This weeks reading assignment : Narrative of Gordon Pym, is quite a departure of anything we have read thus far. However, a few things stand out and discussion worthy.
First of all this narrative seems to me to be a story about the initiation rites of males. However I was somewhat disturbed by the homo erotic aspects. On the first page, Poe describes the relationship between Gordon and Augustus as "Intimate." "Here I became intimate with the son of Mr. Barnard, A sea Captain," (1009). Now I know that that word can mean that they were just close friends, and if that were the only words used to describe their friendship I would dismiss it, but he commonly uses sexualized words with double meanings such as ejaculate for said, and so forth.Then there is the strange relationship between Peters and Augustus. The question here is -do I have a dirty mind- or does anyone else notice this homo eroticism?
The second thought I have on this novel is that personally I was a bit disappointed by this story. So far that is, it's boring. I keep hoping for a beautiful young dying woman to pop out from a hiding place. Maybe that would liven things up a bit. As it is, this story seems very imitative and shallow. I am also sadden to see that Poe is in fact a racist and that is one of the myths about him and is true. -Other thoughts?
The last thing I want to discuss, is the strange shift in writing styles - from that of a narrative to a journal. This was the same thing he did in MS in a Bottle, except this time he noted the shift in the story. My question is why would he do this- why would he say this part of the story is so boring that I will only note it in a journal. I found my self not wanting to read the journal part as he already said it was boring.
As far as gender is concerned- this story is a good example of it's construction. I think this story would have been far more interesting if both Augustus and Gordon were females, and Gordon's Grandmother were the ones holding the inheritance purse strings. What do you all think?
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9 comments:
Audrey,
I don't see how this is about the initiation rites of males...can you maybe say more about that with an example or two? I see it more as exaggerated nautical fiction. It starts off pretty normal, but it gets more ridiculous as the story progresses.
I also thought the shift in writing styles was strange. The way he characterizes his journal writing is also odd: "As the events of the ensuing eight days were of little importance, and have no direct bearing upon the main incidents of my narrative, I will throw them into to the form of journal..." (1059). I think of a journal as a place to write down important things/events.
If Augustus and Gordon were females, I don't know if the story would be more interesting, but it would be different. Their actions would be different, and maybe limited, because they would be two women on a ship with a male crew.
Laura,
I see your point, how making Augustus and Gordon females would change their actions. Maybe better would be having them girls, dressed as boys, or have the crew all women as well as the protagonists.
I am trying to make the point that gender is in the performance and stories such as this one are just examples of the social construction.
As for this being about the initiation rites of males- Yes I agree, it is an exaggerated nautical tale. However, it is also about two 16 year old boys leaving the comfort of their homes and going on an "Odyssey," if you will. I might be overreaching on this point as I have not yet finished the story. It just seems to me to be a coming of age story at sea.
Audrey
I am personally enjoying A. Gordon Pym. Because it's so different, I am really loving it.
Audrey, I do see a little bit of what you might be saying, but I would like some stronger textual evidence that the story is about male initiation rights. Using those terms in my reading is actually fairly common in the writing of Poe's day.
I personally see this story as Poe's answer to Moby Dick in a way. I am not sure if I am right, but I think Poe heard about or read Melville, said, 'I can do that!' and wrote us A. Gordon Pym.
I’m enjoying the story so far as well. I didn't so much see the sexual tension between Gordon and Augustus since, like Kimberly said, that kind of language was common in the writing of the day. However as far as Augustus and Peters were concerned, I felt like there was going to be some sort of sexual desire for Augustus on Peters' part. It just seemed weird that he wanted to keep Augustus around and befriend him. However I'm only on chapter 9 so I can't say, but I can see how maybe he just wanted to have someone to potentially be on his side for the feud between the mutineers that occurred in chapter 8.
I agree with kimberly, I am also enjoying this story. Though it is really the preface that I was interested in. It brings up MANY questions for me. Such as the notion of "truth", the problems with publication,problems with print and printed truth, problems with historical narratives/accounts, notions of authurship and ownership. Im not sure what to do with it but id be itnerested to know what other people thought.
As for your post Audrey, I can't say that I see how this is about male initiation rites, and I definitely didn't catch any of the homo-erotisism that you had mentioned either. Though Poe does use some language that could be sexually explicate I just didn't get that feeling throughout the narrative. Rather, I felt that Poe was simply using lofty language for expression.
To be honest, I do not believe that the narrrative would have been advanced any more if Peter and Augustus where female.
Through much of the ninteenth century, occupations and pleasures such as sailing where inherently male. In order for Poe, or any other author, to implicate female characters in such an adventure, they would have had to invent many abstracts and reasons for their behavior, intent and interest in boating in order to make the tale viable to the reader. Although Poe has the tendency to use unreliable narrators, the key elements of his tales remain possible and probable. If women where used instead of men, I think that the plot, storyline, and (in general) the entire narrative would have to be changed. Making it anew with female characters would not have improved or impaired the text; it would have just made it something different. (Charlotte Temple meets annie oakley)
While reading this story I began to feel the sexual tension that you spoke of and started underlining all of the references I could find. Poe used the word "intimate" in a way that, at first, I felt was sexual, but then I thought that perhaps he was using it in a different way and the time gap was responsible for my interpretation. Further along in the story I stopped getting that initial feeling and started to see their relationship as brotherly instead of really intimate. Did you still see examples of this after the beginning of the story or did that interpretation stop for you as well?
I agree with Liz. I generally think that Augustus and Gordon are intimate in a more brotherly fashion. The only thing that kind of threw me off was the comment Gordon makes about the two sleeping together in the same bed, but then again that could also be thought of as brotherly. My initial reaction was that the two individuals are definitely homosexual, but after further reading that notion has been thrown out. Lets see if further reading will initiate that idea.
Going back to what Audrey said in the initial response, I don't think that the story is necessarily focused upon the initiation rights of males, although I think you raise a good discussion. I also don't think that the story would be better with two females, instead it would simply be different and probably, in my opinion, less believable. The connection between Augustus and Gordon, as "intimate," is a great portrayal of a bond between two individuals whether male or female.
I'm really enjoying this story and I definitely don't think it's boring. Although, very different from our previous readings. I'll have to keep reading to comment any further.
I am enjoying this story more so than most others we have read so far. Except that I do agree that parts of it can be boring at times, especially the journal writing as someone has already stated. Poe does warn us how boring is, so I cannot help but to skim it. If Poe does not think it to be important, why should we?
I do not think Augustus and the narrator have homosexual tendencies. They just enjoy each other's company. On top of page 1079 he is listing images that are pleasing to him, and one of them is processions of dancing girls. If he was a homosexual, I do think he would dream of women when all alone on a ship.
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