At The Mountains Of Madness Essay

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H.P. Lovecraft's novella At the Mountains of Madness contains elements of both horror and science fiction but not enough that it should exclusively be considered either. Instead, Lovecraft omits certain elements of both genres while incorporating other elements to create something uniquely Lovecraftian. This discussion will briefly outline horror and science fiction as literary genres before exploring At the Mountains of Madness as a possible work of both. The exploration will address arguments for and against classifying the novella into each genre before concluding with the suggestion that it is neither exclusively, rather something unique. It is important to acknowledge that genres often overlap and it is rare to find a work that is entirely …show more content…

The very purpose of the account, as stated by the narrator, is to stop further antarctic exploration. Dyer claims both he and Danforth have "constantly worked to discourage antarctic exploration" (19), insisting that it is "imperative that further exploration be discouraged" (33). Advances in technology only serve to facilitate this dangerous exploration. Dyer talks at length about the revolutionary technology of Pabodie's drill, calling it "remarkable", and "unique and radical" (1). The planes, too, were "designed especially for... the antarctic plateau" (1). The drill gave them cause to go explore and the planes gave them a means of achieving it. A clearer depiction of the dangers of too much scientific curiosity is Lake's story. He was consumed by a desire for discovery which lead him to find and dissect the Old Ones. The consequences were the death of his entire camp, the dissection of a man and a dog, and even "the ruin of [their] drilling machinery" (19). The swiftness of the consequences is almost parabolic in its warning against antarctic exploration. At the Mountains of Madness is built around the dangers of scientific advancement, however it does not contain any of the other traits of science fiction and therefore cannot exclusively be labelled as

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