The Overwhelming Power of Nature. The Relationship between Human and Nature in "A Descent into the Maelstrom"

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Mannheim (Anglistisches Seminar), course: PS Literary Studies: American Dark Romanticism, language: English, abstract: The goal of this paper is to outline that the old sailor in A Descent into the Maelstrom realizes on the brink of the abyss how powerful and magnificent nature really is and that he has to define a new relationship to nature, God and rationality if he wants to survive.

The short story can be assigned to the genre American Dark Romanticism. Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Hermann Melville are the three main writers of the genre. Topics of American Dark Romanticism are Emotions, Anti-Enlightement, Subjectivity, the Supernatural and Nature. A Descent into the Maelstrom is one of two sea tales by Poe besides Ms. Found in the Bottle (Kent Ljungquist ¿Sublime¿). The second chapter deals with the two sides of nature: On the one hand the horror of nature and on the other hand nature as sublime and magnificent. The third chapter will examine the importance of science in A Descent into the Maelstrom. Chapter four will analyse and interpret the survival of the sailor and the last chapter will deal with Poe¿s thoughts on God and nature.

A Descent into the Maelstrom is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The short story was first published in April 1841 in Graham¿s Magazine which was edited by Egar Allan Poe. The opening quotation shows three different perspectives on nature that the short story provides: Awe because of the power and greatness, horror because of the dangers and admiration because of the magnificence and sublime of nature. All three sides of nature will occur in A Descent into the Maelstrom and we have to learn how to deal with it.

Nowadays many people argue that the modern human has lost his connection to nature. Politicians in talkshows and young people on the streets discuss how to stop the climate change. The ecological movement of the last 30 years tried to protect the environment. Many German highschool graduates spend time in nature in Australia, New Zealand or in the United States after their graduation. The Corona-Crisis shows us how weak and powerless we are even if the latest technology seems to give us power. Apart from talkshows and documentaries, literature offers us a free space that allows us to think about the subject nature in a different way. A Descent into the Maelstrom is a short story that provides us with new trains of thoughts about and helps us to create new ideas about us, nature and our relationship.