?”

Dupin handed me the evidence. I could not believe what I was looking at or the feel of it in my hands.

“Dupin, what is this? This hair is…this hair is not from a human at all!!”

“I described it only as hair. But, also look at this picture. It is a picture of the marks on the daughter’s neck. The doctors said these marks were made by fingers. Let me spread the paper on the table before us. Try to put your fingers, all at the same time, on the picture, so that your hand and its fingers will fit the picture of the marks on the daughter’s neck.”

The marks left by the killer’s hands were enormous. My fingers seemed like twigs in comparison.

“Dupin! These marks were made by no human hand!”

“No. They were not. I am guessing they are from the hand of an orangutan. The size, strength and wildness of these apes is well known.

“And the hair and strange sounds would complete the solution of killer animal, as well. Yet, I still do not understand the second voice. We know it was a French speaking man. His only words were ‘Mon Dieu.’ Who spoke, Dupin?”

“Upon those two words I have placed my hopes of finding a full solution to the crime. The ‘My God’ was an expression of horror. It seems improbable that the speaker of those words helped the orangutan. Could instead he be its owner? Maybe the animal escaped from him, and he followed it to the house on the Rue Morgue. I assume that the man would not have been able to recapture it.”

“Is that who we are waiting for now, Dupin, the Frenchman? How did you reach him?”

Dupin smiled when he answered.

“I put an ad in the newspaper. Read it yourself.”

I took the newspaper. Caught — Early in the morning of the seventh of this month: a very large orangutan. The owner, who is known to be a sailor, may have the animal again if he can prove it is his.

“But, Dupin. How can you know that the man is a sailor?”

“I do not know it. I simply suspect. A sailor could go up that pole on the side of the house. Sailors travel to faraway lands where one might find an orangutan. And it would be valuable. The sailor would want it back so…”

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

“Finally, Dupin, we will learn the whole truth.”

“Come in, my friend! Come in!”

Slowly the door opened, and there, before us, stood a sailor!

He spoke in French. “Bonsoir.”

“Good evening to you too, my friend. I suppose you have come to ask about the orangutan?”

“Yes, is it here?”

“No, no. We have no place for it here. If can prove it is yours…”

“But of course, I can.”

“A shame, I wish I could keep it. It is very valuable, I guess.

“Well, I want it back…of course, I will pay you for your trouble to find it and keep it. What is your price?”

“Well…that is very fair, indeed, but it is not money I want, sir. My price is truth. Tell me everything you know about the murders in the Rue Morgue.”

The sailor’s face reddened deeply. He jumped to his feet. For a moment, he stood and stared. But then he fell back into his chair, trembling. His face grew pale. His eyes closed. And he said not a word.

Dupin then spoke, softly.

“My friend, you must not be afraid. We are not going to hurt you. I know very well that you yourself are not the killer. But it is true that you know something about him — or about it. You’ve done nothing wrong. You didn’t even take any of the money. You have no reason to be afraid to talk and to tell the truth. It is a matter of honor for you to tell all you know.

“So help me God! I…I’ll tell you all I know. About a year ago our ship sailed to the Far East, to the island of Borneo. The forest there, the jungle, was thick with trees and other plants, and hot and wet and dark. My friend and I wanted to explore the strange place. So we did. There we saw the orangutan and caught it. And it returned with us to the ship. My friend died on the passage home. So, the animal became mine alone. I was keeping it in a cage in my house, here in Paris. I planned to sell it very soon. One night I came home and it was…it was loose. It had got free, I don’t know how. It held a knife in its hands. It did not know of its dangers, of course. It was playing with it. As soon as the animal saw me it jumped up and ran from the house. I followed. It ran several blocks and turned a corner. When I made the same turn, the animal was out of sight. I looked far down the street and saw nothing. Then, I heard a noise above me. There was the beast, climbing a pole up the side of a house. It was maybe two meters up. I also went up the pole. As I am a sailor it was easy for me. When the animal was close to the top I saw him jump through an open window. I got to the same place but could not make the jump. I could see into the room, however, through another window, which was closed.

“The two women were sitting there, looking at papers from a box on the floor. The animal, knife still in hand made a noise and the old woman turned. That is when I heard the first of those terrible cries. I watched with horror as the animal attacked. Soon the two were dead and the room was a disaster. The orangutan then pushed the young woman’s body up the chimney. It picked up the other victim, then, and moved toward the window. I realized what was coming and I fled. Down the pipe, I scrambled. At the bottom I heard the old woman’s body hit the ground. I ran. I didn’t look back. I ran! Oh, mon Dieu, mon Dieu!”

