The name of this short story was interesting for me when the professor was assigning the readings for the blogging. And this name has a meaning that I liked. The story of H.P Lovecraft narrates the story of a nameless protagonist that lives in a very peculiar castle. This castle is old and surrounded by giant trees which block the sunlight. Inside the castle, it is extremely dark and it has a smell of corpses of dead generations. Regarding the identity of the protagonist, the origin or the place of birth is unknown. The only thing that can be infered is that the protagonist is young considering his/her so little memories. From my perspective, our nameless person is unhappy in the castle, and s/he tries to escape from the loneliness by dreaming of joining the revels of his/her books ( which are the only source of knowledge that s/he has ever had. In addition, the protagonist has tried to escape from the castle; however, the forest is so dense that the fear of being lost in the darkness pulled him back to the castle. Instead of escaping, s/he decided to climb the tower of the castle above the trees. The interesting part begins when the protagonist discovers that s/he had lived in a subterranean world. The desire for light guided him/her to a castle in a wooded park. When s/he entered the castle, a ball was in progress. Everyone in the room screamed and flee leaving him alone and confused of what had happened. But when the protagonist realized about a figure in a golden-arch doorway, s/he approached and screamed because the figure was a leering corpse with a disintegrating appearance. Instead of retreating from the room, the protagonist lost the balance and his hand touched the monster's paw. In that moment, s/he realized that the light was not for him and decided to return to the place where he was. The protagonist understood that he was always an outsider. For me, the end of the story can be qualified as mind-blowing. I never thought that the monster the protagonist describes was his/her own appearance. The end also clarifies the place in which the protagonist was. It was in the catacombs, and the whole journey of going to the tower of the castle symbolizes the return from afterlife to the living world. Regarding the name "The Outsider", I feel identified with the title and the situation of the protagonist. I think that at some point in our lives, we feel like we do not fit in the reality that we are living. And instead of going outside, we tend stay in our own castles because we are afraid of what the outside might be for us. I think I respect the protagonist for taking that decision.
I agree with Yan Carlos’ opinion. The fact that he recognized the symbolism of the return from afterlife is quite interesting; I never suspect it! In my opinion, this is an extremely sad story in which the protagonist is condemned to solitude. At some point in the story, Lovecraft mentions that the monster knows that the light is not for him/ her. Also, the idea of reaching light for the first time make me think about this creature as a lonely and unloved being. In addition, I find intriguing the idea that he/she cannot listen to the rats, bats, and spiders. The monster affirms that the wings of the bats made no noise. This catches my attention; I am not sure why this occurs. Is it part of his/her world?
What Diana says about vermins surrounding the place or world in which that creature lives is interesting to me. Now, I think that somehow the autor points out that our reflexion is that of a vermin, repulsive and disgusting, if we do not take care about our appereance. Diana, I would say that that creature or monster cannot listen to the vermins, i.e bats, spiders, and rats, because those beings do not have identity by themselves; they are merely members of disgusting plages or, one of many. They become objects rather than living beings.
I also think that the story is very sad. We as readers, never know if the protagonist knew what s/he was, maybe s/he had an idea of it, but at the end, s/he could not recognize him/herself. I also really liked it how Lovecraft describes every detail in the story, you can close your eyes, and picture the scenario.
I agree with Laura, I think this story is pretty sad and I feel pity for “the outsider” because she/he doesn’t have an idea what he/she is or where she/he comes from. In one part of the reading the Lovecraft mentions that he/she does not even know her/his voice. What I think is that he borned in that place for experimental purposes, and his/her creator was too scared of what she/he had created that he/she decided to leave him/her alone.
I believe that this story is very sad. At the beginning I believed that the protagonist was a vampire, based of all the descriptions about him; however, this theroy is not aproved because of the fact that the protagonist is able to see himself in the mirror, and vampires cannot do that.Hence, the protagonist may be a walkind dead, but he is very different to the traditional one because he has memories, feelings, and emotions. After reading the story, I decided to look for more information about the story, and I found that (many experts agree) the story is kind of the biography of Lovecraft becuase the author considers himself as a monster; something that is very sad, too. Finally, experts also say that this story has a strong influence of Poe's literature.
Since the beginning, I pictured an hermit because there are many clues. The protagonist does not care for who or what he/she is. He is more concerned about other material things than "himself". Consequently, the protagonist realizes about his appearance, which is mounstruos. There is a fear in society for looking ugly or not good for others; thus people do care about their appearance. This is because of an inner need for a sense of belonging and, sadly, the protagonist is rejected because of his wild, abandoned appearance. He did not care about his appearance until he is in contact with other memebers of the same specie: he becomes a social being.
I agree with you. it never cross my mind that he could be a zombie or mummy or such. I pictured him as someone that was isolated for X or Y reason. He remembers someone taking care of him when he was really little if I am not wrong and reading and all that. I thought he was someone that was abandon to his fate there in a unreachable place.
I think he is not per se a monster but he has left behind his humanity due to the lack of human contact and interaction... Just like Smeagol... but without a ring haha
I agree with Jennyfer's opinion about Poe influenced in a positive way this short story. First of all, we have the type of narrator: First person unreliable. This type of narrator is found on short stories like The Telling-tale Heart, Berenice, and Ligeia. Also, this story has similarities with William Wilson; for example, in the end when The Outsider looked in the mirror and he found out that he was a monster. He had a epiphany about who he was. In William Wilson, we have something similar. William Wilson knew that he killed himself when he saw the mirror at the end of the story. Poe had a significant influence on Lovecraft.
