Edgar Allan Poe - The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pffaal

I will say upfront, I am not an expert in Poe. I have read a fair amount of his work, but never before “The Unparalleled Adventure…” For me, it was not one of his more enjoyable stories. I found it quite wordy and more difficult to follow compared to his other stories. This might partially be due to the fact that, again, this is my first introduction to this work so I have less background knowledge on the story.

Though the story was a bit difficult to understand it was quite inventive. Poe does a great job taking something as seemingly innocent and harmless as a balloon and turning it into an interstellar space traveling time machine! The balloon being newspaper covered could have something to do with its success in space travel though of course. This work seems to be on the far side of science-fiction for Poe, which is saying something.

As for the description of the main character, Poe makes Hans quite unique. He is very short (two feet tall) and has many distinguishing features. His crooked noise really paints a picture for me when Poe describes him as well as his height disadvantage and earless head. As is typical of Poe, he makes some of his characters mirror his own reflection but with Hans Pfaall, that is not the case.

This story is very science-fiction as I mentioned earlier, but I forgot to mention that it is heavy on the science. The fiction too, but the science was prevalent as well. It was hard for me to become so engrossed in the story with so much science getting in the way (in Poe’s vernacular). Like what in the world is that mystery gas? I think this would make a fantastic movie. I would supplement a movie with this text if I were teaching it because it is quite difficult for students. But, it can also push their boundaries of comprehension which is exactly the goal of the Common Core State Standards.

I think Poe is a genius. He is one of the few writers that I hear “real” English people always raving about that I can identify with and concur that he is in fact, genius. I’m looking forward to this lesson today because I had so much trouble with this story that I need some explanation and help understanding just exactly what happened. Can’t wait to be taught today!