The police in Paris could not charge the sailor. His only wrongdoing was silence which is not a criminal offense, the police chief said.

However, the official did have a problem with Dupin. He was angry that Dupin and not a member of his force had solved the mystery. He said people should mind their own business.

“Let him complain. He’ll feel better for it. And maybe learn something. Perhaps, he will never again say ‘Not possible!’ about that which, somehow, must be possible.”

Download activities to help you understand this story here.

Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. Have you ever thought you knew the solution to a difficult or complex problem, but the solution was something far different than what you expected? What was that experience like? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page.
_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

stun(ned) – v. to surprise or upset someone very much

madman – n. a man who has severe mental illness

clue – n. something that helps a person find something, understand something, or solve a mystery or puzzle

hand(ed) – v. to give something to someone using your hands

neck – n. the part of the body between the head and shoulders

enormous – adj. very great in size or amount

twig(s) – n. a small branch of a tree or bush

orangutan – n. a large ape that has very long arms and reddish-brown hair

ape – n. a type of animal (such as a chimpanzee or gorilla) that is closely related to monkeys and humans and that is covered in hair and has no tail or a very short tail

redden(ed) – v. to make something red or to become red

stare(d) – v. to look at someone or something for a long time often with your eyes wide open

pale – adj. having a skin color that is closer to white than is usual or normal

cage – n. a box made of wire or metal bars in which people keep animals or birds

loose – adj. (informal) – having escaped, such as an animal from a cage

corner – n. the place where two streets or roads meet

beast – n. a wild animal that is large, dangerous, or unusual

scramble(d) – v. to move or climb over something quickly especially while also using your hands

mind (their) own business – expression. do not be so interested in what other people are doing. (The word "their" can be replaced with other personal pronouns, depending on the situation.)

complain – v. to say or write that you are unhappy, sick, uncomfortable, or that you do not like something

TIPS FOR PARENT

TIPS FOR PARENT

Karen Saxby is the author of the Storyfun series, published by Cambridge University Press. She also co-wrote the Fun For series, and is an experienced Cambridge Assessment English consultant. In this article, she explores how stories can be used to make young people's language learning meaningful and memorable.

As a child, I loved sitting on my grandfather's lap while he read me stories. I remember most of them even though I am now a grandparent, too! As a child, I was blissfully unaware that, as I listened to the stories, I was also learning new words and ways in which those new words combined to communicate ideas and life lessons.

A good story encourages us to turn the next page and read more. We want to find out what happens next and what the main characters do and what they say to each other. We may feel excited, sad, afraid, angry or really happy. This is because the experience of reading or listening to a story is much more likely to make us 'feel' that we are part of the story, too. Just like in our 'real' lives, we might love or hate different characters in the story. Perhaps we recognise ourselves or others in some of them. Perhaps we have similar problems.

Because of this natural empathy with the characters, our brains process the reading of stories differently from the way we read factual information. Our brains don't always recognise the difference between an imagined situation and a real one so the characters become 'alive' to us. What they say and do is therefore more meaningful. This is why the words and structures that relate a story's events, descriptions and conversations are processed in this deeper way.

In fact, cultures all around the world have always used storytelling to pass knowledge from one generation to another. Our ancestors understood very well that this was the best way to make sure our histories and information about how to relate to others and to our world was not only understood, but remembered too. (Notice that the word 'history' contains the word 'story' – this is not a coincidence!)

Encouraging your child to read or listen to stories should therefore help them to learn a second language in a way that is not only fun, but memorable.

Let's take a quick look at learning vocabulary within a factual text or within a story. Imagine the readers are eight-year-olds interested in animals. In your opinion, are they more likely to remember AND want to continue reading the first or second text?

Many birds and animals live in the world, for example, parrots, pandas, lions, leopards and rabbits. In the sea we can find whales, dolphins, sharks and octopuses.

My younger brother is called Fred. Fred's very interested in animals. He talks and asks questions about animals ALL the time! Fred's really interested in parrots and pandas and lions and leopards and rabbits. But Fred's favourite animals live in the sea. He has pictures of whales, dolphins, sharks and octopuses on all the walls of his bedroom.

From: Do whales have stomach aches? (Storyfun for Movers, Cambridge University Press, 2011).