The name of this short story was interesting for me when the professor was assigning the readings for the blogging. And this name has a meaning that I liked. The story of H.P Lovecraft narrates the story of a nameless protagonist that lives in a very peculiar castle. This castle is old and surrounded by giant trees which block the sunlight. Inside the castle, it is extremely dark and it has a smell of corpses of dead generations. Regarding the identity of the protagonist, the origin or the place of birth is unknown. The only thing that can be infered is that the protagonist is young considering his/her so little memories. From my perspective, our nameless person is unhappy in the castle, and s/he tries to escape from the loneliness by dreaming of joining the revels of his/her books ( which are the only source of knowledge that s/he has ever had. In addition, the protagonist has tried to escape from the castle; however, the forest is so dense that the fear of being lost in the darkness pulled him back to the castle. Instead of escaping, s/he decided to climb the tower of the castle above the trees. The interesting part begins when the protagonist discovers that s/he had lived in a subterranean world. The desire for light guided him/her to a castle in a wooded park. When s/he entered the castle, a ball was in progress. Everyone in the room screamed and flee leaving him alone and confused of what had happened. But when the protagonist realized about a figure in a golden-arch doorway, s/he approached and screamed because the figure was a leering corpse with a disintegrating appearance. Instead of retreating from the room, the protagonist lost the balance and his hand touched the monster's paw. In that moment, s/he realized that the light was not for him and decided to return to the place where he was. The protagonist understood that he was always an outsider.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the end of the story can be qualified as mind-blowing. I never thought that the monster the protagonist describes was his/her own appearance. The end also clarifies the place in which the protagonist was. It was in the catacombs, and the whole journey of going to the tower of the castle symbolizes the return from afterlife to the living world. Regarding the name "The Outsider", I feel identified with the title and the situation of the protagonist. I think that at some point in our lives, we feel like we do not fit in the reality that we are living. And instead of going outside, we tend stay in our own castles because we are afraid of what the outside might be for us. I think I respect the protagonist for taking that decision.
I agree with Yan Carlos’ opinion. The fact that he recognized the symbolism of the return from afterlife is quite interesting; I never suspect it! In my opinion, this is an extremely sad story in which the protagonist is condemned to solitude. At some point in the story, Lovecraft mentions that the monster knows that the light is not for him/ her. Also, the idea of reaching light for the first time make me think about this creature as a lonely and unloved being. In addition, I find intriguing the idea that he/she cannot listen to the rats, bats, and spiders. The monster affirms that the wings of the bats made no noise. This catches my attention; I am not sure why this occurs. Is it part of his/her world?
ReplyDeleteWhat Diana says about vermins surrounding the place or world in which that creature lives is interesting to me. Now, I think that somehow the autor points out that our reflexion is that of a vermin, repulsive and disgusting, if we do not take care about our appereance. Diana, I would say that that creature or monster cannot listen to the vermins, i.e bats, spiders, and rats, because those beings do not have identity by themselves; they are merely members of disgusting plages or, one of many. They become objects rather than living beings.
DeleteI also think that the story is very sad. We as readers, never know if the protagonist knew what s/he was, maybe s/he had an idea of it, but at the end, s/he could not recognize him/herself. I also really liked it how Lovecraft describes every detail in the story, you can close your eyes, and picture the scenario.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Laura, I think this story is pretty sad and I feel pity for “the outsider” because she/he doesn’t have an idea what he/she is or where she/he comes from. In one part of the reading the Lovecraft mentions that he/she does not even know her/his voice. What I think is that he borned in that place for experimental purposes, and his/her creator was too scared of what she/he had created that he/she decided to leave him/her alone.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that this story is very sad. At the beginning I believed that the protagonist was a vampire, based of all the descriptions about him; however, this theroy is not aproved because of the fact that the protagonist is able to see himself in the mirror, and vampires cannot do that.Hence, the protagonist may be a walkind dead, but he is very different to the traditional one because he has memories, feelings, and emotions. After reading the story, I decided to look for more information about the story, and I found that (many experts agree) the story is kind of the biography of Lovecraft becuase the author considers himself as a monster; something that is very sad, too. Finally, experts also say that this story has a strong influence of Poe's literature.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSince the beginning, I pictured an hermit because there are many clues. The protagonist does not care for who or what he/she is. He is more concerned about other material things than "himself". Consequently, the protagonist realizes about his appearance, which is mounstruos. There is a fear in society for looking ugly or not good for others; thus people do care about their appearance. This is because of an inner need for a sense of belonging and, sadly, the protagonist is rejected because of his wild, abandoned appearance. He did not care about his appearance until he is in contact with other memebers of the same specie: he becomes a social being.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. it never cross my mind that he could be a zombie or mummy or such. I pictured him as someone that was isolated for X or Y reason. He remembers someone taking care of him when he was really little if I am not wrong and reading and all that. I thought he was someone that was abandon to his fate there in a unreachable place.
DeleteI think he is not per se a monster but he has left behind his humanity due to the lack of human contact and interaction... Just like Smeagol... but without a ring haha
I agree with Jennyfer's opinion about Poe influenced in a positive way this short story. First of all, we have the type of narrator: First person unreliable. This type of narrator is found on short stories like The Telling-tale Heart, Berenice, and Ligeia. Also, this story has similarities with William Wilson; for example, in the end when The Outsider looked in the mirror and he found out that he was a monster. He had a epiphany about who he was. In William Wilson, we have something similar. William Wilson knew that he killed himself when he saw the mirror at the end of the story. Poe had a significant influence on Lovecraft.
ReplyDelete