The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket · Chapter
Chapter XI explained
The survivors, ravaged by starvation and thirst, struggle to find food and water aboard the drifting hulk.
What happens
The survivors, ravaged by starvation and thirst, struggle to find food and water aboard the drifting hulk. After failed attempts to retrieve supplies from the cabin, they discover a bottle of port wine, which provides temporary relief but also induces delirium. Pym continues to dive for provisions, finding only a leather trunk containing razors and shirts. His companions, in their desperation, drink the remaining wine behind his back, leading to intoxication and further deterioration.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Moral Decay
The crew's desperate attempts to find food and water, including chewing leather and drinking seawater, highlight the erosion of civilized behavior under extreme duress.
Deception and Unreliable Narration
Pym questions whether his own perceptions are as distorted as his companions', acknowledging the possibility that he too may be guilty of 'extravagances and imbecilities.'
Characters to notice
- Arthur Gordon Pym
Narrator and central figure; maintains relative clarity of mind and continues diving for supplies despite exhaustion.
- Augustus Barnard
Weakened and delirious; weeps after drinking wine and later asks Pym for a pocket-comb, believing his hair is full of fish-scales.
- Dirk Peters
Emaciated and mentally impaired; repeatedly asks about Nantucket and attempts to chew leather for sustenance.
- Richard Parker
Slightly more coherent than the others; initially mistakes a cloud for land and later volunteers to dive, though unsuccessfully.
Key passages
“I now found myself, as it were, alone in the brig, and my reflections, to be sure, were of the most fearful and gloomy nature.”
Pym felt utterly isolated on the brig, his thoughts consumed by dread and despair.
Highlights Pym's psychological isolation and the hopelessness of their situation.
“The gnawing hunger which I now experienced was nearly insupportable, and I felt myself capable of going to any lengths in order to appease it.”
Pym's hunger was so unbearable that he considered extreme actions to satisfy it.
Foreshadows the moral compromises the crew will later make for survival.
“I never saw before, nor wish to see again, human beings so utterly emaciated as Peters and Augustus.”
Pym was horrified by the skeletal appearance of his companions, a sight he never wanted to witness again.
Emphasizes the physical toll of starvation on the crew.