Analysis of the Quest for Food in Edgar Allan Poe's 'Pym' Narrative

The essay delves into the theme of the quest for food and survival in Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.' It examines how the characters, including Pym, struggle to find sustenance, facing challenges like starvation and cannibalism. The essay discusses the significance of food in the context of the novel, exploring how the characters' desperation drives them to extreme measures. The author analyzes the impact of the food quest on the characters' physical and psychological states, including the effects of hunger and the loss of fellow passengers, and the symbolic implications of the race and the need to survive. The essay also references the works of multiple scholars, including Davis, Harvey, Kao, and Steensma to provide a comprehensive analysis of the quest for food and water in Poe's novel and the impact on the characters.

Running head: QUEST FOR FOOD IN POES’S PYM
Quest for Food in Poe’s Pym
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1QUEST FOR FOOD IN POES’S PYM
Introduction:
The novel “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket” has been the work of
Edgar Allen Poe where he has narrated the tale of Sir Arthur Gordon Pym, who faces several
adventures including shipwreck and who struggles to survive everyday with full of hope.
Discussion:
The quest of food has been very effectively depicted by Poe in this novel. Dirk Peter, a
white man on board searches for food in the same manner as Arthur Gordon Pym and succeeds
ion finding port wine. Davis discusses that they remain so hungry that they were almost on the
verge of dying without food. He finds that the other people on the ship are drunk and he thinks
that they would die due to famine. As a result of this, he begins to chew on leather, which he
finds quite hard to swallow. They remain without food for almost six days. According to Harvey,
however, finally when they reach the land, they get themselves into several expeditions and
finally they find wine, ham and olives. Their quest for food also helps them to find a huge
tortoise, which Pyn had been trying hard to not to reveal. However he lets the others know that
the tortoise has very nutritious and excellent meat and this makes them happy. Harvey also says
that however the next morning when they wake up, they find that two of their jars of olives have
been washed away as they find the presence of sharks. Losing two of their fellow passengers,
Pyn decides to live upon the seaweed cluster filled with crabs.
Kao discusses that Edgar Allen Poe through the depiction of the quest of water and food,
describes a horrific tale of death and terror and begins the novel by a scene where the seagull
feeds on the dead bodies of the sailors. Through this quest of food, the author aims to represent

2QUEST FOR FOOD IN POES’S PYM
the famous mythological instance of descending into Hell. The racial connotations also have
been enough prominent through the character of the black against the white but most importantly
the message that stands out is the dire need to survive in the sea, having nothing to consume, not
even water. According to Steensma, everything perishes and what remains is the story and the
experiences. With the vanishing of the olives and the ham, it had been much tougher for the
sailors to live and they sought to be cannibals in order to quench their own thirst and feed
themselves with the meat of the tortoise (Davis).
Conclusion:
Thus from the discussion of the description of the quest of food and water in Edgar Allen
Poe’s novel, it can be concluded that the author has provided an open ended story which tells us
not only about the race but the violent search and need to stay alive and survive.

3QUEST FOR FOOD IN POES’S PYM
Works cited
Davis, Roger. "Food for Thoughts: Thinking through Cannibals and Plagiarists." University of
Toronto Quarterly 87.1 (2018): 176-195.
Harvey, Ronald C. The Critical History of Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon
Pym: A Dialogue with Unreason. Routledge, 2015.
Kao, Justine Shu-Ting. "THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM OF NANTUCKET:
PSYCHOLOGICAL INTROSPECTION IN A MARITIME JOURNEY."
Steensma, Alyx. "Horror’s Effect on Identity in Life of Pi and Arthur Gordon Pym." Sanglap:
Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry 1.1 (2014): 44-61.