Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Chapter VII.

Just when it looks like this text becomes a traditional narrative, Poe throws something else in. Pym goes into disguise once more, this time as the dead seaman Rogers.

The interesting thing about this passage is the plot that the anti-mutineers have to use in order to retake the ship. Brute force won't work because they are outnumbered, but deception will. Because the mate has poisoned Rogers and feels guilty about it, he is vulnerable to having his conscience used against him by Pym, Augustus and Peters. It's as if Poe is saying that a brute-force narrative will not work so well as a narrative that finds the reader's vulnerabilities.

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