26 pages 52 minutes read

Edgar Allan Poe

Hop-Frog

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1849

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

Animals

The animal motif appears throughout the narrative to reveal the dehumanization of Hop-Frog and, later, the king and his ministers. The narrative doesn’t reveal Hop-Frog’s real name; he’s called Hop-Frog based on his similarity to an animal. The narrator even compares his gait to a “squirrel, or a small monkey” (Paragraph 7). The king and his ministers look down on Hop-Frog because of his size and the way he walks. They don't identify him by his wit but by perceived shortcomings that supposedly make him less of a man.

When Hop-Frog exacts his revenge, he attempts to humiliate and dehumanize the eight men by dressing them as orangutans. In the context of the story, apes are equivalent to beasts that reside in the uncivilized world. The use of animals to dehumanize the noblemen is effective: “As had been anticipated, there were not a few of the guests who supposed the ferocious-looking creatures to be beasts of some kind in reality” (Paragraph 48). The partygoers look at the king and ministers as real animals rather than men in costume—and treat them as a dangerous threat rather than as people.

Related Titles

By Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

A Dream Within a Dream

Edgar Allan Poe

A Dream Within a Dream

Edgar Allan Poe

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Annabel Lee

Edgar Allan Poe

Annabel Lee

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

Berenice

Edgar Allan Poe

Berenice

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

Ligeia

Edgar Allan Poe

Ligeia

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

Tamerlane

Edgar Allan Poe

Tamerlane

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Black Cat

Edgar Allan Poe

The Black Cat

Edgar Allan Poe

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

The Cask of Amontillado

Edgar Allan Poe

The Cask of Amontillado

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Conqueror Worm

Edgar Allan Poe

The Conqueror Worm

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

Edgar Allan Poe

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

Edgar Allan Poe

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe

The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Gold Bug

Edgar Allan Poe

The Gold Bug

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Haunted Palace

Edgar Allan Poe

The Haunted Palace

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Imp of the Perverse

Edgar Allan Poe

The Imp of the Perverse

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Lake

Edgar Allan Poe

The Lake

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Man of the Crowd

Edgar Allan Poe

The Man of the Crowd

Edgar Allan Poe

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

The Masque of the Red Death

Edgar Allan Poe

The Masque of the Red Death

Edgar Allan Poe

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Edgar Allan Poe

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

Edgar Allan Poe

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Oval Portrait

Edgar Allan Poe

The Oval Portrait

Edgar Allan Poe

Study Guide
logo

The Philosophy of Composition

Edgar Allan Poe

The Philosophy of Composition

Edgar Allan Poe