Shooting the bird // Ian Blair

    Note to self before we begin: NEVER try to disprove superstition to a superstitious lot of people, especially if we are out in the middle of the ocean! It seems as though our mariner character didn't catch that memo, and decided that the wisest thing he could do with a perfectly good crossbow bolt is to just shoot the bird (no, not the kind with the finger), and as a result, he is ridiculed by the entire crew thereafter. In fact, right up until the crew runs into some much more sinister trouble, that remains to be the dynamic between the mariner and the rest of the crew. How fitting, then, is it that the mariner is the only member that is left alive on the ship, all just to force him to have to live with the rash decision he made:

"Each turn his face with a ghastly pang,

And cursed me with his eye.

Four times fifty living men,

(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)

With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,

They dropped down one by one.

The souls from their bodies fly,

They fled to dust or woe!" (Coleridge, 436).

    It appears that the superstitious crew was right on this occasion, unfortunately, but the belief that the albatross was of good luck may not be the right thing to credit for this. I personally find it hard to believe that simply because an albatross died that some twisted ship showed up and caused the crew to drop like flies. But then again, the mariner does not experience the albatross falling from his neck until he learns to appreciate the beauty of the world around him (437), seeing it sink into the water during the subsequent night. I suppose the lesson from this tale is to think before act, but also to learn to respect nature, because you may end up being the prey of something worse later on. What did you get out of the reading?


I commented on Abigale's and Lily's posts.

Comments

  1. The Mahn-sterOctober 18, 2021 at 6:06 PM

    It could also be that those who believe superstition are bound to it. Kind of like confirmation bias. After all, the only person not affected directly was the one who didn't believe the superstition. Yes, he did have a terrible time, but his problems were a result of what happened to everybody else who believed the superstition.

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  2. Taylor ViceOctober 18, 2021 at 6:17 PM

    I love how you bring humor to your blogs! Also, I agree that just because the albatross was shot that the entire ship was set for doom, but it is rather part of the bigger picture. It may seem as if the smallest sins cause the biggest consequences but, in reality, it may just be a bunch of sins built up and this is the one that is being used to teach the Mariner a lesson. / Taylor Vice

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  3. Breanna PooleOctober 19, 2021 at 8:10 AM

    Superstition is a powerful thing, it can make people do crazy things like shoot the Albatross. I think it's interesting that you don't believe that the albatross dying is the reason that the rest of the crew died. I believe that within the world of the poem that it's meant to be a cause and effect, rather than a matter of debate. Not to say you're wrong, however! -- Breanna Poole

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  4. Ashlyn ScismOctober 19, 2021 at 10:39 AM

    I think it’s interesting that the people who were superstitious are the ones who parished, instead of the person who committed the supposed taboo. Maybe, it is because he did not believe in the superstition that he was not affected. Whatever the case, it reminds me of how fear and gossip manifests today. In our culture it is so easy to fall prey to rumors and fears, but if we let them control us then we are only hurting ourselves.

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