H.P. Lovecraft was well known in his stories to bring death, and insanity among characters in his writings. His story "The Rats in the Walls" matches perfectly with that style as you read about a man named Delapore, who is found discovering family heritage on an old estate called Exham Priory, where horror and evil were notorious for being present. As you read the story you can see H.P. Lovecraft displays human degeneration, otherwise known as mutilation of humans to less primitive states from past generations of time against their own will, and the danger of human understanding in "The Rats in the Walls". Lovecraft utilizes constant repetition of the Delapore family and their tendency to avoid or attempt to rid of violence or evil in their lives, as well as the mutilation of Delapore himself as he tries to unveil what is occurring in his house at Exham Priory. 

The avoidant nature that was prominent in Delapore's family led to Delapore's initiative in many of his actions. The sole survivor of the Delapore line was they first to experience the unexplained occurrences at Exham Priory. Walter, the affected ancestor, became "denounced as a murderer" (Lovecraft 30). and eventually was described as "Shaken by some horror greater than that of conscience or the law" (Lovecraft 30). so much in fact that he fled away from Exham Priory to start a new family. Delapore was both knowledgeable and reactant to these unknown happenings in Exham Priory. In turn, Delapore ordered workmen to "blow up Exham Priory" (Lovecraft 31). Delapore had this done in hopes of ridding "the traces of it's foundations" (Lovecraft 31). These actions taken by both Delapore and his ancestor show the unwillingness to cooperate in what very well was a mutilation of a human. Although Lovecraft made it obvious that nobody in the Delapore line necessarily wanted to participate in this degeneration, nothing was going to stop it. It only became a matter of time before somebody fell victim to the curse that was laid upon their family.  Later in the story the efforts to rid of what was once there did not succeed. Delapore was found at the end of the passage saying ancient language and "crouching in the blackness over the plump, half-eaten body" of his own friend, Captain Norrys (Lovecraft 44). The idea of human degeneration took full effect on Delapore even with both his family and his own resistance. Delapore was led back to Exham Priory and could not avoid the curse that was bound to control and manipulate him.

A quality, that turned into a downfall, of Delapore was his curiosity and drive to learn about his families past especially with concern towards some darker pieces of his family line. Lovecraft developed Delapore's cursed manipulation through his desperate need to discover what, when, and how things were happening at Exham Priory. His initial interest was ironically gained from his younger brother, Alfred. After the war caused his brother to die, Delapore received letters from him that revealed "a colourful and perhaps sinister history" of his family (Lovecraft 32). This intrigued Delapore to search for more clues on what really was in charge of the dark parts of his family's ancestral line. This curiosity in fact, was a main contributor to Delapore's eventual outburst and actions by the end of the story. Lovecraft showed Delapore's curious characteristic through the many questions that he asked. Often times, Delapore would find himself thinking about his family line, and questioning if Walter had come across "Some appalling ancient rite, or stumbled upon some frightful and revealing symbol in the priory" (Lovecraft 35). Delapore's understanding of the cursed gods that affected his family "repelled me(Delapore) greatly. Their persistence, and their application to so long a line of my ancestors, were especially annoying" (Lovecraft 34). This anger of Delapore is one that contributes to both his fear and drive of the disturbances that laid below Exham Priory. As the story progressed Delapore and his cat, Nigger-man, began to hear what was considered to be rats crawling in the walls of his home. Delapore was at first oblivious to these sounds, but as he began to pick up on what his cat was hearing he had his mindset to see what was happening. Delapore's cat would often lead Delapore himself as he used his cat as a reference to try and decipher the reasons behind the presence of rats. Delapore commented on his cat's "persuasive manner" as it scampered around looking for the rats itself (Lovecraft 40). In addition, Delapore found himself discovering the downward direction of the rats to a place far below Exham Priory. Although he was uncertain, Delapore did not deny that his "fascination became twofold" and he decided to pursue what was causing the disturbances in his house (Lovecraft 40). At anytime throughout his search Delapore could've made a level headed decision and stopped what he was doing, however the knowledge he gained of his family only pushed him to develop a further understanding of what was bothering himself. This desire to know more about his family and his home slowly pulled Delapore to depths of the curse laid upon him. Lovecraft used Delapore to help convert the idea of human understanding and how it is correlated with danger, and death as shown through Delapore's progression of knowledge and curiosity.
