Customer Reviews

Descent into the Maelstrom (Cassette)

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"A Descent Into The Maelstrom", by Edgar Allan Poe, is the story of a man's struggle with the sea. The narrator of the story is recounting the tale, as the guide told it to him. The guide has led the narrator to the edge of a steep cliff so that he can view for himself the jagged rocks and crashing surf below him. As they watch, the swirling waves begin to form into a whirlpool where everything is sucked into its core. The guide proceeds to tell how, three years earlier, he and his brothers faced a life and death battle to escape the maelstrom. I wanted to read this story because I like reading about the sea and have also always loved reading Poe's works. I believe that younger children would have difficulty understanding it, but teens and adults would enjoy the suspense of this conflict between man and nature.

In my opinion, the imagery of the setting was so vivid it made me want to go see this place for myself: "...this "little cliff" arose, a sheer unobstructed precipice of black shining rock, some fifteen or sixteen hundred feet from the world of crags beneath us" and "...To the right and left, as far as the eye could reach, there lay outstretched, like ramparts of the world, lines of horridly black and beetling cliff, whose character of gloom was but the more forcibly illustrated by the surf which reared high up against it its white and ghastly crest, howling and shrieking for ever." By these quotes, the reader can almost feel the mesmerizing effect of the ocean as it pulls its victims to its black depths. Another reason why I liked this particular story is because it developed the old man's character very well for such a short narrative. The guide must be very brave and perhaps a little reckless to take his boat out where no other fisherman would go near. The fact that he does not blame his brother for what he does proves his moral character and love for his siblings. The old man also states that he is broken in body and spirit, but proves that he is not completely broken by the carefree way he sits on the edge of the cliff.

Overall, I thought this was one of Poe's best stories. Even though you know that the guide survived, you still are intrigued to find out how he escaped against such unbelievable odds. If you enjoy reading vivid tales of struggles between man and nature, stories that build the suspense until the very end, or just love Edgar Allan Poe's stories in general then I would highly recommend "A Descent Into The Maelstrom".

Sea storm spinning around survival.


3.5 out of 5 stars