The Purloined Letter

Perhaps it was  the blandness of the web page but I had to really focus hard in order to get the story to sink in. But once it did I truly understood and marveled at Edgar Allan Poe's ability to make a character that could hoodwink another character so elegantly and effectively.  "The Purloined Letter" is a great detective story that shows that no triumph can come of underestimating the enemy.The Prefect in this story was so full of himself and so focused on the reward he would get that he overlooked hiding places that he deemed unnecessary which where those that were simple. Dupin on the other hand rationalized all possibilities and found the letter with ease in the simpliest of places. In the end, according to Dupin, the reward clouded the Prefects judgement.