Who Is The Hero In The Narrative Of Arthur Gordon Pym Of Nantucket

In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket”, Pym’s character is defined by his need for respect as a hero in a time where he clearly isn’t. The novel is written as if it were diary entries of an average 19th-century voyager. Pym is a narcissist, hence why the book is from his perspective, who seems to need validation that he is a man of honor. He admires his made-up friend Augustus, a real hero, who goes with him on a drunken expedition using the Ariel. Pym’s first heroic quest goes awry when he finds the son of a captain asleep at the wheel. Using his skills and might, he retells the story of how great he is. What makes this story special is that there are very few moments where Pym is not the center of attention.

Pym seems to have a slight obsession over boats and birds throughout his stories, thematically linking himself to them with an understanding of their common need for exploration. An example of this is when Pym goes into great detail about the albatross on an island: “The albatross is one of the largest and fiercest of the South Sea birds. It is of the gull species, and takes its prey on the wing, never coming on land except for the purpose of breeding,” (Poe 113). Pym relates to the albatross-- being the best and never being on land. Like any good traveler, he does not like to be on land for long, especially because no one likes a story on land. Many of the best stories were written at sea, and after having a few other voyages under his belt, he feels comparable to a great albatross. Pym never lets the spotlight be on any other character for more than a small portion of his texts, but instead allows the spotlight to be on the albatross for more than a few pages. Interestingly, this happens in a different section of the narrative as well: when Pym describes the voyage he takes on the Grampus. Instead of focusing on himself, he speaks at length about the voyage on the Grampus, regularly sharing a detailed account of coordinates and processes taken by himself and the crew-- both of which are incorrectly relayed (Poe 40). Pym takes the time to describe these details to strongly

. Pym begins to invade with the rest of his crew; he goes from drunkenly stumbling into adventure to tactically seeking out more than what he originally asked for. He persistently describes the “loose earth” that he is stepping on (Poe 148). This is referring to the muddy or dirty land of the island. Pym thinks that the native people are living like savages, and the loose earths is both an allusion to the “dirtiness” Pym sees when interacting with the native islanders, but also the loose foundation on which Pym stands due to being surrounded by people of color he is clearly uncomfortable around. He continues, “The blackness of darkness which envelops the victim, the terrific oppression of lungs, the stifling fumes from the damp earth, unite with the ghastly considerations that we are beyond the remotest confines of hope, and that such allotted portion of the dead…” (Poe 148). He takes this to be his opportunity to slander the ones who are there before him. As a narcissist, this gives him room to shine in a “bring others down to rise to the top”