The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Pym’s near-death experience only increases his appetite for adventure, which Augustus continues to encourage with his stories. A year and a half later, Augustus prepares to go to sea with Mr. Barnard, who has been made captain of the old, shabby whaling ship Grampus. Pym longs to join them, but Mr. Peterson forbids him, threatening to cut off his inheritance if he doesn’t give up the idea. Unwilling to submit, Pym and Augustus devise a plan for Pym to sneak aboard as a stowaway. Just before departure, Pym will pretend to visit a relative in New Bedford but will actually be let onto the Grampus by Augustus, who will then keep him hidden and fed until the ship is too far from Nantucket for Mr. Barnard to turn around and return Pym to his family.

The night of the plan arrives, and Pym goes to the wharf in disguise. On the way he bumps into none other than Mr. Peterson, who angrily asks him why he is dressed like a dirty sailor. Thinking fast, Pym puts on an affected voice and angrily snaps at Mr. Peterson for insulting his hard-earned clothes. Flustered and confused, Mr. Peterson storms off. Augustus then takes Pym aboard, showing him the cabins and, below them, the hold (the sealed cargo area of the ship below the deck), where Pym will hide. Augustus sets up a comfortable space for Pym under a hidden hatch in the captain’s cabin, providing him with food, water, liquor, books, and candles.

After three days, Augustus comes down to tell Pym they are setting sail and gives him his watch—Pym has no other way of telling time in the darkness of the hold. Pym sleeps for what feels like a very long time, finding upon waking that the watch has run down and that some of his food has also gone rancid. The lack of fresh air makes him feel sick, and he begins to worry about his food and water supply. Another day passes without Augustus, and Pym sleeps more, dreaming terrible nightmares. Waking up in fright, he realizes he is not dreaming: a large animal is sitting on his chest. Pym’s fear soon turns to joy, however, when he realizes the animal is his beloved dog, Tiger. Confused, he surmises that Augustus must have brought Tiger aboard as a surprise for him.  

Unfortunately, Tiger drank the last of Pym’s water while he slept. Now actively worried, Pym decides to make his way back to the hatch. As he makes his way he finds that the roll of the ship has rearranged the ballast in the hold and blocked the path. He finds a loose box and is able to cut his way through with a knife, only to discover that the hatch won’t open and must be blocked from above. Sliding his knife through a crack, Pym scrapes metal and concludes that some kind of heavy chain is on top of the hatch. Pym returns to Tiger in despair, but the dog’s strange behavior convinces him to look more closely at him. He finds a string tied around Tiger and, attached to it, a piece of paper.