In the story, “The Premature
Burial” by Edgar Allan Poe, shows insight into what the narrator is infatuated
with due to his near death experiences and his medical condition, catalepsy.
Speaking of these premature burials and trying to understand what was the
feeling these unfortunate souls endured because they were presumed dead is
horrifying. These incidents must have
been a serious issue in the medical field in the 1800’s. The narrator became so
fixated into being prepared if he was ever buried alive in his family tomb that
he went to the extremes to make sure he would be able to open the vault doors
from the inside. Imagine having to live in constant fear of being buried alive
is no way of living at all especially for the narrator and his medical
condition. He makes sure that his loved ones know of his condition and all that
they must do. One of the quotes from the
story that stayed with me was “There are moments when, even to the sober eye of
Reason, the world of our sad Humanity may assume the semblance of a hell”. What
do you all think the narrator was speaking of in this quote? 
The author of “The Monkey’s Paw”
W.W. Jacobs, did a good job in keeping me intrigued about what would happen
next every time I turned the pages of the story. This would be a typical
feature in a horror film, a magical monkey paw that came make all your wishes
come true, but with consequences of course. The family should have listened to
the Sergeant about his warnings and they would have not been in the predicament
that they were in towards the end. It is how the saying goes for curious
people, “curiosity kills”, and indeed in the story, it did kill someone and it
was tragic. It seems that towards the end I am assuming the father wished his
son dead again since the mother opens the door and no one was there, or did I assume
wrong?
I couldn't imagine living in the 1800's and knowing that they had to put bells on top of coffins just in case. I think catalepsy affected many lives because they weren't even alive. Could you even imagine waking up and just seeing darkness? I couldn't even picture it. If I did live in the 1800's I would of also got prepared like the narrator did. It happened so often that I would do the same process like put water, food , and an air vent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alexandre, if I was prone to trance like episodes that could be triggered at random times or by random things I wouldn't be able to shake the fear of being buried alive. The narrator was over cautious but isn't it better to be safe than sorry? haha His ideas or steps taken to prevent the horrifying reality of being buried alive were well thought out and I have to applaud him.
ReplyDeleteYou assumed correctly about Mr. White wishing his son back dead or away. I absolutely love the story "The Monkey's Paw." I wished they would've heeded the their warning; but if they listened, there wouldn't have been a story, right? IN the "Premature Burial" the only reason it freaks me out is because to be alive and know no one is going to save and you're just going to suffocate to death is probably the most horrid feeling ever.
ReplyDeleteYou assumed correctly about Mr. White wishing his son back dead or away. I absolutely love the story "The Monkey's Paw." I wished they would've heeded the their warning; but if they listened, there wouldn't have been a story, right? IN the "Premature Burial" the only reason it freaks me out is because to be alive and know no one is going to save and you're just going to suffocate to death is probably the most horrid feeling ever.
ReplyDelete