The effect was very carefully obtained. Poe had devoured any number of nautical narratives, and always had some navigational manuals, along with the Encyclopedia Brittanica, close at hand. The giving of facetious specifics, such as the name of the ship "Grampus," and the illustrated plates of the strange hieroglyphics, all added to the sense of realism. Most significantly, Poe drew from the hollow-earth theory of John Cleves Symmes, along with the exhortations of Jeremiah Reynolds, both of whom argued that an expedition should be dispatched to investigate the "hole" in the earth at its Southern pole.
In Britain, the seeming marks of authenticity caused some to mistake it for an actual travel narrative; among those duped was the publisher George P. Putnam, who planned a join publication with his friend David Appleton, declaring that "this man has reached a higher latitude than any European navigator. Let us reprint this for the benefit of Mr. Bull." Putnam later ruefully noted that "the grave particularity of the title and of the narrative misled many of the critics as well as ourselves, and whole columns of these new ‘discoveries,’ including the hieroglyphics found on the rocks, were copied by many of the English country papers as sober historical truth”
Nor everyone, of course, was taken in by the initial ruse; the editor of the Gentleman's Magazine castigated the book, declaring that:
Nor everyone, of course, was taken in by the initial ruse; the editor of the Gentleman's Magazine castigated the book, declaring that:
A more impudent attempt at humbugging the public has never been exercised; the voyages of Gulliver were politically satirical, and the adventures of Munchausen, the acknowledged caricature of a celebrated traveller. Sinbad the Sailor, Peter Wilkins, and More's Utopia, are confessedly works of the imagination; but Arthur Gordon Pym puts forth a series of travels outraging possibility, coolly requires his insulted readers to believe his ipse dixit.
Together with this novel, we'll be seeing Peter Delpeut's film Forbidden Quest, which assembles an enormous amount of "found footage" of polar expeditions to lend reality to an equally facetious tale, this time lent an "air" of reality by an elderly Irish ship's carpenter. Like Poe, Delpeut draws from the "hollow earth" theory, using it to explain the presence of Eskimos at the South Pole, as well as his narrator's otherwise miraculous return to civilization.
In the end, both narratives are best enjoyed when the ruse is realized -- for it's only then that we can, unlike other creatures, take pleasure from traveling along the edge of our own deception. But what did you think? Did this feel to you like a real narrative? Or at some point, was the spell, perhaps abruptly, broken? Or perhaps the real magic lies in-between our ideas about fact and fiction ...
In the end, both narratives are best enjoyed when the ruse is realized -- for it's only then that we can, unlike other creatures, take pleasure from traveling along the edge of our own deception. But what did you think? Did this feel to you like a real narrative? Or at some point, was the spell, perhaps abruptly, broken? Or perhaps the real magic lies in-between our ideas about fact and fiction ...
There are so many events in the second part of this narrative that I want to discuss; however, I have narrowed it down to a few thoughts and questions to pose. I want to focus the first part of my blog on the character Parker who appeared as a sub character in the story after Augustus, Peters, and Gordon took over the “Grampus” from the other mutineers. He was hit by Gordon in the head during the overtaking of the ship and then taken as a prisoner; however, they let him free to help with steering the boat. How could they truly trust Parker after he was a part of the Mate’s gang? In fact, Gordon trusted him enough to untie him first from the deck after the big storm occurred, but WHY? Furthermore, Parker is the one that suggested they eat someone for the rest to survive, but then he ironically was the one that got killed by killing the short straw, so I suppose there was some justice with Parker’s story. It just seemed that everyone trusts and hopes too easily in the story, yet with sailing stories no one believes them?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wanted to make a connection between The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and “A Descent into the Maelstrom” because Gordon, Augustus, Peters, and Parker did have an opportunity to save themselves based on the old man’s logic. The old man in “The Descent into the Maelstrom” shared that while in the middle of the storm he determined that “…between two masses of equal size, the cylindrical, and the other of any shape, the cylinder was absorbed the more slowly,” and therefore provided a higher chance of survival (Poe 237). The old man then decided to tie himself to a cylindrical cask because of this logic, which led him to survive. In the beginning of Chapter nine in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, the men fastened themselves to the deck, but mentioned that the ship was full of empty oil-casks; therefore, based on the old man’s logic shouldn’t the four men have just tie themselves to the casks to have a better chance of survival too? If they did do that, do you think they would have all survived the Maelstrom storm?
