Dracul in clopotnita

Plot summary
In an isolated town called Vondervotteimittis (wonder-what-time-it-is), the punctilious inhabitants seem to be concerned with nothing but clocks and cabbage. This methodical, boring and quiet little borough is devastated by the arrival o a devilish igure playing a big iddle who comes straight down rom a hill, goes into the belltower, brutally attacks the bel ry-man and rings thirteen o!clock, to the horror o the town!s inhabitants.

Analysis
The devil character can be seen as the bringer o chaos to an ordered system. In the conte"t o the story, the devil is a troublemaker who destroys the serenity o tradition. #owever, in that $oe mocks the town!s ridiculous traditions, it can be interpreted that the devil is a violent orce o change, originality and creativity in an otherwise stagnant environment. %ome have claimed the story to be political satire making un o the &nited %tates $resident 'artin Van (uren who was o )utch descent like the inhabitants o Vondervotteimittis. #owever, aside rom )utch caricatures used or humor, the story does not seem to mock any particular target. In A Companion to Poe Studies it is noted, *$oe introduced numerous details to make contemporaries think o the president. (ut the story is not there ore a political satire, or $oe said such stories hit out in all directions ... 'oreover, $oe!s literary play, his pleasure at creating connections, seems more important than is any single !target! o satire.*+,.ritics o ten compare the tale to another /ew 0ork satire, A History of New-York written by 1ashington Irving under the pseudonym *)iedrich 2nickerbocker.*