H. P. Lovecraft's Use of First Person Nameless Narration

A detailed Summary of H. P. Lovecraft's Use of First Person Nameless Narration

Howard Philips Lovecraft has had a profound influence over modern fiction. His supernatural stories have influenced writers ranging from Stephen King to Robert Bloch. Though in his life only one of his books was published and a few short stories were placed into pulp magazines, now all of his works are gathered into various collections. Some styles he uses come directly from Poe; however, Lovecraft was able to expand upon these. His exclusive use of first person nameless narration and supernatural occurrences allow Lovecraft to invoke a sense of dramatic awareness in the reader. That, along with his fictional religious series of the "Mythos," and his odd, almost trifling plot topics cause the reader to realize humanity's lack of supremacy and rationalization in abnormal situations.

Many of Lovecraft's stories use this first person narrative. His best known example is "The Outsider." Starting out, the reader only knows one thing about the narrator, that he lives unaccompanied in a castle in a jungle environment. It is then discovered that he has never seen the light of day or received any memorable human contact. This depressing lifestyle is set up to gain the reader's sympathy. Reading the story in this narration one puts himsel

and his partner performed a new treatment to revive him. After Dr. Munoz' recovery, his partner died. As the days progressed Dr. Munoz' apartment kept getting cooler until it was below freezing. One day his cooler broke down and the main character answered to his call. He said that he need all the ice he could find, but returning from one of the ice trips the main character saw the unimaginable. He noticed water puddles from the bathtub to the desk and then to the sofa, which was totally drenched. Dr. Munoz was gone. He read a letter on the desk that seemed to be written recently. It talked of the strange procedure done on him years ago and then finishes "for you see I died that time eighteen years ago" (Lovecraft 211). After these shocking events, the main character developed a phobia of cool air. After burning the letter and being Dr. Munoz' only friend, he had no one to turn to for support and was forced to live with his phobia. The shock of befriending a zombie catches the reader off guard. Since this story analyzes beliefs that the mind and body can live independently, Lovecraft shows of his own ideas of human ability and limitations. The limitations are seen is the narrators ability to cope with his discovery and the failure of Dr. Munoz' treatment. This cosmic imagery is shown off in "Cool Air" in that "[cosmic] imagery attempts to paint portraits of man's outer surroundings and tie it directly with the frame work of the work of which it is a part. The imagery can refer to actual physical surroundings or encompass the intangible recesses of imagination, personality, and other abstract concepts." (Bean 4) "Cool Air" deals with a very abstract concept of the living dead. Readers see how the man's lack of understanding in the situation lead to his phobia; however, it would be impossible to truly understand this situation, thusly the supernatural causes readers to see their own lack of superiority.

Not only do Lovecraft's characters become aware of their own triviality, but they are forced to accept this through abrupt instances in which they are not prepared. Very often they find themselves involved with a mysterious friend or situation in which they grow accustomed to. Eventually a moment of tremendous irrationality will provoke the narrator to become secluded, as they are unable to cope with what they have seen. This may be a direct cause of Lovecraft living alone after being traumatized by both of his parents going insane when he was growing up.

information about the cult suffer mysterious deaths. His uncle, the inspector, and the sailor all were killed or died mysteriously, like drowning or heart failure. This realization causes him to realize that his existence is minor in comparison with the superior "Great Old Ones." The famous quote "That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die," is a basic summary of the power of the "Great Old Ones." This quote also appears in the Metallica song 'The Thing That Should Not Be." The story is now the basis of a computer game, "The Call of Cthulhu," and influenced the Grammy award winning song "The Call of Ktulu," by Metallica. The story has influenced many other artists as well with its cosmic imagery, imaginative landscape descriptions, and the overall sensation of power that outside forces have on people.

f or herself in this lonely position and feels for the narrator. After an attempt to climb the tower walls to see the sun he

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Approximate Word count = 2319
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English