The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym: And the Abyss of Interpretation

Kennedy, J. Gerald

ISBN 10: 080574455X / ISBN 13: 9780805744552

Published by Twayne Publishers, Inc., New York City, NY, 1994

About this Item

Book is a clean tight unmarked copy.

Seller Inventory # 017279

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym: And the Abyss of Interpretation
• Publisher: Twayne Publishers, Inc., New York City, NY
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080574455X
• ISBN 13: 9780805744552
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Priinting
• Condition: Almost Like New
• Dust Jacket Condition: As New
• Seller catalogs:
  • American Literature Studies
  • Twayne's Author Series and Masterworks Studies

About this title

Synopsis

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym is Edgar Allan Poe's only novel; indeed, Poe likely wrote it because he was unable to interest his publisher in a collection of his stories at that time (1836). Poe himself dismissed the novel shortly after its publication as "a very silly work," and Pym enjoyed minimal commercial success. After the novel's inclusion in a collection of Poe's works in the 1850s, however, it exercised considerable influence on or was recognized by such writers as Jules Verne (who wrote a sequel), Arthur Rimbaud, Henry James, and W. H. Auden. Further, certain elements of Pym prefigure Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.
In this new study of Pym J. Gerald Kennedy considers the novel in light of the political turbulence and racial unrest prevalent at the time of its publication while examining the divide in criticism between those who see the voyage as a meaningful journey toward illumination and those who see it as an ironic commentary on human self-deception. A skillful and thorough analysis of both Pym and the myriad studies of the work, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and the Abyss of Interpretation will prove a significant addition to the literature on Poe and his works at both the high school and college levels.

About the Author

J. Gerald Kennedy has been a member of the English department at Louisiana State University and has frequently served as director of the LSU in Paris summer program.