E.T.A. Hoffmann's "The Sandman" is an excellent representation of Freud's theory of the Uncanny, combined with some ideas of Todorov's theory of the Fantastic and the Marvelous. The story relates the life of Nathaniel, a young student convinced that a dreadful fate awaits him. His fear centers on a menacing old man whom he has believed since childhood to be the Sandman, a mythical creature who steals the eyes of children who are awake at night. He associates the fabled creature with Coppelius, a real life acquaintance of his father and a man he implicates in his father's death. As an adult, Nathaniel descends into madness after experiencing a visitation from what he believes to be the same evil personage from his childhood memories, who comes this time in the guise of a salesman named Coppola.
The premise of the story is initially based on the supernatural and the central character uses paranormal ideas to shed light on various plot points. However, many aspects could quite easily......

Join Now to view the rest of this term paper!
Members: Login to view this research paper.

Title: Sandman-Case-Uncanny
Approximate Word Count: 319
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

With the Term Papers Lab Membership Pass, you get instant access to every essay on this site, including this essay on Sandman-Case-Uncanny, for as long as you remain a member.

Other essays sites charge almost $100 for a single term paper. At Term Papers Lab, you can get instant access to over 100,000 research papers for as little as $29.95!