Summary Of H. P. Lovecraft's 'Ex Oblivione'

Life itself is perceived by the majority of people as something that is simply there, they fail to recognize the mystery behind it. On the other side though, there are a handful of crazy ones that do not stop questioning themselves about their existence’s meaning. This constantly creates struggles in their minds. Often left without an answer, some people try to express their desperation through different philosophies and stories. One of these stories is H.P. Lovecraft’s “Ex Oblivione”, where the narrator expresses his disappointment. This story though is easier to comprehend through Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy. Having all of this in mind, I will share the connection that is based on the principles of will, suicide and existence between Schopenhauer’s mind and Lovecraft’s short story. …show more content…
A person is in the last days of his life and is dreaming of an enchanted place, depicting it with details of what there is around him or her. In that place the narrator encounters a giant gate without a key in it. After reading some other discoveries this person find out that the only way to open is by drinking a specific kind of drug. After finding the way to pass through the gate the narrator applies that method and gets to pass through it only to find absolute and infinite nothingness (Class Notes). What is the intriguing part of the story is that the narrator finally finds peace and comfort in his meaningful nothingness, after a period of suffering and