Lemony Snicket once said, “Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like” (Snicket).  As for the last descendant of the de la Poer family, the restaurant certainly serves him an unfavorable fate. That being said, fate is a central theme in H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls,” but more specifically, fate that is tied to one’s past or ancestry. The theme is most prominent during the resolution of the story, where Lovecraft uses eerie diction, divergent structure, and symbolism to portray de la Poer’s unfortunate fate or, in other words, his downfall. Ultimately, de la Poer’s downfall is a warning to readers that ones’ past can decide their future if they do not make the effort to accept and understand the past. The theme of the short story is strengthened through Lovecraft’s use of diction because it foreshadows events that contribute to the past effecting the future.  

Diction is utilized in Lovecraft’s short story to establish an unsettling tone, however, it also foreshadows de la Poer’s inauspicious fate. He says, 

“My searchlight expired, but I still ran. I heard voices, and yowls, and echoes, but above 

all there gently rose that impious, insidious scurrying; gently rising, rising, as a stiff 

bloated corpse gently rises above an oily river that flows under endless onyx bridges to a 

black, putrid sea.” (Lovecraft 88)

The use of words such as “expired” and “bloated corpse” both allude to death. However, in Lovecraft’s case, the references are to a premature death rather than a peaceful one. In most cases, corpses rot. By using the word “bloat,” Lovecraft suggests an unusual death for Captain Norrys. When one says something has “expired,” it has spoiled before completely being put to use. For example, when food passes the expiration date. Captain Norrys’s death is one that was untimely; he expired without being able to fulfill his purpose in life. Considering this, Lovecraft is insinuating that de la Poer’s downfall is in relation to Captain Norry’s death. This idea is created with his use of specific vocabulary.  Lovecraft further elaborates this foreshadowing with words that have negative connotations, such as “yowls,” “impious,” and “black.” All of these words are often associated with evil and wickedness. A yowl could be thought of as a sound that comes from a creature, not a human. While impious is an adjective used to describe someone that dismisses God, in this case, the de la Poer family. Black can be representative of the unknown or the mystery behind Norrys’s death. The choice of vocabulary, in this occurrence, foreshadow the event that occurs at the end of the text: de la Poer being accused of devouring Captain Norrys. Again, Lovecraft relates de la Poer’s downfall to Captain Norrys’s death. Furthermore, De la Poer’s ancestors are correlated with evil, causing those around de la Poer to assume he has inherited evil traits from his family. His unfortunate fate is being locked up for his supposedly wicked actions towards Captain Norrys (89). Although there is nothing that directly states de la Poer had committed the murder, everyone in his presence believes that he is the culprit. Through specific language, Lovecraft suggests that the de la Poer family are impious in nature. Lovecraft’s suggestion and the characters’ quick-to-blame actions display that people place value in others’ bloodlines, as well as those they have associated themselves with throughout life. Therefore, people will make judgements about others because of their past associations and their surname. While diction foreshadows de la Poer’s downfall, structure demonstrates it. 

Lovecraft begins to use a different structure in his text to signify the beginning of de la Poer’s downfall. In other words, Lovecraft manipulates the use of punctuation and language in this section of the passage. The purpose of this change in structure is to create a new tone or voice for the narrator, De la Poer. The passage begins with de la Poer describing his surroundings in a clear, descriptive tone. However, as de la Poer becomes more delirious, he begins to ask questions and spew, what seems like, nonsense, for example, “It’s voodoo, I tell you…that spotted snake…Curse you, Thornton, I’ll teach you to faint at what my family do!” (Lovecraft 89). Lovecraft creates pauses between de la Poer’s tangents with ellipses. The addition of ellipses develops a new tone in the text, one that is crazed and unsure. The ellipses portray de la Poer thinking in parts rather than having full, coherent thoughts. Lovecraft also creates the crazed tone with shifting language. He writes, “Sblood, thou stinkard, I’ll learn ye how to gust wolde ye swynke me thilke wys?...Magna Mater! Magna Mater!..”(89). This change in tone and structure emphasizes the eerie nature of the de la Poer lineage due to old Latin being a dead language. One should ask, how would de la Poer know how to speak a language that is no longer used? Not only that, but Latin is often associated with Christianity and rituals. When de la Poer speaks in Latin, it is like he is performing a ritual on Captain Norrys. Not just any ritual, but one that gives off a vibe of a cult or a witch’s spell. Thus, Lovecraft creates an ominous tone in the text and establishes that the de la Poer family is one that is wicked. Wickedness is also prevalent in de la Poer’s speech before he begins to speak in tongues because he curses Norrys.

