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saraaaa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
This short story serves as an allegory of the every man's journey towards evil, of the corruption of morals that the author deems intrinsic to New England's society, and to Man's nature in general.
It read as a cautionary tale – a very well written one, with interesting images and figures of speech, a well executed plot, and good pacing – whose absolute pessimism, however, lead to a flattened and one-sided worldview that fails the contemporary reader. I don't believe that saying something along the lines of "actually, clergymen and seemingly innocent people can be just as bad and corrupted" is as much of a astounding concept to read nowadays. I feel like very few works of this kind manage to be as striking nowadays as they were at the time they were written. And this one didn't pass the test, for me.
It read as a cautionary tale – a very well written one, with interesting images and figures of speech, a well executed plot, and good pacing – whose absolute pessimism, however, lead to a flattened and one-sided worldview that fails the contemporary reader. I don't believe that saying something along the lines of "actually, clergymen and seemingly innocent people can be just as bad and corrupted" is as much of a astounding concept to read nowadays. I feel like very few works of this kind manage to be as striking nowadays as they were at the time they were written. And this one didn't pass the test, for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Death and Racism
This text focuses heavily on the figure of the devil, and on satanic rituals. The racism is aimed towards Native American people.
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