Edgar Allan Poe's only long fiction has provoked intense scholarly discussions about its meaning since its first publication. The novel relates the adventures of Pym after he stows away on a whaling ship, where he endures starvation, encounters with cannibals, a whirlpool, and finally a journey to an Antarctic sea. It draws on the conventions of travel writing and science fiction, and on Poe's own experiences at sea, but is ultimately in a category of its own. Appendices include virtually all of the contemporary sources of ...
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Edgar Allan Poe's only long fiction has provoked intense scholarly discussions about its meaning since its first publication. The novel relates the adventures of Pym after he stows away on a whaling ship, where he endures starvation, encounters with cannibals, a whirlpool, and finally a journey to an Antarctic sea. It draws on the conventions of travel writing and science fiction, and on Poe's own experiences at sea, but is ultimately in a category of its own. Appendices include virtually all of the contemporary sources of exploration and south polar navigation that Poe consulted and adapted to the narrative, together with reviews and notices of Pym and a sampling of responses to the novel from a wide array of authors, from Herman Melville to Jules Verne. Seven illustrations are also included.
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The Narrative of Arthur Gorden Pym of Nantucket reads like it's title--very wordy. If it wasn't for all the terrible, grusome things that happen on the trip, the writing would be very boring. However, all the events that happen on the trip keep your interest. What will happen next? Young Pym (we don't know his exact age) stows away on a whaling ship, with the help of his friend Augustus, whose father is captain of the ship, and within ten days, the crew mutinies. All the crew is either killed or thrown overboard except Augustus, and of course, our writer Pym, who is still hiding in the storage area. From here it gets worse. There is extreme weather that ruins the ship; starvation; cannibalism by the four members left alive; rescue by another ship; a long voyage to Antartica, where they encounter savages bent on killing them, another escape, etc, etc. until you feel like the story is all fabrication. Read it an see what you think.
