James Hogg is a fascinating
character. I found his mixing of genres interesting, especially in “The
Expedition to Hell” which begins seeming like a serious discussion on the
nature of dreams, but ends with the curious case of George Dobson who in unable
to escape his dreams. I’m not sure what to do with this inability to escape
this nightmare. It’s as if the hell in his mind is real enough to make the real
world irrelevant.
In the beginning of “The
Expedition to Hell” Hogg talks about the lack of control people have in their
dreams. Ideas you try to repress pop up, and those you try to dream about, you
never seem to. Some of the poems we’ve read this week have the air of a
nightmare that’s come true or rather a dream that turns into a nightmare. I’m
thinking about “Ellenore” mostly. The return of William is a dream come true
but it ends as a nightmare as she ends up dead. She has no control of her
situation once she gets on the horse. She goes in search of the dream, but ends
up with the nightmare instead.
I’m probably overreaching
now, but it does make me think about the French Revolution. People had a dream
that they tried to create, but then they lost control and it became a
nightmare.
Excellent points you made about the story and how it relates towards other stories as well. You are right that most of what we read about are people interpretations about what the truly desire in reality, but end up in a nightmare. In adding to what you said about dream and the book, I believe in which what the author tries to convey to the reader is in which the ideas and unconscious memories we have is what decides what our own conscience tries to create to either entertain us or to warn us. The story of the expedition to hell seems to be more of a dream of warning to the main character, who might also indirectly talk the reader, in understanding our own unconscious ideas that the part of the brain stores and the other conflicts to whether our ideas are really the truth we want.
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