Q2 Blog 4: The Doom That Came to Sarnath

Nothing like staying up late reading Lovecraft! Next up in the Dream Cycle is "The Doom That Came to Sarnath."

In H. P. Lovecraft's "The Doom That Came to Sarnath," the history of the city of Sarnath is told.

One thing that took me by surprise when reading this was when Lovecraft begins to describe the gardens made by the old king of Sarnath, Zokkar. He uses beautiful imagery that gives a sense of peaceful tranquility, such as in the lines: "There ran little streams over bright pebbles, dividing meads of green and gardens of many hues, and spanned by a multitude of bridges.... Over the streams and lakelets rode white swans, whilst the music of rare birds chimed in with the melody of the waters." This beautiful imagery contrasts with the usual nightmarish vistas Lovecraft enjoys explaining with great detail. After the above quote, the story continues right away with the merry, jubilant festival in Sarnath celebrating the anniversary of the destruction of the city of Ib and the genocide of its inhabitants. This contrast could serve to show that there is no pure evil or pure good, and that although the city of Sarnath committed some cruel acts, they could still possess gardens and feasts of great beauty.

A device the author seems to employ throughout the story is understatement. There are many instances where Lovecraft briefly mentions something, which upon closer inspection, has some deeper meaning of hint of foreshadowing. In one instance he mentions a throne "wrought of one piece of ivory, though no man lives who knows whence so vast a piece could have come." It must have come from some colossal beast, seeing as the tusk from the already large elephant is nowhere near big enough to fashion a throne from. The sentence invokes an image of a massive, unearthly creature that might not be invoked if not read as carefully. Another instance is when the beings of Ib are described as "weak, and soft as jelly," with "bulging eyes, pouting, flabby lips, and curious ears, and were without voice." They were slain easily by the men of Sarnath, but combined with the obvious foreshadowing of the title and the beginning of the story, the reader might have a feeling that these creatures are not so innocent and vulnerable and that they might not appreciate having their city destroyed and lives taken.

As a reward for getting through the spooky stuff:

That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.

Q2 Blog 3: Beyond the Wall of Sleep

For my third blog this quarter, to continue with my Lovecraft spree, I went back to read "Beyond the Wall of Sleep."

The short story "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" by H. P. Lovecraft is the story of an imaginative worker of the state psychopathic institution and his encounter with Joe Slater, described as a barbaric, degenerate hill-dweller from the Catskills. Slater was brought in after beating his neighbor to death in a hysterical fit, and is found to have waking nightmares that possess his being.

What I like about this story's structure is how the narrator frames the account in a way, so it is not just a narrative of events, but it shows the narrator's thoughts and gives the story a sort of credibility. In the beginning, the narrator gives a sort of introduction, revealing his views on dreams and how they might be truer than material life. At the end, he instructs the reader to take the story as whatever he or she wants, as he realizes how fantastic and "rhetorical" it turns out. Also, the quotation he pulls at the end from the supposed writings of an astronomer stating apparent evidence of the events of which the narrator spoke wraps the story up with spooky tone.

A possible purpose of this story (and possibly of the Dream Cycle as a whole) is to present the concept of dreams in a new light. When the narrator uses his apparatus to enter the dreamworld of the dying Slater and to speak to the entity that possesses him, he experiences firsthand and is told of the reality of dreams. The thought he expresses at the beginning that the dream world is truer than the material world is reinforces when he experiences the "palatial magnificence" of "this elysian realm." He states that he  "dwelt not as a stranger, for each sight and sound was familiar" and that he was being recalled back to earth, where he "least wished to go." It seems that he feels more at home, or more alive in this ethereal existence. The entity expresses how dreams transcend all physical limitations of time, space, and other dimensions. It says that it looks forward to meeting the narrator in ancient Egypt, after the end of the universe, on planets orbiting a distant star, or on the moon of Jupiter with creatures referred to as "insect-philosophers." This also plays into the narrator's belief that the corporeal world is secondary to the ethereal and our true spirits are "held back by bodily encumbrances."

All in all, another spooky Lovecraftian story to leave you with some creepy philosophy to ponder over Christmas.

