The Call Of Cthulhu, By Nathaniel Hawthorne - 1472 Words

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, â€Å"The Birth-mark,† and H.P. Lovecraft’s horror story, â€Å"The Call of Cthulhu,† there are both similarities in themes and style, however, their characterization and narration is entirely different. This lends itself to creating two different short stories, both can be classified as horror or suspenseful. Hawthorne’s story, published earlier, shares a similar theme of humanity and union with â€Å"The Call of Cthulhu.† The documentary style of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story contrasts with the less personal feel of â€Å"The Birth-mark.† Finally, the characterization of both the birthmark and Cthulhu create the stories and give them purpose and meaning, while acting as heavy symbols for the purpose of extending and†¦show more content†¦Georgianna herself is a symbol of unity, as she marries both â€Å"mortal and magic, hideous and beautiful, stained and pure† (Napier 1) . Cthulhu manages to marry people together, those who are incredibly bright and creative, to insanity as they attempt to discover his origins. This unity is crucial to the story of â€Å"The Birth-mark† as it shows everything Aylmer hates is interconnected with the purity of humanity. Every negative part of the world is in turn beauty which allows us to appreciate God’s beauty more clearly. The narrator in H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, Francis Wayland Thurston, shows us how terrifying it is to slowly lose your mind. As he digs deeper and deeper into the world of Cthulhu, he begins to experience nightmares along with several other artists. This phenomenon is incredibly unsettling as Lovecraft writes from a first person point of view. â€Å"Lovecraft’s characters cannot find solace†¦since the horror they face is an index of the meaninglessness of the human condition† (Ralickas 298). Lovecraft wrote his book from a documentary standpoint w ith the narrator describing what he did as he did it, â€Å"My knowledge of the thing began in the winter of 1926-27 with the death of my great-uncle, George Gammell Angell† (Lovecraft 2). This is very different from Hawthorne’s story where it reads like a story being retold, â€Å"In the latter part of the last century there livedShow MoreRelatedThe Call Of Cthulhu, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1388 Words   |  6 PagesIn Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, â€Å"The Birth-mark,† and H.P. Lovecraft’s horror story, â€Å"The Call of Cthulhu,† there are both similarities in themes and style, however, their characterization and narration is entirely different. This lends itself to creating two different short stories, both can be classified as horror or suspenseful. Hawthorne’s story, published earlier, shares a similar theme of humanity and union with â€Å"The Call of Cthulhu.† The documentary style of H.P. Lovecraft’s sh ort