 The story also has minor critiques of racism; the war hero was taken apart by Indians but is put together by his "old negro valet" named Pompey (a name Poe also uses in "A Predicament"), arguably undermining the power of white male dominance.Poe may also have been reacting to the popular "subversive" humor of the day, exaggerating the technique to the point of being inane.The opening epigraph to the story is from "Le Cid" by Pierre Corneille and translates to