Artist Michael Bukowski's rendition of the
insect-philosopher of the fourth moon of Jupiter

Q2 Blog 2: The White Ship

The next short story in Lovecraft's Dream Cycle that I chose to read was “The White Ship.” I skipped “Beyond the Wall of Sleep” for now because it had a lame rating on Goodreads, which does not mean it is objectively bad, but I don't know if I would be able to write as interesting material on it as on this next one.

Recurring themes in “The White Ship” were "all that glitters is not gold", and “the grass is always greener." The narrator, Basil Elton, departs his life as a watcher in a lighthouse, a job passed down by his father and grandfather, on the mysterious White Ship captained by a bearded man. As he sails into the mysterious South, he passes many islands: Zar, the land of dreams and thoughts of beauty; Thalarion, City of a Thousand Wonders, land of all unfathomable mysteries; and Xura, Land of Pleasures Unattained. Basil yearned to land on each of these islands, desiring their beauty and pleasing sights, as anything more than sitting in a lighthouse all day looked extremely desirable. However, each time the bearded man refused. Soon after, Basil realized that their beauty was a disguise, their flowery scents turning to rotting stenches, and their beautiful white roads being realized as the chalky remains of the fools who disembarked there, turned insane. They finally landed on Sona-Nyl, Land of Fancy, a land without suffering, death, time, or space, and with unparalleled beauty and grandeur. Basil soon yearned for adventure, and departed on the White Ship for the unknown land of Cathuria, “which no man hath seen.” Basil is leaving this utopia for some unknown land, which seems like a stupid decision, but symbolizes humanity's tendency to take things for granted and yearn for that which we do not have. An important quotation is when he is on the ship, fantasizing about this new utopia:

Cathuria … is the abode of Gods and the land of unnumbered cities of gold. Its forests are of aloe and sandalwood …. On the green and flowery mountains … stand temples of pink marbles, rich with carven and painted glories …. the cities of Cathuria are cinctured with golden walls …. And the houses of the cities of Cathuria are all palaces.

These are just a few excerpts from a long monologue in which Basil completely assumes that this place is a utopia somehow even more perfect than the one he had, despite no one having ever seen it. In fact, he has nothing to gain, and everything to lose, as the waters past the "basalt pillars of the West" are uncharted and perilous. He is literally risking everything for greener grass. Again, I don't want to spoil anything because it's a really good short story, but Cathuria's obviously not going to be everything it's cracked up to be. And of course, expect a typical Lovecraftian plot twist to leave you thinking.
I really enjoyed this story because I think I actually understood its themes (unless I'm just putting words in his mouth), and I think he presented them in a really neat way. The extreme way Basil committed to the themes completely made the consequences stand out more, with help from Lovecraft's weird, dark language. I did find it difficult to identify with Basil's particular situation, despite Lovecraft's use of absorbing imagery. However, I was able to identify with the general theme of taking things for granted and the beauty of the unattainable.

An artist's rendition of the "bird of heaven" guiding the White Ship.

Q2 Blog 1: Polaris

For my first journal, I read the short story Polaris by H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft's work falls into the genres of Gothic fiction, dark fantasy, and weird fiction, as it includes elements of science fiction, horror, and the supernatural. Polaris is the first short story in Lovecraft's “Dream Cycle,” a series of stories set in the “Dreamlands,” in which the narrator witnesses surreal, nightmarish landscapes and creatures. I decided to read more of Lovecraft because I read his “Call of Cthulhu,” and enjoyed its blend of science fiction and vivid supernatural imagery. His style of language makes every sentence chock full of dark vocabulary that feeds a graphic of a vast, infernal universe into the reader's imagination. Some bonus Lovecraftian humor