Megan, I really like the point you made about Parker and how he really was just absorbed as a background character and then killed off. It seemed like there was a lot of author manipulation going on there in order for Poe to get what he needed from the characters -- the cannibalism scene, another set of hands when they needed it. Poe seemed to have his hands all over that, and while there is always an element of author manipulation because you want the story to go the way you want, it seemed that there was too much outside interference.
DeleteIn terms of the survivability, if they had held onto the oil-casks, they most likely would have gone into the water, and they had a higher chance of surviveability if they stayed aboard the ship. However, I don't really know if Poe paid attention to continuity between his stories like that, so it really could have just been an inconsistency or oversight to make Pym more dramatic.
While reading the second portion of the novel I was not sure if all four of the men were going to make It out alive, especially Augustus! Augustus seemed to be the one who was in the worse shape. It is interesting how Aruthur in the first half of the story was pretty much on his death bed but by the second half of the novel roles were reversed when Augustus got very ill. While reading both parts of the story so far you can tell that the two-character Augustus and Arthur would pretty much do anything for each other. For example, in the first half of the book Augustus was willing to be caught with hiding Aruthur and who knows maybe end up dead because of it but he did not care and kept going back to him to give him water and food. In the second half of the book, it was Arthurs turn to take charge and look after Augustus and do anything to keep him alive. I am curious to see what will happen by the third part of the reading.
ReplyDeleteHi Sheila,
DeleteIt seemed to me that they did exchange roles in the supporting of health aspect, but that Gordon always kept his intellect and level-headedness in every situation that occurred. I found it interesting that he never caved into those barbaric ways and giving up like some of them did.
From the beginning the "ruse" did not work on me. I knew right away this was just a work of fiction and Poe was trying to trick or fool his readers into thinking that it was a nonfiction story, an actual narrative. But I think that is what makes the story somewhat charming, letting yourself be tricked and think "Sure, this is an actual story of Arthur Pym''. This allows you to get invested into the story of Pym and what he goes through.
ReplyDeleteI would like to talk about the part of the story where Pym and the other characters are interacting with natives. What we know about Poe is that he hasn't really actually been out on sea and I highly doubt that he has ever come into contact with actual natives. It is believable that, like his knowledge of the sea and sea voyage, he looked at other people's narratives of their interactions with native people. Particularly the narratives that are biased and racist. He portrays the natives as "savages" and "barbaric" which is something that many white people thought of native people. I would not be surprised if his descriptions of these natives come directly from these racist narratives about natives.
A good point, Krissy! We do know that one of Poe's favorite books was Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, which depicts the indigenous peoples in Crusoe's encounters similarly. See his review here.
DeleteMadeleine Frost
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned, Edgar Allen Poe is known for his brilliantly terrifying tales. “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym” focuses more on a nautical adventure tale, but Poe’s trademark terrifying characteristics shine through in parts of the narrative. In this way, these details make the fictional story of Arthur Pym seem more authentic. Poe incorporates detailed descriptions of Pym’s adventures, which makes the narrative feel more personal and genuine.
