| Author | Edgar Allan Poe |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Short story |
| Published in | Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper |
| Media type | Print (Periodical) |
| Publication date | 1843 |
"The Gold-Bug" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, set on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina involving deciphering a secret message and finding buried treasure. The story was first published in the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper in June 1843 after Poe had won a competition held by the paper, receiving a prize of US$100.
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Plot summary
"The Gold-Bug" is a story of a strange man named William Legrand who seemingly goes mad after finding and being bitten by a bug thought to be made of pure gold. He notifies his closest friend, the narrator, telling him to immediately come visit him at his home on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina. Upon the narrator's arrival, Legrand informs him that they are embarking upon a search for lost treasure along with his African-American servant Jupiter. The narrator has intense doubt and questions if Legrand has gone insane. After following several clues, however, they find treasure buried by the infamous pirate "Captain Kidd," that is estimated by the narrator to be worth about fourteen million dollars. Once the treasure is safely secured, the man goes into an elaborate explanation of how he knew about the treasure's location, based on a set of occurrences that happened after the discovery of the gold bug. The story involves cryptography with a detailed description of a method for solving a simple substitution cipher using letter frequencies. The cryptogram is:
53‡‡†305))6*;4826)4‡.)4‡);806*;48†8
¶60))85;1‡(;:‡*8†83(88)5*†;46(;88*96
*?;8)*‡(;485);5*†2:*‡(;4956*2(5*—4)8
¶8*;4069285);)6†8)4‡‡;1(‡9;48081;8:8‡
1;48†85;4)485†528806*81(‡9;48;(88;4
(‡?34;48)4‡;161;:188;‡;
The decoded message is:
A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's seat forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes northeast and by north main branch seventh limb east side shoot from the left eye of the death's-head a bee line from the tree through the shot fifty feet out.
Analysis
Though Poe did not invent "secret writing" or cryptography (he was likely inspired by an interest in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe[1]), he certainly popularized it during his time. To most people in the 19th century, cryptography was mysterious and those able to break the codes were considered gifted with nearly supernatural ability.[2] Poe had drawn attention to it as a novelty over four months in the Philadelphia publication Alexander's Weekly Messenger in 1840. He had asked readers to submit their own substitution ciphers, boasting he could solve all of them with little effort.[3]. In July 1841, Poe published "Some Words on Secret Writing" in Graham's Magazine and, realizing the interest in the topic, wrote "The Gold-Bug" as one of the few pieces of literature to incorporate ciphers as part of the story (Poe's character Legrand explains his ability to solve the cipher in a similar manner as Poe does in "Some Words on Secret Writing").[4] Poe's depiction of the African servant Jupiter is often considered stereotypical and racist from a modern perspective. Jupiter is depicted as superstitious and so lacking in intelligence that he cannot tell his left from his right.[5]
Literary significance and impact
Poe played a major role in popularizing cryptograms in newspapers and magazines in this time period[6] and beyond. William Friedman, America's foremost cryptologist, initially became interested in cryptography after reading "The Gold-Bug" as a child - interest he later put to use in deciphering Japan's PURPLE code during World War II.[7] "The Gold-Bug" is actually the first time the term "cryptograph" (as opposed to "cryptogram") is coined.[8] Poe's friend Thomas Holley Chivers said that "The Gold-Bug" ushered in "the Golden Age of Poe's Literary Life."[9]
Publication history and reception
Poe originally sold "The Gold-Bug" to George Rex Graham for Graham's Magazine for $52 but asked for it back when he heard about a writing contest sponsored by Philadelphia's Dollar Newspaper.[10] Poe won the grand prize; in addition to winning $100, the story was published in two installments on June 21 and June 28, 1843 in the newspaper.[11] It was republished in three installments in the Saturday Courier in Philadelphia on June 24, July 1, and July 8, the last two appeared on the front page and ncluded illustrations by F. O. C. Darley.[12] Further reprintings in United States newspapers made "The Gold-Bug" Poe's most widely-read short story during his lifetime.[13] As Poe wrote in a letter in 1848, it "made a great noise."[14] His $100 payment from the newspaper may have been the most he was paid for a single work.[15] The popularity of the story also brought controversy. Within a month of its publication, Poe was as accused of conspiring with the prize committee by Philadelphia's Daily Forum. Poe filed for a libel lawsuit against editor Francis Duffee. It was later dropped.[16]
Adaptations
The story proved popular enough in its day that a stage version opened on August 8, 1843. The production was put together by Silas S. Steele and was performed at the American Theatre in Philadelphia.[17] An adaptation of the work appeared on "ABC Weekend Specials" on 2 February 1980 (Season 3, Episode 7). It was directed by Robert Fuest with the teleplay being written by Edward Pomerantz.[18]
References
- ^ Rosenheim, Shawn James. The Cryptographic Imagination. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. p. 13
- ^ Friedman, William F. "Edgar Allan Poe, Cryptographer" in On Poe: The Best from "American Literature". Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1993. p. 40-1
- ^ Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 152
- ^ Rosenheim, Shawn James. The Cryptographic Imagination. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. p. 2, 6
- ^ Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 206 ISBN 0060923318
- ^ Friedman, William F. "Edgar Allan Poe, Cryptographer" in On Poe: The Best from "American Literature". Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1993. p. 40-1
- ^ Rosenheim, Shawn James. The Cryptographic Imagination. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. p. 146
- ^ Rosenheim, Shawn James. The Cryptographic Imagination. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. p. 12
- ^ Chivers, Thomas Holley. Life of Poe, Richard Beale Davis, ed. E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1952. p. 36.
- ^ Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. The Literary History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906. p. 239
- ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 97
- ^ Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biobraphy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0801857309. p. 392.
- ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 97
- ^ Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biobraphy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0801857309. p. 539.
- ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1998. p. 189
- ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 136. ISBN 0815410387
- ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 268 ISBN 081604161X
- ^ "ABC Weekend Specials" The Gold Bug (1980).
External links
- "The Gold-Bug" - Full text of the first full printing, from the Dollar Newspaper, 1843 (with two illustrations by F. O. C. Darley)
- "The Gold-Bug" from the University of Virginia Library
- The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Volume 1, available at Project Gutenberg. — includes "The Gold-Bug"
- "The Gold-Bug" with annotated vocabulary at PoeStories.com
- IMDB page on the television adaptation
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