Edgar Allan Poe is associated with Gothic horror tales and dark poetry, such as “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” However, during his lifetime, his most successful and famous story was one that is relatively unknown today: “The Goldbug Poe.”
His excitement grows when he realizes that his servant, Jupiter, accidentally picked up a scrap of paper with a code revealing the location of Captain Kidd’s lost treasure while collecting the bug.
Before Poe, most people considered simple substitution cyphers, like the one in “The Goldbug Poe,” unbreakable unless you had the decoding key. However, Poe’s understanding of language and logical reasoning led him to believe that any code could be cracked. He demonstrated how to do it in this story.
The Goldbug Poe” refers to a short story by the American author Edgar Allan Poe. In this captivating tale, the plot revolves around a man named William Legrand, who becomes utterly fixated on a unique gold-coloured bug he discovers. His servant, Jupiter, fears that Legrand is losing his sanity and seeks help from Legrand’s friend—an unnamed narrator. Together, they embark on an adventure after decoding a secret message that promises to lead them to a buried treasure.
Interestingly, the story is set on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, and it is often compared to Poe’s other works known as “tales of ratiocination,” which are early forms of detective fiction. The success of “The Goldbug Poe” centres around a cryptogram—a coded message—that plays a crucial role in the unfolding mystery.
What is the Edgar Allan Poe Story
“The Goldbug Poe” is a captivating short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1843. The plot revolves around the narrator’s encounter with his friend, William Legrand, who becomes utterly obsessed with finding a buried treasure. Let me delve into the details for you.
Many years ago, the narrator developed an intimacy with Mr. William Legrand. Legrand hailed from an ancient Huguenot family and had once been wealthy. However, a series of misfortunes left him in dire financial straits. To escape the humiliation of his losses, Legrand abandoned New Orleans, the city of his forefathers, and settled on Sullivan’s Island, near Charleston, South Carolina.
Sullivan’s Island is a peculiar place. It consists mainly of sea sand, stretching about three miles in length and no more than a quarter-mile wide. Separated from the mainland by a barely noticeable creek, the island hosts sparse vegetation, primarily dwarfed sweet myrtle shrubs. These myrtles, reaching heights of fifteen to twenty feet, form an almost impenetrable coppice, filling the air with their fragrance.
Legrand had built a small hut deep within this myrtle-covered wilderness, near the island’s eastern end. When the narrator accidentally made his acquaintance, their friendship blossomed. Legrand was well-educated, possessed unusual mental abilities, but also harbored misanthropic tendencies. He alternated between enthusiastic and melancholic moods.
Legrand’s chief pastimes included gunning, fishing, and exploring the beach for shells and entomological specimens. His collection of the latter would have made Swammerdamm envious. Accompanying him on these excursions was an old manumitted slave named Jupiter, who stubbornly insisted on being Legrand’s faithful companion.
One autumn day in 18–, the temperature dropped remarkably, prompting Legrand to light a fire—a rare event on Sullivan’s Island. However, the story takes a fascinating turn when Legrand becomes fixated on an unusual golden-colored bug. Jupiter, fearing for Legrand’s sanity, seeks help from the narrator. The narrator agrees to visit his old friend, setting the stage for a thrilling adventure.
The heart of the tale lies in deciphering a cryptic message and embarking on a perilous quest for hidden treasure. As the mystery unfolds, readers are drawn into the intricate web of codes, clues, and the allure of buried riches.
Why didn’t Edgar Allan Poe simply use what he already knew instead of creating a new and strange dialect for the character Jupiter?
The obvious answer might be that Poe was racist and did not care whether Jupiter’s dialect was accurate as long as it “sounded black.” However, there is another intriguing possibility: Jupiter’s peculiar way of speaking could be a code within a code. Poe was known for hiding messages in seemingly ordinary poems and stories a technique called steganography.
The challenge with steganography is that once the rules of the secret message are established, the writer must work around them. This could explain the unusual spelling and format of Jupiter’s dialogue.
Some speculate that Poe’s more cryptic works, like “Eureka” (his peculiar essay on cosmology where he essentially proposed the idea of the Big Bang), contain hidden codes yet to be deciphered.
The notion that Jupiter might be speaking in code does not diminish Poe’s portrayal of the character, and it may not even be true. However, it sheds light on the nature of “The Goldbug Poe” and why it captivated both artistic and scientific minds.
The story is like a riddle within a riddle: Legrand grapples with Captain Kidd’s treasure while dealing with his own mysterious ailment.
However, the full solution to the riddle always seems just out of reach an obsession not fully satisfied or perhaps only just beginning. In “The Goldbug Poe,” as in many of Poe’s tales, readers are left with the feeling that they have merely scratched the surface of the author’s deeper knowledge.
Some Questions
What Is “The Goldbug Poe” About?
“The Goldbug Poe” is a short story where the main character, William Legrand, becomes obsessed with finding a buried treasure. He believes that an unusual gold-coloured bug holds the key to his lost fortune.
Why Is the Gold Bug Important?
The gold bug symbolizes not only the treasure but also hidden knowledge and transformation. It is like a secret code that Legrand must decipher.
Who Helps Legrand in His Quest?
Legrand’s servant, Jupiter, and a friend (the narrator) join him on the adventure to find the treasure.
What Makes “The Goldbug Poe” Special?
Poe used real-life interest in secret writing and cryptography to create the story. It was a hit during his lifetime and popularized cryptograms.
