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
This dramatic realization not only startles the reader, but also "evokes emotional responses that are not fully explained by critical exegesis" (Nielson 1509), due to the seemingly trivial and yet profound plot idea. However, Erich never lets him look out it. Baldwin 6One of Lovecraft's longest lasting achievements and a most vivid example of cosmic imagery is the "Cthulhu Mythos. Munoz' only friend, he had no one to turn to for support and was forced to live with his phobia. In the "Call of Cthulhu," Lovecraft uses his normal narrative tone, except approaches it a different way. Since "Lovecraft's protagonists are devastated by the implications of their discovery that humankind, far from being the undisputed lords of Earth, must accept a most transitory role in the planet's newly understood history," (Burleson 855) his readers also grasp this emotion. Fascinated by the music from the window, the main character peers out it and is dumbfounded upon seeing open outer space instead of cliff walls. The oddest thing was that he kept his room very cold. The mysteriousness of Erich is classic with other Lovecraft characters. He uses an "indirect, quasi-journalistic approach" (Nielson 1510) so as to mix his first person narrative style with journals and news articles to create a genuine, nonfiction style story about an ancient cult, mysterious murders, sex crimes, and the discovery of a giant monster. In the climax, the descriptions are so intense that the reader feels the urgency of the narrator. Now the reader has become aware that this character that gained sympathetic feelings was no human at all, but instead a monster or zombie of some sort. Munoz' apartment kept getting cooler until it was below freezing. This "Cthulhu Mythos" is said to be Lovecraft's "central vision" (Nielson 1509) and is found in many of his stories but is most vividly seen in its title work, "The Call of Cthulhu.
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Acceptance Essays
