The Gold-Bug: Analysis of Setting
"The Gold-Bug: Analysis of Setting" explores the significance of location in Edgar Allan Poe's story, particularly focusing on Sullivan's Island and its surroundings. Sullivan's Island, a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, is characterized by its isolation and sparse population during the early nineteenth century. The island's most notable feature is Fort Moultrie, which served as a military garrison, while the dense myrtle tree growth creates a sense of confinement for the protagonist, William Legrand, who has left his previous life behind. This setting fosters an atmosphere of mystery and adventure as Legrand embarks on a treasure hunt linked to pirate lore.
The mainland beyond Sullivan's Island, despite being accessible, is depicted as equally desolate and wild, enhancing the story's exotic feel. Poe’s imaginative portrayal of the landscape, filled with hills and crags, contrasts with the actual flat geography of the region, contributing to the narrative's mood. An important symbol within this setting is the tulip tree on the mainland, which plays a crucial role in revealing the treasure's location. Overall, the settings in "The Gold-Bug" underscore themes of isolation, adventure, and the allure of hidden treasure, inviting readers to delve deeper into Poe's intricate storytelling.
The Gold-Bug: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1843
Type of work: Short fiction
Type of plot: Detective and mystery
Time of work: Early nineteenth century
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*Sullivan’s Island
*Sullivan’s Island. Barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, near Charleston. During the early nineteenth century, the sea islands near Charleston were barren, isolated locations, accessible only by water and inhabited by relatively few people. Sullivan’s Island, at the mouth of Charleston harbor, was notable mainly for Fort Moultrie, which guarded the entrance to the port. Edgar Allan Poe was quite familiar with Sullivan’s Island, since he had been stationed at Fort Moultrie during his brief service in the U.S. Army and selected the island as the suitable location for a story about the discovery of treasure buried by pirate captain William Kidd.
Despite its proximity to Charleston, Sullivan’s Island’s distinguishing characteristic was its isolation. Aside from the garrison of the fort and a few summer residents, there were only a few year-round inhabitants of the place. Densely covered with myrtle trees, the narrow, sandy island becomes home to the once-wealthy William Legrand, who has left New Orleans because of some misfortunes. Legrand lives with his single slave, Jupiter, in a small hut located at the center of an almost impenetrable growth of myrtle trees. He is literally, as well as figuratively, cut off from the world he has left behind.
*Mainland
*Mainland. Region between Sullivan’s Island and Charleston. Although not separated from civilization by water, the land just beyond Sullivan’s Island is equally wild and barren. When the narrator, Legrand, and Jupiter go there in search of the treasure, they pass into a desolate area without evidence of human life. In his emphasis on the strangeness of the area, Poe departs from the realities of southern geography, transforming the level, sandy landscape into one filled with inaccessible hills, huge crags, and deep ravines. Although unrealistic, these touches add to the atmosphere of the story, which requires an isolated, wild, and exotic location.
Tulip-tree
Tulip-tree. Tree on the mainland that allows Legrand to determine the exact location of the buried treasure. Jupiter climbs this extremely tall, old tree, where he finds a skull attached to an upper limb; lowering the “gold-bug” of the title through the empty eye socket of the skull reveals the burial site of Captain Kidd’s treasure.
Bibliography
Davidson, Edward H. Poe: A Critical Study. Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1966. One of the most important philosophic studies of Poe’s work. Presents Poe as basically a religious writer in that he becomes his own god, his own supreme maker of prophecies and parables.
Hassell, J. Woodrow, Jr. “The Problem of Realism in ‘The Gold-Bug.’” American Literature 25 (May, 1953): 179-192. Includes a discussion of how fantasy and realism are blended and sometimes in conflict in “The Gold-Bug.” Shows how Poe was able to give an appearance of reality to the fanciful elements in the story.
Kempton, Daniel. “The Gold/Goole/Ghoul Bug.” Emerson Society Quarterly 33 (1987): 1-19. Interesting study of the basic logical/aesthetic pattern of “The Gold-Bug”; notes that the protagonist of the story looks on the world as if it were an encoded message written for the elect by the hand of God.
Kennedy, J. Gerald. Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1987. A useful study of the nature of writing in Poe’s stories and the relationship of writing to death. Important for understanding pattern and interpretation in “The Gold-Bug.”
Williams, Michael. “The Language of the Cipher: Interpretation in ‘The Gold-Bug.’” In Edgar Allan Poe: A Study of the Short Fiction, edited by Charles May. New York: Twayne, 1991. Excellent study of Poe’s philosophic interest in the power of language and his tactic of embedding interpretative strategies within his stories.