Enigmatic World of Cthulhu: Descriptions, Attraction, and Hyperobjects
Today: “The Call of Cthulhu”
•
What do we know about Cthulhu?
•
Descriptions & technique weird
•
People attracted to Cthulhu & abjection
•
Sense of vastness hyperobject
What do we know about Cthulhu? How do we
know it?
140-141
146
148
Bottom 154-155
158
163
165
167
168
How do these passages “point off the page” in a
Weird way? What feelings do these descriptions
produce in the reader?
“Without knowing what futurism is like, Johansen achieved something very close to it when he spoke of the city; for instead of describing
any definite structure or building, he dwells only on broad impressions of vast angles and stone surfaces—surfaces too great to belong to
any thing right or proper for this earth, and impious with horrible images and hieroglyphs. I mention his talk about
angles
because it
suggests something Wilcox had told me of his awful dreams. He had said that the
geometry
of the dream-place he saw was abnormal,
non-Euclidean, and loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours. Now an unlettered seaman felt the same thing
whilst gazing at the terrible reality” (165).
“It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly,
rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a
fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted evilly on a rectangular block or pedestal
covered with undecipherable characters. The tips of the wings touched the back edge of the block, the seat occupied the centre, whilst
the long, curved claws of the doubled-up, crouching hind legs gripped the front edge and extended a quarter of the way down toward
the bottom of the pedestal. The cephalopod head was bent forward, so that the ends of the facial feelers brushed the backs of huge fore
paws which clasped the croucher’s elevated knees” (148).
“The Thing cannot be described—there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions
of all matter, force, and cosmic order” (167).
Types of people attracted to Cthulhu
145
146
147
149
Bottom 15—151
153
Description Wilcox 157-158
For your page, write down
everything you can about the
humans that are attracted to
Cthulhu.
What patterns do we discern
among these descriptions?
Weird descriptions Cthulu
“The figure…” (148).
Hyperobjects
The philosopher Timothy Morton posits that, contra the notion that humans have
mastery over the world, there are things that exist that are vast in space and time
but have real, unpredictable effects on humans.
His examples include:
•
All the petroleum that exists.
•
All the nuclear radiation that exists.
•
The Earth’s climate.
•
Black holes.
Humans engage with these vast entities often without being aware of it. When we
start our cars, for example, we are putting carbon into the air. At some point,
humans thought this was no problem. But of late, the carbon in the air has started
acting very Cthulu-like.
How, then, do the accounts of Cthulu help
readers think about a universe in which
humans are inconsequential?
How does the text describe Cthulhu in terms
of time and space?
Top 154
Bottom 155
Delve into the mysterious realm of Cthulhu through descriptions of its unfathomable form, the allure it holds over certain individuals, and its classification as a hyperobject by philosopher Timothy Morton. Discover the eerie and unsettling sensations evoked by encounters with Cthulhu and the profound impact it exerts on those who are drawn to its enigmatic presence.
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Presentation Transcript
Today: The Call of Cthulhu What do we know about Cthulhu? Descriptions & technique weird People attracted to Cthulhu & abjection Sense of vastness hyperobject
What do we know about Cthulhu? How do we know it? 140-141 146 148 Bottom 154-155 158 163 165 167 168
How do these passages point off the page in a Weird way? What feelings do these descriptions produce in the reader? Without knowing what futurism is like, Johansen achieved something very close to it when he spoke of the city; for instead of describing any definite structure or building, he dwells only on broad impressions of vast angles and stone surfaces surfaces too great to belong to any thing right or proper for this earth, and impious with horrible images and hieroglyphs. I mention his talk about angles because it suggests something Wilcox had told me of his awful dreams. He had said that the geometry of the dream-place he saw was abnormal, non-Euclidean, and loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours. Now an unlettered seaman felt the same thing whilst gazing at the terrible reality (165). It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted evilly on a rectangular block or pedestal covered with undecipherable characters. The tips of the wings touched the back edge of the block, the seat occupied the centre, whilst the long, curved claws of the doubled-up, crouching hind legs gripped the front edge and extended a quarter of the way down toward the bottom of the pedestal. The cephalopod head was bent forward, so that the ends of the facial feelers brushed the backs of huge fore paws which clasped the croucher s elevated knees (148). The Thing cannot be described there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order (167).
Types of people attracted to Cthulhu For your page, write down everything you can about the humans that are attracted to Cthulhu. 145 146 147 149 Bottom 15 151 153 Description Wilcox 157-158 What patterns do we discern among these descriptions?
Weird descriptions Cthulu The figure (148).
Hyperobjects The philosopher Timothy Morton posits that, contra the notion that humans have mastery over the world, there are things that exist that are vast in space and time but have real, unpredictable effects on humans. His examples include: All the petroleum that exists. All the nuclear radiation that exists. The Earth s climate. Black holes. Humans engage with these vast entities often without being aware of it. When we start our cars, for example, we are putting carbon into the air. At some point, humans thought this was no problem. But of late, the carbon in the air has started acting very Cthulu-like.
How, then, do the accounts of Cthulu help readers think about a universe in which humans are inconsequential?
How does the text describe Cthulhu in terms of time and space? Top 154 Bottom 155
