영어로 읽는 고전 _ 헨리 하세의 세상 밖으로
헨리 하세(Henry Hasse)의 "이 세상 밖으로(Out of This World)"는 펄프 잡지가 번성하던 시대인 1940년대 초에 출간된 공상과학 중편소설이다. 주로 목성 궤도를 도는 가혹한 감옥 행성을 배경으로 하며, 가학적인 감독관 마닉(Marnick)의 폭정 하에서 수감자들의 암울한 생존을 그린다. 서사는 복수, 생존, 그리고 억압이 가져오는 심리적 상처라는 주제들과 씨름한다.
플롯은 주인공 리드(Reed)와 그의 동료 광부들을 중심으로 하는데, 이들은 마닉의 예속 하에서 고된 노동을 하고 있다. 마닉은 고문과 감시를 즐기는 잔혹한 인물이다. 분노한 맥고완(McGowan)이 이끄는 죄수들 사이에서 긴장이 고조되면서, 마닉에 대한 탈출과 복수 계획이 형성되기 시작한다. 이야기는 그룹이 마닉과 대결하는 긴장감 넘치는 클라이맥스에서 절정에 달하며, 등장인물들 사이의 충격적인 연관성이 드러나면서 비극으로 끝난다. 광기, 도덕적 모호함, 그리고 복수의 복잡한 본질이라는 주제들이 전체적으로 엮여 있어, 이 책을 극한 상황에서의 인간 존재에 대한 강력한 논평으로 만든다.
Classics Read in English _ Out of This World by Henry Hasse
Henry Hasse's "Out of This World" is a science fiction novella published in the early 1940s, during the flourishing era of pulp magazines. Set primarily on a harsh prison planet orbiting Jupiter, the story depicts the grim survival of inmates under the tyrannical rule of the sadistic overseer, Marnick. The narrative wrestles with themes of vengeance, survival, and the psychological wounds inflicted by oppression.
The plot centers around the protagonist Reed and his fellow miners who toil under Marnick's subjugation, a cruel figure who takes pleasure in torture and surveillance. As tensions escalate among the prisoners, led by the enraged McGowan, a plan for escape and revenge against Marnick begins to take shape. The story reaches its climax in a tension-filled confrontation when the group faces off against Marnick, revealing shocking connections between the characters that culminate in tragedy. Themes of madness, moral ambiguity, and the complex nature of revenge are woven throughout, making this book a powerful commentary on the human condition under extreme circumstances.
Among the contents
We hated Marnick.
Because he was an Earthman and because he laughed, we hated him. Awake and asleep, at our daily drudge of labor and in the throes of sluggish nightmare, with a fierce tenacity from the very depths of our souls?those of us who still had souls?we hated him. And there was not a man among us who had not sworn to kill him if given the chance, who did not dream of being the one. For we knew that some day it was going to happen.
But when? It seemed impossible. Daily that is what I thought as I trudged wearily to my place in B-Tunnel two miles below. We were forty men against him, Martians and Earthmen alike. Once there had been Venusians here, too, but they died too easily, and now Venusian criminals were sent elsewhere. Forty against Marnick, but still he was Law here on the tiny barren satellite of Jupiter?the seventh or eighth in orbit, I have long since forgotten which.