When choosing second language story books, you might consider questions like:

• Will your child easily identify with the central characters? Are they of similar ages for example?
• Will the events interest and excite, scare or amuse your child enough to motivate them to continue reading?
• Is the story an appropriate length – not too short, not too long?
• Will the layout – the font, the titles, the amount of text on each page – appeal to your child?
• Is it supported by illustrations that your young reader will enjoy looking at?

For your child to gain the maximum benefit and language learning from reading stories, consider the story's language level carefully, too. Is the grammar and vocabulary not too easy but still accessible to the reader? Would the language be similar to that which your child might use in their first language? Would it support school work and help prepare for tests? Useful EFL publications such as Storyfun for Starters, Movers and Flyers and other graded readers are carefully written with these important considerations in mind.

But, of course, stories don't only offer the young reader a chance to read. The experience also creates an opportunity to talk about the story. As a parent, you can encourage your child to describe their favourite person, part of the story or picture. Their creativity might be developed by drawing new story pictures or even by writing their own short stories as a result.

If your child is reluctant to read or has little confidence in their ability to read in another language, you might help them by reading the story to them, stopping where necessary to interact and ask questions like 'What do you think will happen next?' If you read to your children in a relaxed and fun way, they will subconsciously relate to the reading and language learning process more confidently and positively. Of course, being read to by a parent, for whatever reason, is also simply a lovely way to share quiet and close time.

The experience of reading or listening to a story allows us to escape our own lives for a moment and live in another one in a fun and safe way. In the same magical experience, a goldmine of language may be learned, so do encourage your child to read stories in their second language as well as their first!

Ways To Live Life To The Fullest

45 WAYS TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST

Man.

Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.

Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.

And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;

the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;

he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.

Do you feel like you’re “sleep-walking” through life? Do you wish you had more freedom? Do you wish you had more adventure? Do you wish you had more time? Do you wish you had more love? Do you dread Monday mornings?

Are you still trying to figure out how to live life to the fullest? If so, you’re far from alone. the sad thing is that most people go through life having never really experienced what life has to offer.

What you need to understand is that everything holding you to a life you don’t want to live is a prison created by your own mind. That doesn’t mean you can just wish yourself into a new life, but it does mean that you can actively work towards living life to the fullest.

Reading this article, you’ll find ideas you can put into practice to make your life better.

Some of these ideas you’ll have heard before, some of them you’ll dismiss. Some of these ideas you’ll be able to put into practice right away, some of these might plant the seed for ideas you’ll put into practice for the future. Still others you’ll spend your lifetime working towards.

Without further ado, here are 45 ways to live life to the fullest:

1. Create a bucket list and start checking things off. You will die one day, but before you do, experience as much of this world as you can.

2. Set goals and write them down. Set goals by month, year, 5 year, and 10 year periods. Know what you want to achieve for each stretch of your life, and make sure to look back and see if you actually made the progress you wanted. This list will constantly evolve and you won’t reach every one of your goals, but writing your goals down will make it more likely that you will achieve them.

3. Don’t live for others. Don’t choose your path in life based on the expectations set on you by others, whether its your parents, friends, or society in general.

4. Live for others. Don’t let others choose your path for you, but don’t choose a path that will hurt those around you. Its easy to get caught up in your own life, but if you don’t take care of those you love, what is it all for in the end?

5. Maintain an internal locus of control. There are 2 kinds of people, those who focus on what they can control, and those that focus on what they can’t. Don’t blame others for your own failure – there’s always someone out there who was dealt a worst hand that made more of it than you did.

6. Don’t complain. If you’re not happy with something in your life, you can complain about it, or you can actively work to change it. Which one will you choose?

7. Don’t be jealous. Not because its morally wrong, but because jealousy is a destructive emotion. Its also a symptom that you’re not living your life to the fullest – people who are fulfilled can celebrate other people’s success. People who aren’t fulfilled fill up their emotional void through negative emotions.

8. Don’t be a crab in the bucket. You’ve heard the expression “crabs in the bucket” – its the tendency crabs have for pulling other crabs back down, right when they’re about to climb out. When you break from the norm, you’ll get pushback from your loved ones. Its not jealousy – they genuinely care for us. But people living the life society tells them to live get scared when they see others going for it. Even if they do it subconsciously, and even if it’s out of genuine concern – its still harmful. It creates a culture of conformity, mediocrity, and quiet desperation. Don’t be a crab in the bucket.

9. It’s OK to fail. The only way to avoid failure is to not try anything. Don’t be afraid to fail…that’s how you succeed. Besides, it’s only really a failure if you stop trying.

