Edgar Allan Poe

Name: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym — Chapter 9
Author: Edgar Allan Poe

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

Summary

“The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym — Chapter 9”, published in 1838, is a work by Edgar Allan Poe. It explores elements such as windlass, lashings and rope.

Quotes from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (Edgar Allan Poe)

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ The brig was a mere log, rolling about at the mercy of every wave; the gale was upon the increase, if any thing, blowing indeed a complete hurricane, and there appeared to us no earthly prospect of deliverance. For several hours we held on in silence, expecting every moment that our lashings would either give way, that the remains of the windlass would go by the board, or that some of the huge seas, which roared in every direction around us and above us, would drive the hulk so far beneath the water that we should be drowned before it could regain the surface. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ Luckily, just before night, all four of us had lashed ourselves firmly to the fragments of the windlass, lying in this manner as flat upon the deck as possible. This precaution alone saved us from destruction. As it was, we were all more or less stunned by the immense weight of water which tumbled upon us, and which did not roll from above us until we were nearly exhausted. As soon as I could recover breath, I called aloud to my companions. Augustus alone replied, saying: "It is all over with us, and may God have mercy upon our souls!" ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ At intervals we called one to the other, thus endeavouring to keep alive hope, and render consolation and encouragement to such of us as stood most in need of it. The feeble condition of Augustus made him an object of solicitude with us all; and as, from the lacerated condition of his right arm, it must have been impossible for him to secure his lashings with any degree of firmness, we were in momentary expectation of finding that he had gone overboard—yet to render him aid was a thing altogether out of the question. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ Augustus gave no indication of life whatever, and was bent nearly double across a splinter of the windlass. Parker spoke to me when he saw me moving, and asked me if I had not sufficient strength to release him from his situation, saying that if I would summon up what spirits I could, and contrive to untie him, we might yet save our lives; but that otherwise we must all perish. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ As the brig was completely full of water, we went to this work despondently, and with but little expectation of being able to obtain anything. We made a kind of drag by driving some nails which we broke out from the remains of the companion-hatch into two pieces of wood. Tying these across each other, and fastening them to the end of a rope, we threw them into the cabin, and dragged them to and fro, in the faint hope of being thus able to entangle some article which might be of use to us for food, or which might at least render us assistance in getting it. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ We now tried the forecastle, but equally in vain, and were upon the brink of despair, when Peters proposed that we should fasten a rope to his body, and let him make an attempt to get up something by diving into the cabin. This proposition we hailed with all the delight which reviving hope could inspire. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ Thus, I never fancied any stationary object, such as a house, a mountain, or any thing of that kind; but windmills, ships, large birds, balloons, people on horseback, carriages driving furiously, and similar moving objects, presented themselves in endless succession. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (1838)

“ By-and-by both the others were enabled to speak, when they exhorted us to take courage, as there was still hope; it being impossible, from the nature of the cargo, that the brig could go down, and there being every chance that the gale would blow over by the morning. These words inspired me with new life; for, strange as it may seem, although it was obvious that a vessel with a cargo of empty oil-casks would not sink, I had been hitherto so confused in mind as to have overlooked this consideration altogether ”

Edgar Allan Poe

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Quotes from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym… (Edgar Allan Poe)

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