In H.P Lovecraft's The Rats in the Walls, the main character is accused of having the same trait that his family has. It is that they eat flesh of the human body. As we get in to the story, we know that Delapore, which is referred to the narrator, is a calm and well-disciplined man. We can see these characteristics when we see the react of the death of his son. However, when they went underground, all this calmness turned to rage. This led us to believe compilation of traumas of the narrator's experiences triggered his old ancestor's traits. At this very moment, we can argue whether this particular trait was something that was buried long time ago and was woken up by the scene, or was it a response to situation. Then, we can analyze how can each argument helps us read the story in a deeper cultural context.

If we saw this trait as a buried one, we must look to how cultural transmission plays a role in the character's attitude. Though we do not know much about the narrator, we can study from what is given about his cultural trait and therefore make an assumption to why Delapore did this action. According to the article The Cultural Evolution of Adaptive-Trait Diversity When Resources Are Uncertain and Finite by Lake and Crema, "Third, the lower rate of cultural transmission produces faster cultural evolution in the sense that it leads to the more rapid adoption of traits offering a higher payoff". Delapore's family of moving around has a vast impact to his traits according to this article. Because Delapore's family settled in different places, the rate to cultural evolution was fast and led to adapt traits of the local environment that had the higher payoff. The accumulation was a key factor to lead cultural transmission of the family disappears and gains another one. Although these traits are lost through time, the article focuses on "niches" that sometimes exploit at some situations, "What we see here is the effect of excessive reliance on cultural transmission: thus trait is initially the most common, but the payoff declines as this "niche" fills up, eventually leading more agents to revert back to trait". We can imply the concept suggested by Lake and Crema to Delapore by looking at the scene when they went underground. As they dug deeper to Delapore's family, he went deeper to his earlier instinct and trait. The same concept of payoff as the whole dilemma of changing and adapting to the higher payoff declines and the niche, in here this monstrous trait, fills up and eventually brings back what was in him long time ago. We can see the time Delapore hit rock bottom of his cultural transmission was when he attacked his friend and let the "niche" trait get the better of him. 

This case study can make us look to the story in a different angle. We can see that Delapore words might not be used in its literal context. For example, "I bought Exham Priory in 1918, but was almost immediately distracted from my plans of restoration by the return of my son as a maimed invalid". We can assume that what made his son disfigured was his own father. As absurd is this statement, we are not certain of any of Delapore's actions. In other words, if he did it to Captain Norris, he might have done it. This case study also helps us to look for the ending "Who says I am a de la Poer? He lived, but my boy died! ... Shall a Norrys holds the lands of a de la Poer? ... It's voodoo, I tell you ... that spotted snake ... Curse you, Thorton, I'll teach you to faint at what my family do!". We can observe that in this situation Delapore has a mixture of feeling. His remedy of cultural diversity broke and the niche of the trait got the better of him. This triggered the trait that has been hiding in his characteristics the whole time. 

The other face of the argument is whether Delapore's trait was just a response to what he have learned and seen in that place. In this analysis, William F. Tilden's American Cultural Traits journal will help us recognize the validity of the argument. The character possess with characteristics that any human can have. It derived from his ancestor that led him to use it as a first response to the incident. Tilden explains how the concept of orderliness/cleanliness by Fredium causes the person to react in an absurd behavior "The trait of Orderliness/ Cleanliness, in the first instance, reflects the decision to comply and conform to the demands made by the environment.". We can see this notion at the end of the story "found me crouching in the blackness over the plump, half-eaten body of Capt. Norrys, with my own cat leaping and tearing at my throat.". If we read closely, we can observe that Delapore was not aware of his actions. Therefore, what he had done was an immediate response to a situation of anxiety. As Tilden point out, the decision was based on the environment that Delapore was in which was a rat hole. Delapore overthinks on any situation. We can see that by the constant judging to other people, such as Captain Norrys by calling him a plump, and the repetition of overthinking led him to think of how Norrys will inherit the de la Poer legacy Exham Priory. The idea of giving up the priory steered to resistance and rebellion. The traits that Tilden explains by saying that "Rebellion and resistance to the cultural imperative is a second response, from which is derived the character-trait of Obstinacy. Parsimony represents a compromise-formation between the two conflicting demands, since retention allows a child to retain individual control over its own bodily contents while, at the same time, by not producing them, allows the child to express a measure of "active compliance" with the environment's need for order and cleanliness.". We can observe Delapore's intention of giving up the priory led to a second response that is rebellion. By resisting the notion, it allowed him to have control for once to the courses that was taken in his life. Unfortunately, his responses were inhumane and were inspired by the same devil that he resisted, his family.  

Both arguments are on the opposite, yet close, sides. There is a thin line between them, which looks at both of them as true and false at the same time. Delapore had traits of his family that were never mentioned to him. The change that triggered him to attack Norrys was both an immediate response and a buried trait. He knew about his family in a short period "God! Those carrion black pits of sawed, picked bones and opened skulls! Those nightmare chasms choked with the pithecanthropoid, Celtic, Roman, and English bones of countless unhallowed centuries!" . The environment of the priory cleared the path of obtaining a higher payoff to the niche of his traits. "Horror piled on horror as we began to interpret the architectural remains". As the wen deeper to the cave, Delapore changes within. His trait turns to what they were of his pure family traits of "de la Poer" and when the moment he realize what is to be a de la Poer. He overthinks and tries to take control by doing the first thing as a response, which is to eat the plump Captain Norrys. We can see that both arguments can be seen in one eye.  

What is remarkable in The Rats in the Walls is that it is filled with historical and cultural artifact that can make the reader reads in a certain aspect regarding the artifact and enjoy the story. It is not tied to one biased reading, but it can be read in different ways and still cannot figure out the ending of the story. 
