The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
First published 1838 · English · 188 pages
- Novels
Poe's only complete novel is a sea story told in the first person by a young man from Nantucket. Arthur Gordon Pym hides aboard a whaling ship and soon finds himself caught up in danger, hunger and violence far from home. The voyage carries him toward the remote southern oceans and stranger, less charted places. Mixing realistic detail with growing dread, the book plays on the style of travel narratives popular in Poe's day. It has fascinated many later writers, including Melville and Verne, and its strange ending is much discussed.
Quotes
In this boat we were in the habit of going on some of the maddest freaks in the world.
I now feel it impossible to realize the full extent of the misery which I endured.
words have no power to impress the mind with the exquisite horror of their reality.
In no affairs of mere prejudice, pro or con, do we deduce inferences with entire certainty, even from the most simple data.