10. Overcome fear of failure by visualizing the worst case scenario. A great way to overcome fear of failure is to confront your worst possible nightmare. If you try it and fail, what is the worst thing that will happen? Write it down, then write down what it would take to get back to where you are now. 99.9% of the time, you’ll find that the worst case scenario isn’t nearly as scary as you thought it would be and the only thing holding you back is your own mindset. The .1% of the time where failure will push you past a point of no return (so basically, death or life altering physical harm) – those are you may want to reconsider.

11. Don’t gossip. Sure it might make you feel better about yourself, for the moment. But it can have negative ramifications, both internally and externally.

12. Ignore the things you can’t (or won’t) change. Ever notice how insanely emotional youtube comments are? People cling to their opinions like they’re a lifeline. Yet these are almost always opinions about things that have absolutely no effect on their daily lives. Yes, there are shitty things going on in the world. Unless you’re planning to do something about it, ignore it and focus on the things in your life that you can change.

13. Change things. You can make a difference – once you stop dismissing yourself. Approach challenges with the mindset of “how am I going to accomplish this?” instead of “what can I possibly do?”. But if you’re not actually going to work to to change something, then see the point above. Time to put up or shut up.

14. Take care of your body. Eat healthy when you can, get a good night’s sleep, and exercise. Your only connection with this world is through this fleshy meat vehicle we call our bodies. Take good care of it.

15. Take care of your mind. Stop feeding it a constant stream of junk. A little downtime is alright, but don’t dedicate every free hour you have to watching realty TV, watching gossip blogs, checking sports scores, and doing other stuff that requires little mental energy. Even the news can rot your brain with its constant barrage of negativity and biased sensationalism.

16. Plan for the future, but live in the present. A 25 year mortgage, retirement with full pension at 65, working hard for the bonus and putting off the big vacation until next year – while planning for the future is important, don’t sacrifice all of the present. Find a way to enjoy life as you work towards bigger and better things.

17. Live consciously. We all get into ruts and routines we use to get through the day, but we only have a limited number of days on this earth. Don’t put life on auto-pilot – live consciously. Always ask yourself – why am I doing this? If you wake up too many mornings in a row without a good answer, then its time to make a change.

18. Overcome your fears. We all have things in our lives, whether its our circumstances or personal flaws that are holding us back from doing thing we truly want to do. You can either accept it, rationalize it away, or face your fears. Which one will you choose?

19. Improve your social skills. Some people are natural social butterflies. For those of us who aren’t, make an effort to improve your social skills. There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert and enjoying time alone, but don’t poor social skills hold you back when you need them. Improving your social skills will also help you in whatever line of work or business you choose.

20. Do work you love. Not everyone gets to play football or in a rock band for a living, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find something you love waking up in the morning for. Keep looking for it, and don’t give up until you find it. Life is too short to fear Sunday evenings.

21. Follow your effort. One of Marc Cuban’s keys to success is to follow your effort, not your passion. If you don’t have a passion for anything in particular, pick something and do it as best you can. Passion often comes from doing something well.

22. Prepare to win. Another of Marc Cuban’s keys to success is that everyone has the desire to win, but very few are willing to do the work to prepare to win. If you care about winning, do the work.

23. You don’t always have to win. On the other hand, life isn’t always about winning. No matter how strong you are, no matter how rich, no matter how beautiful, no matter how smart, no matter how talented, no matter how loveable, there will always be someone better than you. In the end, we all end up in the same place – wherever that place may be.

24. Love your parents and cherish them. If they’re still around, give them all the love you’ve got. If you’ve been lucky enough to have loving parents, its easy to take them for granted because they’ve always been their for you. That won’t always be the case.

25. Don’t confuse pleasure with happiness Pleasure comes from the quick-fixes that give us joy – shopping, alcohol, sex, listening to great music, seeing great beauty. Happiness comes from self-actualization and meaning. Pleasure is important to a happy life, but pleasure alone is not sufficient.

26. Smile. If you smile, you will be happier.8

27. Improve your posture Did you know that your posture and body language not only shapes how people see you, but it also shapes how you feel about yourself? Watch this TED talk if you’re not convinced.

28. Find the time for what you want to do. A lot of us constantly complain about not having enough time, or being too busy to do things we want to do/accomplish. What we need to realize is that we’re the ones putting ourselves in those situations in the first place. If you feel trapped in a job, are you actively taking steps to extricate yourself from the situation? If you are, then you shouldn’t waste time complaining. If you’re not, what are you complaining about?