Poe effectively crafts authentically terrifying moments through building tension. One moment of descriptive horror that sticks out can be found in Chapter 10. The men, in their various states of dehydration, hunger, and delusion look out to the waters around them and think their savior has at last arrived — there’s a boat in the distance! However, as the ship nears them, they observe the smell, “a stench, such as the whole world has no name for — no conception of — hellish — utterly suffocating — insufferable, inconceivable. I gasped for breath and, turning to my companions, perceived that they were paler than marble” (Poe 81). Poe describes how the stench is so awful that Pym is gasping for fresher air as the air around him is “insufferable.” Shortly after, they realize the cause of the smell is the large collection of rotting dead bodies on the ship. As the ship nears, Pym describes one body in particular: “On his back, from which a portion of the shirt had been torn, leaving it bare, there sat a huge sea-gull, busily gorging itself with the horrible flesh, its bill and talons deep buried, and its while plumage spattered all over with blood” (82). Pym observes the horrors of what he and the group thought would be their ticket to safety. Through contrasting what the group thought the ship is and what it actually is demonstrates the horror of their situation. Their shock and their hope feels authentic — it feels human, which is what makes the narrative, this instance especially, feel so real. In this particular instance, Poe examines the senses of sight and smell. The mention of such a universal human characteristic helps to make the narrative feel more authentic because of the specificity of such details. Not only that, but the shock-factor of such details entrances the reader as they examine the true nature of the circumstances. Although Poe creates a fictional narrative, the horrifying details and the captivating circumstances, at least temporarily, do not feel fictional.
In Poe’s work, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, there are details in it that make it seem like it could be a nonfiction story. Poe does a great job with descriptive detail and uses a lot of nautical language that seems accurate. But as we get more into the story the “ruse” of it stops working and it becomes very clear it is a nonfiction. The action that takes place in the story becomes very crazy and scary. When it is just the four Parker, Peters, Augustus, and Arthur that are stranded out in the middle of the ocean, it is terrifying to think about. While reading this part I kept waiting for them to get rescued but it took some time before that actually happened, and not all of them had survived. I felt this part had some aspects where it could have seemed true to readers but when the first boat passes them with everyone dead on board, to me that is just something to add to the story. “We plainly saw that not a soul lived in that fated vessel! Yet we could not help shouting to the dead for help” (Poe 81). This line stood out to me because it captures the desperate feeling the four men were feeling. They had such hope for this vessel to recuse them that upon finding out that everyone was dead they still shouted to them for help. I think Poe does a great job here with expressing how awful it would be to be stranded out in the ocean with no food or water and have that hope of being recused taken away.
ReplyDeleteHaley, I agree with you that Poe really does a good job of expressing the terror and horror that the men were facing out on the open ocean. Something that really doesn't sit right with me, though, is that in my classes, we always learn that we are supposed to show, not tell, and to do research, and Poe is only telling us about something that he has never done. There's rarely any scene and it feels mostly as if there are just these long paragraphs of things being told to us rather than us experiencing what is going on. I wondered maybe if other people felt this way, too, that some element of the craft was lost to redundancy or a lack of showing, despite the emotions being clear and concise.
DeleteIt should not have surprised me half as much when the story took a horrific turn, after all it is a work of Poe. However, I was not expected the scene that came to follow the sighting of the weathered Dutch ship that Augusts and Pym notice to be approaching them. At first, when they see man that appears to be “moving”, my guess was that they would make enemies with the crew of this mysterious ship, become victims of piracy, or partake in some sort of battle. But then, when it was stated that there was "a smell, a stench, such as the whole world has no name for –no conception of –hellish –utterly suffocating –insufferable, inconceivable" I instantly knew it was not likely there would be any interaction with anyone on the approaching vessel. The following description of what Pym sees on this death ship are quite gruesome and vivid. He explains that the many bodies on board were in a “state of purification” and recounts of a large seagull pecking at and consuming the rotting flesh of the dead.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that in exploration/adventure books, films, and TV shows that death is often incorporated. There is something to do with the mystery and unknown of death, as well as the superstition that surround death, that is intriguing to us as humans and plays nicely with stories of exploration.
As a novel, I felt that “Arthur Gordon Pym” is very uneven in it’s pacing and execution. I think this is due in part to it being serialized in a magazine. Personally, I love serialized media: tv shows, comics, and even video games (some are released episodically). However, I feel that the serialized nature of “Pym” creates a strange pacing that gives the reader a sense of whiplash which ruins any sense of illusion of this possibly being a true story. For example, in every chapter something must happen to keep readers engaged so that the serial can continue production in addition to making money for the author. As such, across the first dozen chapters, Poe takes readers from ridiculous set piece to ridiculous set piece in an attempt to keep the audience engaged to further the serialization of his story. This is evident from the very first chapter where Pym and his friend “had been run down by the whaling-ship” but the whaling ship “did not perceive out boat until it was an impossibility to avoid coming in contact” (10). As the story goes on the big set-pieces and events become more outlandish. In fact, Pym is subjected to a whole host of horrific things: mutiny, starvation, cannibalism, crashing waves, terrible weather, and more. The novel reads nothing like a realistic account and more of a “best-of” collection of maritime disasters!
