Letters from The Samantha

An interesting short story is “Letters from The Samantha” by Mark Helpin. This story tells the fascinating tale, in the form of never sent letters, of an ape brought aboard an iron-hulled sailing ship in 1909 by Samson Low, the ship’s captain. Although the author makes a point to tell the reader, through Samson Low, that the animal does not symbolize anything or mean anything, in fact, “He stands for nothing” (280), several arguments can be …

…the rules when the ape was on board. This let him live, as he had not in a long time, from climbing the rigging, to socializing more freely with his men, to being lenient where he had never been before. Their similarities and differences support the two sides of this creature. It would not be farfetched to say that after the ape had gone, he stayed with Samson for a long time if not always.