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H.P. Lovecraft’s fascination in supernatural theories plays into a main basis for his novels. (Wohleber) With the unknown lurking, Lovecraft incorporates horror through the use of psychological fear as a form of expression making it become crucial for many of his works. At the Mountains of Madness encompasses this thought by the expeditions before and after effects on the characters. The urge to be a success fills the scientists up with courage to embark on such a dangerous trip; however, after the trip the survivors, Danforth and Dyer, had lost all sense of sanity. “On our return Danforth was close to hysterics..promise to say shew our sketches or say anything.” (Lovecraft 176.) Their eyes couldn’t believe what was seen having them debate whether it was hallucinations or real. Ultimately this made them reach a decision where the world will not have to question their authority, for they will both keep their mouth shut. This novel expresses a psychological factor through the use of scientific theories showing the horror that lies beneath them.
As the novel’s need for explorations grows, the reader can notice the change throughout the settings and comfort of the scientists therefore growing the psychological build. “Certain influences in that of the unknown Antarctic world make it imperative that further exploration be discouraged.” (Lovecraft 201.) It took the plane crash, mountain, and labyrinth exploration for them to finally realize the dangers that lurked and prevented them from looking deeper. Being so excited about a trip to make discoveries so at the end it could all be terminated early makes one wonder what went on to all of a sudden stop searching. This is the psychological aspect that Lovecraft incorporates into his wor...
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...ived here before time. These concepts are scary to think of, not in physical way, but psychologically it makes wonder what if? Each one of his writings have some sort of cosmic indifferentism, black magic, or just theories of life before and on earth. Clearly this fascination in science made it an essential part of his writing style.
Works Cited
Burleson, Donald R. “Criticism by Donald R. Burleson.” DISCovering Authors. Online Ed Detroit: Gale,2003. Student Resource Center-Gold. Web. 9.Feb.2010.
Lovecraft, H.P. At the Mountains of Madness and Other Weird Tales. 1920. New York: Barnes and Nobles Inc, 2009. Print
Lovecraft, H.P. (1890-1937). UXL Biographies. Online Ed. Detriot: UXL, 2003 Student Resource Center-Gold. Web 3 Feb. 2010.
Wohleber, Curt. The Man Who Can Scare Stephen King. American Heritage 48.8 Dec. 1995: 82-91. General OneFile. Web. 2 Feb. 2010.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: The Modern Library 1992
Asma, Stephen. On Monsters :An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
I realized after analyzing this essay that even in the darkest depths of my mind I too am trapped in my own Black Lagoon. A Creature that haunts me from my childhood lingers in and out of my subconscious thought. As a child you never succumb to the thoughts of your biggest fear because it could change at any given moment. Your biggest fear as an adult stays with you and drains you mentally, physically, and emotionally. The Creature you adopt as an adult plays against your weak imagination and weighs you down into the depths of your ceaseless Black
...Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2011. 108-237. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. VALE - Mercer County Community College. 2 March 2014
A careful reading of Poe’s tales will quickly reveal the importance that landscape plays in the development of each literary work. "Ragged Mountains" has both a surreal and realistic landscape allowing Poe to use both the mental and the physical environment to explain his tale. This technique is also found in "The Fall of the House of Usher," "William Wilson," and "The Masque of the Red Death." In these tales too the reader may tend to focus on the action at hand, and the psychological details, because that is what we are prone to do with Poe stories. However, it is also important to understand that physical landscape as well. As Daniel Philippon states in his article "Poe in the Ragged Mountains": "Any search for a whole universe of suggestion must be held in check by the realities of the landscape in which it occurs."
Mosig, Dirk W. “The Four Faces of The Outsider.” Discovering H.P. Lovecraft. Ed. Darrell Schweitzer. Mercer Island, Washington: Starmont House, 1987.
The large part of "Ragged Mountains," however, deals with the mental condition of the characters. Philippon sites the thoughts of another critic, Doris V Falk, when he discusses the other landscape of the story -- that of the mind. She believes that Poe intended this story to be "a study in hypnosis" with a "focus on animal magnetism...
Lovecraft, H.P.. “The Beast in the Cave.” The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft: The Road to
Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Smith, Stan. "Criticism by Stan Smith." DISCovering Authors. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discovering Collection. Gale. Academy of Holy Angels - NJ. 4 Dec. 2013
At the beginning of life, humans are exposed to the outside world with an open and blank mind. A newborn has no knowledge, no concerns or worries and it only seeks to fulfill its main necessities. Surrounded by the outside world one lives through many experiences where knowledge is accepted. Encountering other human beings reflects upon one's perception and brings about ones self decisions. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, written in 1816, demonstrates through characters that an obsessive desire for more knowledge may ruin ones life.
or any superstitious belief. He appears as a person who would do anything because he is contending with himself as well as God. He wanted to create something that wouldn't have to follow the rules. procedure of life. "I should attempt the creation of a being like myself" This creates a sense of horror because it suggests that he wants to break the natural chain of life.
Edgar Allan Poe was an excellent horror, suspense, and mystery writer of the eighteenth century. His use of literary devices and different literary techniques makes this writer important to American literature. This paper will show how Edgar Allan Poe has made an impact on Society and American literature as well as how Edgar Allan Poe developed the short story. I will also discuss and analyze some of his works and techniques he uses in his short stories and poems.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "On Frankenstein." The Athenaeum 263 (10 Nov. 1832): 730. Rpt. in Nineteenth-
Krutch, Joseph Wood. Edgar Allan Poe: a Study in Genius. New York: Atheneum, 1965. Print.