ReplyDeleteA thoughtful comment, Tim! I should clarify though that what was published serially was only the original two-part one in the Southern Literary Messenger; the full version was published in book form, all at once. It does, however, have an episodic quality as you note; the modern equivalent would be a limited series released all at once to encourage "binge watching"!
DeleteWhen reading this story, I tried to suspend my disbelief as much as possible. The balance of the unbelievable and grotesque events and descriptions with the day-to-day proceedings worked for me. I especially liked Arthur’s self-awareness at points throughout the novel. When Arthur and company are all suffering from dehydration and hunger, Arthur remarks about how the others look more emaciated and generally horrible, but he feels that he is the most healthy and rational of all of them, and he says, “It is possible, however, that my companions may have entertained the same opinion of their own condition as I did of mine, and that I may have unwittingly been guilty of the same extravagances and imbecilities as themselves” (Poe 88). I found his awareness that he may have been in just as terrible a state interesting, especially because of the framing of the novel where he is trying to remember to the best of his ability without falling into hyperbole. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call Arthur endearing as a narrator, but I certainly found him interesting. I can see how one would be taken in by Arthur’s story and believe it (or, at least, parts of it) to be true.
ReplyDeleteThe Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym reads as a fictitious story from the beginning in my opinion, and continued within each chapter to have these story-like qualities that did not seem like a memoir, but instead they were each their own fictional adventures building upon one another. Although this was a nautical adventure, meant to be read as a narrative, it was nonetheless infused with grotesque and horrifying details. Notions of horror, cannibalism, savagery, and madness were prominent and it can be determined that Poe attempted for his audience to be drawn in and intrigued by the vivid details. I believe that through the chapters, readers can also question the reliability of the narrator. Nonetheless, I do appreciate the way Poe uses language and the way in which he tells this story. Like my peers, I attempted to put that notion of fiction to the side while reading, to digest the story that Poe was posing, however I feel as though it was obvious as he used great imagery to detail Pym’s experience. When reading from chapter to chapter, it was clear that Poe dramatized and really embellished the setting, details, thoughts, and mood that he was attempting to articulate. This can reflect back to Poe’s writing style, as we saw him use extensive literary language in his story “A Descent into the Maelstrom” and “MS. Found in a Bottle”. I do wonder if there is a certain reasoning as to why this novel of his is less popular and discussed. In previous classes, I have only really been exposed to a few short stories, and works of poetry.
ReplyDeleteLeah, I definitely agree that there was fictitious qualities from the very beginning of this novel, and I was very confused (and a tad concerned) to hear that people believed this to be true. I've not read many nautical novels, but I have read a few that are memoirs and none are like this in any capacity. Moreover, cannibalism is a last ditch efffort, a last resort, and from what I understood, they tried for the door, then when they could not get it, went immediately to cannibalism instead of trying to fish or otherwise. It was more than a tad unbelievable.
DeleteDylan Burns
ReplyDeleteThe Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym carries Poe's macabre and sometimes horrifying style of writing beyond his usual short stories and helps to create a quest type narrative that reminds one of Dante, etc. The use of description, especially during those more disturbing scenes such as that of the ship from Holland carrying all of the corpses, parallels the journey to hell as seen in Dante by creating a realistic hellscape for which the novel's characters are forced to travel through. Rather than walk through the fire and flames, Pym and companions sail through the grotesque and deceitful, and ultimately must deal with the unthinkable as they dance on the line between life and death.
In addition I believe deceit to be a major theme in the story as Poe himself tries to deceive the reader into thinking this is a retelling of an actual Pym's experiences, on top of the constant deceit occuring between characters and the repeated appearance of false hope that devastates the characters' psyches as they struggle for survival.