29. Don’t chase money for the sake of money. Having money is important in life, but only because it gives us the freedom to chase what we really want in life. You only get one life, and money is no good when you’re 6 feet in the ground.

30. Overcome laziness. Do you have big goals and dreams? Do you stop short of taking steps to make changes because you’d rather watch TV? Do you quit after a few tries? A little procrastination here and there is natural, but if you look back year after year and don’t see any changes, you probably need to work on overcoming your laziness.

31. Analyze your weaknesses. One of the hardest things for people to do is to be objective when it comes to their own weaknesses. We’re naturally inclined to rationalize away things we’re not good at, or believing that we’re better than we are. Once you can recognize your weaknesses and understand how they’re holding you back, you can take active steps to work on yourself.

32. Constantly work on improving yourself. If you’re not doing something to improve yourself everyday, then you’re not going to reach your goals.

33. Master the art of persuasion. Not to manipulate others, but so that you control your destiny

34. Stop trying to please everyone Trying to please everyone is a great way to ensure you never do anything remarkable.

35. Understand that personality traits aren’t static. While we all might have some natural inclinations and gifts based on genetics and the environment we were raised, everything is changeable. If you’re being held back by aspects of your personality, whether its laziness, social awkwardness, mediocre intelligence, know that these are all things that can be improved if you’re willing to work on them, instead of accepting them as immutable personality traits.

36. Simplify. The less you need to be happy, the happier you’ll be.

37. Surround yourself with the type of people you’d want to be. There’s a saying that you’re the average of your 5 closest friends. While this may not be a scientific fact, its a useful thought exercise. If you constantly spend time with negative people, you’ll become negative as well. If you spend time around people with no ambition, you’ll find your own dreams slipping away as well. On the other hand, surrounding yourself with awesome people who want the same things you want in life will set you up for success.

38. Design your ideal life. Its easy to go through life on auto-pilot if you don’t know what you want. Your first step is to figure out what you want from life. Read the 4 hour work week by Tim Ferriss if you want a great framework for accomplishing this.

39. Make a plan to attain your ideal life and execute. Nothing will be handed to you. If you wait around to “find your direction” in life, you’ll end up finding yourself on track for your exciting career at MegaCorp moving paper from one account to another. There’s no good reason to wander aimlessly through life once you’re out of college.

40. Stop giving up. Have you ever heard the story (urban myth?) of the man who was lost in the desert? He was found half a mile from a large oasis city. The point of this story is to illustrate the danger of quitting. Things are always hard until they get better, but you’ll never know how close you came to achieving your goals if you quit before you see them all the way through.

41. Block out haters. Constructive criticism is one thing, but know that if you’re out there trying to accomplish great things, you will attract haters who want to criticize for the sake of criticism. You’ll find haters frequently trolling message boards and Youtube comments. Don’t take their comments personally and don’t get sucked into flamewars.

42. Accept constructive criticism. At the same times, haters can be good because sometimes they can be right. Haters show us our weakness. You’ll likely recognize a legitimate criticisms when you feel the sting of cognitive dissonance – you want to dismiss the thought because it comes from someone critical of you, but you can’t help but shake that pit in your stomach. Instead of burying that feeling, accept that you might be in the wrong, and work to improve yourself so you don’t make the same mistake in the future.

43. Be the hero of your own movie. Does life feel shitty, joyless, hopeless? Do you feel like you’re stuck in a rut with no way out? You already know how to get out – be the hero of your own movie. Pretend you’re the hero character in a Hollywood blockbuster. There’s a point in every movie where the hero is down and out, with seemingly no way out, yet he always finds a way to overcome the odds. Pretend you’re that hero, you’re in a tough spot, and its your job now to overcome the odds and come out on top – because its in the script. Pretend there’s a documentary crew following you around, and one day your kids will see what you’ve been doing. Do you want them to see a hero who overcomes the odds, or a loser who plays the victim? Last time I checked, the hero doesn’t overcome the odds by watching TV 5 hours a day.  Do what needs to be done, no matter how hard it is.

44. Eat, drink, and be merry. Incredible food, great company, and engrossing conversation – it doesn’t get much better than that, at least not in this lifetime. Cherish those moments of bliss and make them happen as frequently as possible.

45. Remember that you’re going to die one day. Steve jobs talks about this in his now famous commencement speech at Stanford in 2005. To quote the Dalai Lamai. Do we live as though we will never die; then die never having lived?