Edgar Allen Poe's Hop-Frog

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The story Hop Frog by Edgar Allen Poe is about power and the act of revenge. Poe takes his time in the beginning of the story to establish Hope-Frog’s” character. The readers are informed that Hop-Frog was born a dwarf, and exploited by the king because of his abnormality. By opening with Hop-Frog’s appearance Poe is evoking sympathy from the readers for the main character. Poe compares Hop- Frog appearance to “resembling a squirrel or a small monkey rather than a frog” (2). The act of de-familiarizing the character justifies the King’s action of ridiculing and humiliating Hope- Frog because he was seen as less of a man. The tyrannical ways of the King ultimately drives Hop-Frog to seek revenge for Trippetta, his friend and himself. Despite

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