Alexandra Ritacco
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book, I kept questioning whether or not this was Poe or not because the prose were very "off". While in class, a thought jumped out at me. I think most writers(or artists in general) try to take one leap or risk if you may; one piece of work that strays from the norm. This is definitely Poe's leap of faith or risk. I want to give credit to Georgia for saying that Poe challenged himself with writing this piece, and I definitely agree. Novels and short stories come with their seperate challenges. With novels, you have to keep a consistent pace throughout while filling in all that space. For some, it is difficult to keep a flow of detail. I think Poe struggled transitioning details to a larger piece of work hence why he tells more than shows. With short stories, you have one focal point and every word matters. Poe is notorious for his short stories where it is easy for him to keep that flow. He is able to narrow down specifics and have fun with particular elements. I think he tried that with The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and that is why we see repeated or familar incidents.
After hearing everyone's thoughts on the ending of "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket," I was interested to find out why most were dissatisfied. It turns out that the last few pages of the story have been lost and Pym has conveniently passed while Peters refuses to speak on the matter. Because it is said that Pym is trying to present a realistic story, my theory is that the events that took place next were too mysterious to be considered realistic to one that has not witnessed such a scene firsthand; Pym therefore destroyed the last few pages as to keep his story believable. I believe that Poe wrote the ending this way as to keep his readers questioning and wondering.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" and viewing Delpeut "Forbidden Quest" we are thrown into a world/topic unfamiliar to us. At first glance Poe throws us into this crazy story about the Artic that we almost believe because of all of the references to sea terms, island names, and course of events. Unfortunately Poe knew nothing in terms of experience about the topic which creates a false idea of this story being real. I think after the craziness of the plot being all over the place the abrupt ending was needed. However, I do wish as far as endings go we were given more. I feel like Pym and Peters facing this white figure leaves us guessing too much and is almost a let down to the repetitive roller coaster ride of a plot we read. But maybe we need to be left guessing. The piece didn't feel real after we get about half way through the novel so being given this almost fictional ending makes sense.
ReplyDeleteIn Delpeut's "Forbidden Quest" I would've thought the film was real prior to knowing it was fake. Its dry plot and interview would've led me to believe it was to a degree real, along with the video reels and images Sullivan shows us. I think what really showed its fictional side was all of the descriptive language and images he gives us. Typically in interviews with fishermen or crew of a ship would not be as expressive with their words. Usually from what I've seen documentary wise with topics similar the interviewee is straight forward with their language. images such as describing the Aroura Borealis as "mirror of heaven" as Sullivan explains, typically isn't the language used realistically in a documentary like this. It definitely gave me a film festival indie vibe almost the way it was constructed and montaged.
From the start, I felt as through Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" was a narrative and not an account of real life events. This is simply due to the episodic and escalating nature of the events of Pym's nautical adventures. Things veer into things like mutiny, starvation, or even cannibalism, along with the usual things found at any bad day at sea. It just feels like a collection of stories that are constantly either getting worse or progressively getting darker.
ReplyDeleteBut I believe that concept is what drew me to the narrative in the first place. While I knew it was not real, that did not distract from how I actually felt about it; it was interesting and drew my attention. It was the way Poe captured these events in his usual language and inserted drama that really sold these events as both fictitious and enthralling. There is a distinct way Poe captures his characters and makes us doubt their reliability and conversely also help us understand how they feel in every situation that comes their way.
I also think, despite knowing it to be fiction, the way Poe crafts the scenes that his characters go through feel both very visceral and real which both serves to strengthen the intensity of every encounter with danger, and also make it seem that much personal in my opinion.
Knowing this was written by Poe, I knew this was a work of fiction. However, I decided to suspend my disbelief, as they say, and imagine it to be a true account. I can see how people would believe this to be a true account, but I can also see how it could be too good to be true, so to speak. As a work of fiction, it functions as a great story telling device. I've read other novels that use a similar style, such as House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and it definitely works well here.
ReplyDelete