Polaris, although short, is filled with intense details, landscapes, and characters. The story begins with the narrator, currently unnamed, sitting in his house and watching the stars shine above the swamp. He then describes a vision of a strange, alien city, illuminated by the “demon light.” He gets increasingly more involved with these otherworldly beings lives and cultures, until he begins to lose his perception of reality. It is fascinating to witness the narrator's progression and increasing interest and assimilation into the creature's culture, until he begins to refer to the city's residents as “we.” Lovecraft alludes to many stars and constellations throughout the story, some of which I had to look up: Polaris (North Star), Arcturus, Charles' Wain (Big Dipper), Cassiopeia, Coma Berenices, and Aldebaran. He anthropomorphizes them, like in the lines, “Charles' Wain lumbers up,” “Arcturus winks ruddily,” and “the red Aldebaran had crawled more than half-way around the horizon.” This personification, in my mind at least, serves to present them more as deities of sorts than as stars. Polaris, in particular, seems to be personified a great deal and communicates with the narrator in a way that a spirit or deity might. It whispers a verse to him, grins at him, and taunts him. It is also the star that connects the dreamworld and reality, as emphasized by the repetition of Polaris' descriptions and actions throughout the story. I really enjoyed the twist at the end, and it took me a bit for my mind to register what just happened. I don't want to spoil it for whoever's reading this, as it is a really good and quick story that everyone should give a chance. When I first read a part near the end, I was confused, but then I began to make connections until the realization hit me. I think this is a good start to a series, as it established the basis of what the Dreamlands are and really packed in interesting lore, despite the story's brevity. It really made me think; about my dreams and reality, and how Lovecraft really knows how to write in the point of view of someone who is going insane.

Q1 Blog 4: Jaws

In the final quarter of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, a plot twist occurs, unless the reader thought about the situation leading up to it logically to infer what should happen (which this reader did not do). The boat is approached by several groups of sharks, attracted by the cloud of blood being trailed by the swordfish corpse that was tethered to the side of the skiff, as it was too large to fit on the boat. It seems like this should have been expected, as tying what is essentially a free meal for sharks onto the outside of a boat will probably look pretty appetizing to and therefore attract sharks. The sharks were fought off by the old man, but with each new shark he began to tire and run out of weapons. When he finally staved off the last shark with a broken tiller, they had taken their toll on the swordfish's corpse, which was now just a head and a skeleton. He reached the port of Havana from which he had departed several days prior, and headed back home, collapsing several times on the way and continually muttering that it was his fault for sailing out too far. "And what beat you, he thought. 'Nothing,' he said aloud. 'I went out too far.'" This quotation displays the old man's dejection and self-blaming. He also seems accepting of his failure to think soundly under the pressure of catching this one fish. In the end of the story,the old man returns home with nothing to show for it but a fish skeleton that soon washes back out to sea. Although some people are glad he has returned safely and are impressed by the immensity of the skeleton he brought back, I felt that too little changed from the beginning to the end and that it was a little disappointing. I expected an ending with more closure or more change, just because it seems like the old man gained nothing but the experience. Perhaps the lack of change is reminiscent of the fickle nature of the sea with her ebb and flow of waves that wash things onto the shore and quickly take them back. The ending also shows how life always goes on; fishermen will hook great catches, sharks will eat fish, and great trials will be endured, but life must continue. So the old man continues to his life after enduring this ordeal.

Q1 Blog 3: Frenemies

In the third quarter of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the old man finally vanquishes his foe and brother. An important quotation from this section was, "'The fish is my friend too,' he said aloud. 'I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him.'" This quotation, spoken aloud by the old man to himself, reflects the theme of duality because he refers to the fish as both his friend and his targeted victim. He is conflicted between viewing the majestic beast as a brother with whom he has spent the last few days, and viewing him as a trophy that must be attained through ending its life. Some other quotations soon after are, "There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity," and, "It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers." These quotations further display the old man's feelings that the fish is a great being, superior to humans in some aspects, and that it is very difficult to end the life of our brother animals. After much fighting by both parties, the man harpoons the fish and brings him alongside the skiff. In the struggle, the old man begins to feel faint from exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, and his wounds; however, he continues to push through the pain, knowing that he has to kill the fish, or it will beat him. As he sees the vibrant and beautiful colors fade from the scales of the swordfish, he tries to reassure himself that he did what had to be done. Having accomplished the task he had been working at for days, the old man finds everything to be somewhat surreal and dreamlike, as the fact that his eighty four day long dry spell has come to an end with the capture of a fifteen hundred pound fish seems incredible. I can relate to this because when I accomplish something grand that I have been working on for a long time, like a research paper or other project, it feels surreal because all I have known for the past couple of days has been this project. Suddenly being able to stop worrying about it seems so foreign in comparison, until something snaps me back to ensure this is reality, just like how the old man's wounds, aches, and trophy reassure the reality of his triumph.

