The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

Compare and contrast Pym with one of Poe’s short stories. How are the two texts similar, and how are they different? Why are the similarities and differences significant?

Many critics claim that the novel’s representation of time does not make sense, arguing that the text’s chronology is either too compressed or too drawn out to be realistic. Examine places where the novel explicitly discusses or depicts time, and analyze the role time plays in the broader context of the story.

How does the inclusion of an introductory note and an end note—both of which respond directly to and build upon events in the narrative—shape your interpretation and expectations of the text?

Analyze the role of the supernatural in the novel. Do you think these supernatural events occurred? Or do you think events that appeared supernatural were the result of Pym misunderstanding what he was seeing? How do these events, whether supernatural or not, affect the rest of the narrative? Use evidence from the text to defend your argument.

Poe received quite a bit of criticism for incorporating passages from other texts in Pym. For example, the lengthy quoted passage about sea cucumbers in Chapter 20 is taken directly from a scientific study of South Pacific history. Write an essay in which you examine the insertion of other texts within the novel. Why do you think Poe chose to do this? Is it an effective technique, and does it affect the integrity of the text? How does it change your reading of the larger narrative?

Explore the role of friendship in the novel. What literary and stylistic devices does the text use when depicting emotional relationships between various characters?

Animals are significant throughout the text, whether as companions, food, or symbolic representations of ideas or behaviors. Choose one animal or species of animal that seems especially important, and analyze its role.

Write an imaginative essay in which you depict what happens to Pym and Peters after they see the shrouded figure at the end of the novel. How do they escape and return to America? How does Pym die, and what happens to his lost chapters? What is Peters doing in Illinois, and why is the novel’s editor unable to meet with him?