De la Poer is cursing Captain Norry due to resentment (that his son had died instead of Captain Norrys). He proceeds to state, “Who says I am a de la Poer?” (Lovecraft 88). De la Poer’s delirious speech is not entirely insignificant or gibberish. Although his tangents seem out of place, they reveal that his delirium is due to the views he has of his ancestry. These views relate back to Lovecraft’s main theme fate is tied to the past. De la Poer denies that he is part of the de la Poer lineage, and along with the resentment towards the death of his son; it causes him to reiterate the wicked, cannibalistic acts that his previous family members participated in. De la Poer’s fate was unfortunate because he did not learn and understand his own history. 

In a like manner to changing the structure of the text, Lovecraft uses symbolism to reiterate de la Poer’s unstable mental state and further elaborate on the negative associations his family name harbors. Lovecraft states, “When I speak of poor Norrys they accuse me of a hideous thing, but they must know that I did not do it. They must know it was the rats…the rats in the walls” (89). The rats are a representation of two concepts: de la Poer’s deteriorating mental state and his ancestors themselves. De la Poer puts blame on the rats for his inhumane actions on Captain Norrys; this indicates that de la Poer believes that the rats were the ones who killed Norrys. This act of blame indicates that he was not in control of himself because he does not remember his own actions. Instead, de la Poer states that the rats committed the crime. However, the rats are not truly real because others cannot determine their presence. Lovecraft showcases that the rats are nonexistent by saying, “the rats they can never hear; the rats, the rats in the walls” (89). The rodents simply serve to represent de la Poer’s psyche, for they only appeared while he is becoming unclear and crazed (which is shown by the change of structure in the text). Furthermore, there are multiple declarations of the rats moving, or specifically, “scurrying” (89). The actions of the rats constantly moving is in correlation to de la Poer’s mind working and his cannibalistic urges elevating. When the rats scurry, de la Poer loses a sense of himself. Therefore, his mind deteriorates and the rats are, in a sense, ‘commanding’ him to commit horrid acts. 

Alternatively, the rats are always spoken about in plural form. There is never a single rat; there are always multiple rats. The rats are a representation of de la Poer’s ancestors themselves. In literature, rats are often portrayed as vermin, or rather, animals that are unwanted and filled with disease. In the same way, the de la Poer family is ‘diseased,’ in the sense that they are corrupt. The family is known to have been murderers that have mistreated their servants and their own family members. This is why de la Poer feels the need to protect his name through saying, “I am not that daemon swineherd in the twilit grotto!” (88). With regards to dismissing his family’s wrong-doings, de la Poer puts blame on the rats for his sinful actions. This act connects back to the theme of fate and the past. De la Poer faces punishment because of repeating the wrongful actions of his ancestors. His fate was being locked up due to repeating the past. 

In the end, the elements of this passage tie together to restate that fate is determined by one’s lineage and the actions they take to become knowledgeable about the past. Lovecraft successfully displays this theme through his use of diction which creates an ominous tone. He continues to change the tone with his modifications to the text’s structure in order to characterize de la Poer as someone who is not stable. Similarly, his use of the rats as a symbol explain de la Poer’s mental state and the importance of his ancestors. “The Rats in the Walls” is a text that portrays the pessimistic side of fate and family. Although the text is exaggerated and does not display everyday occurrences, it still provides good insight on how important it is for one to completely understand their past in order to prevent unfortunate outcomes in their future. Lovecraft reminds his readers that reputation and history are significant factors in developing one’s own character in society. 