Q1 Blog 2: Waiting

In the second quarter of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the old man finally gets a large fish to take the bait at around noontime. He attempts to pull it in, but noticing that the fish will not budge from its own course, he decides to wait until the fish tires and surfaces. During the night, the old man begins to pity the fish caught on his hook and remember another time he felt bad when he caught a female marlin as the male watched. This pity is demonstrated in the quotation "He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought," which serves the novel by humanizing the fish and showing how the old man's attitude toward it develops. Throughout the rest of the quarter, he just waits for the fish to jump so that he can pull it onto the boat, but the fish continues to swim, dragging the old man and his skiff away from the port. This whole section does not seem to advance the plot very much, if at all. The old man does several not important things, like shifting the weight of the line and washing his hands, so nothing really affected the situation of the plot. The long, drawn out, monotonous wait instead serves to mirror and exemplify the old man's perseverance and steadfastness in a time of apparent hopelessness. Also, the vivid language used to describe the somewhat unimportant actions helps to put the reader in the place of the old man. Because of the imagery, the reader feels as if he or she is in the skiff with the old man, feeling each long hour that the fish swims beneath the water, out of reach of being caught. This emphasized the old man's pride and the theme of suffering and struggling. Eventually the fish does jump and the old man sees how big and majestic it is. He feels a slight pang of remorse in hooking it, but also strong determination that he would kill it. This became the old man's sole focus, as he puts killing this fish before his own health and well-being. This blind determination kind of surprised me, because as an experienced fisherman, he should know that having a sound mind and body is essential for survival and fishing. I feel like he should have fed himself, rested, and tended to his wounds more carefully than he did. However, his primary focus also made sense because of the way his mind is latching onto this one ray of hope after several months of nothing; in his mind, this is the only way for the old man to stay a true fisherman.

Q1 Blog 1: La Mar

After a bit of switching around after noticing I can't find the book I was originally reading, I settled on The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, because it was visible on my desk looked like a good read.

In the first quarter of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the story is established. The old man, who has gone eighty four days without catching any fish, sets out for the eighty fifth day after speaking with the boy, his former fishing partner who was forced by his father to quit after the old man's unlucky streak. The character of the old man is very wise, optimistic, and experienced. He seems to know that good things don't always come to the skilled and experienced. Sometimes things just require luck and patience for things to start going one's way. The boy has a very close relationship with the old man, as he trained the boy on his fishing ship since he was five. I thought it was interesting how the story has no divisions or chapters; it's all uninterrupted paragraphs. It makes it a little difficult to read because there are no spots to take a break and think over what just happened. However, the structure seems the reflect the monotony of the eight four day bad luck streak and the long trip to finally catch a fish. Near the end of the first quarter of the story, the old man spots a Portuguese man of war jellyfish. He admires the "iridescent bubbles" but curses their double nature, calling the one he sees a "whore."  They are "the falsest things in the sea," as their beauty is contrasted by their deadly tentacles, and he enjoys watching them being eating by the sea turtles. The fact that he uses a female term to describe it parallels the custom of uses the feminine term "la mar" to refer to the sea as a female. Both the sea and the jellyfish have great beauty and terrible danger hidden within them, just how some considered females at the time. This theme of duality seems to be present throughout the book so far. A quotation from this section about la mar's duality was, "But the old man always thought of her [the sea] as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought." This is important to the book as a whole because it describes the duality and capriciousness of the sea. The quarter ends with a tug on one of the fishing lines, possibly marking the end of the old man's eighty four days without fish.

cool post #1

Welcome to my blog! As you can see, it's pretty cool. So here I'll post journals and stuff about the book I am currently reading, as shown in the sidebar on the right. I'll probably move stuff around pretty frequently because I am indecisive. So enjoy reading I guess?

Lay thine eyes vpon this book.