Oh look! I found some olives!

Wouldn't Parker have loved to be here for this moment?

In glancing over other bloggers' posts, I sense a bit of disgruntlement with the book, its gruesomeness, its rather flat ending, and, in general, its apparently blatant dishonesty. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym forces us deal with some fairly weighty questions: was NAGP intended to be read as a literal adventure story or a dramatic satire? was Edgar Allan Poe an unpolished adventure writer or a compromising impoverished genius? should we eat the unethically survivalist shipmate or the unbelievable preserved olives first?

I think yes to all the latter responses. The more I scrutinized this novelette I found a sort of tongue in cheek narration. Pym is knowledgeable on every possible narration although he left home as a rather uneducated imp. His plethora of encyclopedic jargon on every topic makes him seem bombastic rather than likeable. While this could be read as Poe's attempt at making Pym the seasoned traveler, I feel like Poe is satirizing the typical omniscient protagonists of contemporary literature, showing that all the knowledge in the world won't keep you from sailing off into murky white oblivion. By including extravagant peril scenes, Poe was able to point out deeper themes, such as the lines between honesty and sensationalism, boldness and stupidity (if such a line exists there!). Lastly, definitely eat the olives first.... because the alternative just puts you in a Poe horror story.

In much agreement...

I agree with Megan that Poe has an unbelievably nonchalant attitude toward death. Not only does Poe show this when Pym and Peters rid the boat of Augustus’ body, but more disturbingly when the three of them kill and eat Parker. After killing Parker, Pym finds olives and wine to eat, but there is never any remorse about the death of Parker. This “whatever” attitude also makes for a dark story what with all the death and gruesome details.
I also think that Alexis makes a great point in the theme of reality vs. appearance in NAGP. Perhaps the best example in the novel is the seemingly friendly nature of the Indians who later turn against the “white men.” Another example that sticks out for me is the dark and disgusting reality of the approaching ship with dead people.
After reading this novel, I am reminded of Poe’s outrageously dark way of writing that is evident in the way he presents death and can be seen through the reality vs. appearance theme.

Truth vs. Fiction

Poe closely walked the line between truth and fiction throughout Pym. However by the end of the novel it seemed like Poe had completely forsaken the truth in order to create a more “adventurous” story. It also amazes me that somehow Pym knew everything about everything but kept ending up in horrible situations. He could not help but feel distrust for the natives when walking along the path yet he still continued acting like they were friendly. It was also astounding to me that both Peters and Pym were buried alive under a landslide (more or less) and yet came out unscathed, while Allen died. (It should be noted here that Pym and Peters have exceptionally good luck with avoiding death.) One cannot even believe Pym’s simplest, descriptive sentences do not match up. He states him and Peters are “the only living white men on the island” when earlier he had described Peters as Indian and hybrid but never as white.
The ending proved to me that ultimately Poe was not quite sure what “really happened” to Pym. It was almost as if there was no way to halfway truthfully end this ridiculous exhibition in fifty-seven degree Antarctic weather. So instead of concluding the story Pym just died.

truth vs. fiction + appearence vs. reality

In The Narrative of Nathan Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, I understand how one could believe that it really was a completely outrageous, yet nonfiction, nautical story. Poe, in the voice of Pym, does mention how he doesn’t remember certain details, or is writing everything from memory since he didn’t keep a journal as a sort of excuse for the ridiculousness of the story. This premise is not an impossibility. However, it is not completely convincing to me because he miraculously remembers SOME unimportant details, such as the dates he did certain things. When experiencing some of the adventures that are written about, I’m sure that the dates would be the least likely things to occupy any room in Pym’s memory, especially (supposedly) writing this years later. Thus, if I had not known that it was a fiction story, I believe that I would be torn between believing that the story was true based on Poe’s introduction and explanation, or not believing that it was true based on the inconsistency of what is remembered and how absurd the story is.

I also see the possible theme of the difference between reality and appearance comes through with the interactions between the people called “savages” and the men of the ship. The “savages” appear to be peaceful and kind, but turn out to be completely the opposite and plunder nearly the entire crew. It seems that the outcome of that situation was included in the novel to create yet another area of rising action and climax to make it more exciting.

tangents vs. sufficient descriptions

Arthur knows (or thinks he knows) a little bit about every subject, and sometimes the book reads like an encyclopedia because Poe will spend two pages describing history, nesting habits, or the setting. His knowledge about ships inevitably leads him on tangents about how some aspect of the ship is inadequate or unsafe. An example of a tangent includes where he goes into great depth about penguins when the Jane Guy visits Kerguelen’s Islands. The crew is there to hunt seal, but he starts talking about penguins and albatross’ nesting habits for two pages. Another example of Poe’s attention to detailed background information is his description of Galapagos turtles after the men find one in the storeroom. After eating Parker and then discovering a logical way to find normal food, Arthur is excited at the prospect of a turtle. He goes on to talk about its walking habits, its build, and the meaning of it’s name. Instead of a logical a-ha moment of “Oops! We shouldn’t have eaten Parker”, the history of a turtle makes more sense. Poe writes like the reader wants to know every minute background detail of a place or creature. While explanations and references are helpful at times, other times I am struck by how random or unneeded some pages seem to be.

Comment on Poe & Arthur Gordon Pym!

Upon finishing this novel, I couldn’t help but conclude that Poe seems to write a majority of his material for no other reason than the shock value of it. In an effort to keep his readers interested amidst the long-winded descriptions, he throws in sentences such as, “In going over the bows, his foot slipped, and he fell between two cakes of ice, never rising again” (p 109). This nonchalant attitude towards death (evident also in the unceremonious death and disposal of his good friend Augustus) is something I find very interesting in Poe’s writing. He is similarly casual about human life in his short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” when he murders a man for no apparent reason. Poe also seems to have a talent for capturing the feeling of utter hopelessness and despair. On page 127, he writes about “the blackness of darkness which envelops the victim, the terrific oppression of lungs…to carry into the human heart a degree of appalling awe and horror not to be tolerated.”
Poe’s ability to craft a story which so well reflects the true inner feelings humans experience could be the reason why some people thought this novel was a work of non-fiction (the note at the end about the loss of a few final chapters was a nice touch), but I believe that throughout the novel Poe hints at the falsity of it. Aside from the outrageous creatures and situations, Poe continually mentions that he is merely relating his perceptions of this supposed journey. The book reminded me somewhat of Gulliver’s Travels in the sense that it was a detailed description of an implausible voyage. Like Gulliver’s Travels called attention to current issues of the times, Poe seems to try to do the same in this pieced-together novel which evokes images of the middle passage and echoes the feelings of desperation and suffering that slaves must have felt.

Homework for Thursday

1. Finish reading NAGP. Think about the tension between truth and fiction, reality and appearance that we've been discussing. Also think about the dangers of interpretation and the inversion of the racial dynamics of the antebellum US.

2. Group A: post a response to NAGP to the blog by 9am Thursday (earlier if possible!). Group B: comment on one of those response posts by midnight Friday.