EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SOME WORDS WITH A MUMMY: A CONSPIRACY THEORETICAL READING

Abstract

Humanity is a paradoxical phenomenon. Edgar Allan Poe’s thought-provoking short story, Some Words with A Mummy tends to explore how Poe’s narrative serves as a literary device to examine the human inclination towards conspiracy thinking and the ramification of such beliefs. Poe’s cryptographic narrative approach that examines human interaction with knowledge streamlines the reader’s thoughts in a critical manner. Some mythological aspects of this tapestry tend to textual analysis with biblical mythology. This paper focuses on the narrative and conspiracy theoretical argument, through an in-depth examination of the character's interactions and dialogues. Through contextualizing the story within the broader historical and societal landscape of the 19th century, elucidates the relevance of Poe’s exploration of contemporary conspiracy culture. Another objective is to identify how the conspiracy argumentation heads human’s thinking mechanism into a crisis in life and how it changes human desires. Additionally, this paper aims to promote a balanced evaluation between archetypical knowledge and Egyptology. Eventually, this research aims to foster critical thinking and promote a balanced inquiry of information, urging readers to critically question and verify claims before succumbing to the allure of conspiracy theory.