"I cast my eyes wildly and languidly around. The darkness was no less intense than in the pit below, and yet two objects were distinctly seen.
They resembled a fixed and obscure flame. They were motionless. Though lustrous themselves they created no illumination around them. This circumstance, added to others, which reminded me of similar objects, noted on former occasions, immediately explained the nature of what I beheld. These were the eyes of a panther." pg 158-59
-Here is where Edgar wakes up, after having sleepwalked into a cave and fallen into a pit. He is completely unaware of his surroundings, until escaping from the cave only assumes he knows where he is, and as he is trying to escape from this mystery he encounters a panther.-
Before having read the blog assignment, I paused at this particular description. I thought how much more intense this picture was knowing absolutely nothing about the surroundings, other then the probability of being in a dark cave. Imaging seeing two pairs of eyes in a pitch black setting and nothing else. This situation is all about the mind and how it can work against you. The scene is set up to be pitch black. If you guys are as me, and like to picture being in the setting as your reading, then its easy to get the overwhelming sensation of fear combined with curiosity. What we know is that the Edgar has assumed he's fallen into a pit in a cave. It is pitch black, he is unaware of his surroundings, how he got there and what time of day it currently is, and also he has a tom-hawk that he is unaware of why or how it is there. Then suddenly, out of the complete darkness he encounters nothing but two eyes.
This scene would have had a completely different effect had the setting been more finely depicted. Cave or no cave, I believe it is the absence of light that provides the lingering fear. Not knowing the surroundings, where and why Edgar is there adds more suspense to this scene. Without the suspense, the fear is not the same. I won't say the fear wouldn't be there at all, because lets face it, encountering a panther whether or not you are aware of your surroundings would be rather frightening. But had another author been more descriptive of the scene, the affect would have been entirely different. It is in not knowing that creates the suspense, that adds to the fear of encountering the panther.
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Good job, Meredith!
ReplyDelete"This situation is all about the mind and how it can work against you." I love this statement you made here. Darkness is not necessarily all that scary, but the unknown that can hide in the darkness is and of course our imaginations can certainly get the best of us. Very nice.
ReplyDelete"Cave or no cave, I believe it is the absence of light that provides the lingering fear."
ReplyDeleteI thought that in this book, it was more about what the author did not include. We have to fill in the gaps with our own speculations. It was the "absence of light that provides the lingering fear." We fear the unknown. His lack of a directional cues or details that illuminate what could happen to Huntly allows us to think the worst. Nice Post.