The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

In these chapters, Poe situates the narrative in its literary, historical, and geographical contexts. The Preface provides information about the narrative’s publication history, some of which is drawn from the actual publication of Pym, and some of which is intentionally fictionalized. This is the novel’s first engagement with meta-narration, or self-aware storytelling in which a text reflects on its own existence. This technique brings to the forefront questions of truth, fictionality, the ownership of knowledge, and the nature of readership. For example, the fictional narrative of Pym—written by Poe—is presented as if Pym were its author; Pym expresses concerns about authenticity and credibility with the reader, which Poe attempts to resolve by publishing Pym’s adventure as if it were fiction, which it is. At the same time, readers are insisting that the story is true.

These chapters also introduce two important characters, Arthur Gordon Pym and Augustus Barnard, and begin to develop their relationship. At this point, the novel includes many conventions of coming-of-age stories, particularly close friendships between young men and trials or obstacles that might lead to personal growth. Pym and Augustus are united in their love of the sea and their attraction to danger, and their mutual interest in risky ocean voyages leads them to feed off one another in an almost symbiotic way. However, they are also deeply and intensely supportive of one another; each is willing to risk his life to save the other if necessary.

The wreck of the Ariel sets the tone for much of the rest of the novel. Not only does it foreshadow the many disasters to come and cement Pym and Augustus’s bond, but it also specifically taps into the theme of the monstrous or grotesque, which will be important in the narrative. When the Penguin collides with the Ariel, what results is an unnatural, hybrid vessel. This prefigures both the Dutch ghost ship, which is referred to as a “hermaphrodite brig,” and Dirk Peters, the man to whom Pym frequently refers as “the hybrid.” In this sense, it is the first monstrous or terrifying entity in the novel.

A number of equally unnatural or inexplicable things happen after the departure of the Grampus. One such event is the appearance of Tiger in the ship’s hold; Augustus later tells Pym that he arranged for Tiger to board the ship before it left, but there is no explanation for where Tiger was hidden for the first several days Pym spent in the iron box. Moreover, the food Augustus leaves with Pym rots more quickly than it should, leaving him with no provisions. This echoes Poe’s larger obsession with decay and decomposition and the novel’s unstable relationship with time. Finally, the note Augustus sends to Pym via Tiger is initially blank. Only after multiple attempts to read it does Pym find a partial, nonsensical message. This raises questions about the veracity of written language, such as whether words can be trusted, thereby sustaining ideas raised by the meta-narration of the Preface.