Even before Thomas De Quincey fully exposed the mental and physical effects of frequent substance abuse in his Confessions of an English Opium Eater, he states that " ... if one's power cannot be assigned a definite boundary, the spirit of hope and pleasure makes it virtually infinite” (8). narrative largely to show its impact on the mental aspect of self-definition In the article “The Uncanny” by Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, the authors suggest that “…the real is not something that is simply a given…but it is constructed through human perception, language, beliefs, and assumptions, and consequently is something that can be changed” (Bennett 37). , the use of opium present in De Quincey's confessions becomes an integral component of the author's evolving self-perception. The romantic interest in the uncanny as seen in De Quincey's work centers both on interactions with the surrounding environment, and on how a changing perception of this same environment catalyzes and influences the development of the true inner self. The author's ability to successfully create and embody a more natural, albeit artificial, self is undeniably dependent on the increasing prevalence of opium use in his confessions and, consequently, the development of his ability to contemplate those who may be considered common events from a new perspective. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay De Quincey first addresses his use of opium as it relates to the development of an idealized self when it dictates his first experience of taking the substance. The author suddenly exclaims surprisingly powerful effects, stating…oh! Sky! what a repulsion! what an uplifting, from its deepest depths, of the inner spirit! what an apocalypse of the world inside me! That my pains had vanished was now nonsense in my eyes: – this negative effect was swallowed up in the immensity of those positive effects which had opened before me – in the abyss of divine enjoyment so suddenly revealed (De Quincey 39). quote does not yet seem to present a specific situation in which the author is able to consider relatively common stimuli from a different perspective, it is evident that De Quincey recognizes that this first experience with opium has somehow restructured his view of his “inner experience” spirit". The fact that the author is starting to accept this disturbance of his negative mental self-perception in favor of embracing what he considers a more positive internal existence proves indicative of the way in which the uncanny causes a abrupt change in the human self. this point in the narrative, De Quincey not only seems unable to handle his pain on his own, but he also now claims that he doesn't even remember the previous pains he had experienced “Here is a panacea – a [medicine to banish pain] – for all human ills” (De Quincey 39) self-definition that begins to emerge as a result of his beginning to take opium is what he realizes of the depth of the mental alterations that have occurred and the author begins to adopt a more carefree existence. His use of the phrase “abyss of divine enjoyment” and reference to an “apocalypse” of the self belies a subconscious recognition ofpermanent change in mental perception that may ultimately result from his opium abuse. The uncanny ultimately influences his personal development as he is able to perceive the negative stimuli that previously troubled him in a completely different and more positive light. At this point in the text, a tension has begun to develop between De Quincey's imagined natural self and the one that is presented outwardly without the aid of substance abuse. As a result of his beginning to develop this conception that a more romantic and natural existence will result from his substance abuse, De Quincey recounts a more specific episode in the play in which the comfort he discovers is further implemented into this process of self-definition. Through the account of his theatrical experience, the author further exemplifies how the uncanny makes him perceive a stimulus in his environment in a novel and, seen from his perspective, instructive way. De Quincey, listening to a conversation during the opera, says that I had around me... the music of the Italian language spoken by Italian women... and I listened with pleasure like that to which the traveler Weld lay down and listened, in Canada , the sweet laughter of Indian women; since the less one understood a language, the more sensitive one was to the melody or harshness of its sounds: to this end, therefore, it was an advantage for me to be a poor scholar of Italian... (46)Even if it seems While this quote predominantly refers to the beauty possessed by language even in its foreignness, the passage also directly addresses the growing effect of De Quincey's opium use on both his self-definition and the way he perceives his surroundings . Just like in the previous paragraph where the author embraces the absence of some aspects of his personality, namely his negative past, due to opium consumption, De Quincey easily accepts his lack of knowledge on a topic where he had previously experienced simply due to his altered state of mind. In addition to viewing his personal abilities and interests from an unusual perspective, he is also able to interact with his environment, albeit passively, in a different light. Although he came to the theater expressly to enjoy the show, he is also able to appreciate the simple and beautiful combination of unfamiliar sounds. Although Italian is relatively familiar to him, De Quincey is able to experience the language beyond the reality immediately in front of him and understand its stimuli on a fundamental level. This unique perception of his surroundings as well as his awareness that beauty can be found in relative ignorance (or what, in other words, can be considered his recognition of the uncanny) are caused by a substance that removes his old consciousness and replaces it with an ability to accept the circumstances of his livelihood as they currently exist. In addition to De Quincey's experience with an unfamiliar language in the theater, he also conveys this new acceptance of himself and his surroundings as they occur naturally through his analysis of understanding music. The author states that his ability to readily appreciate this situation is due to the fact that “…opium, by greatly increasing the activity of the mind in general, necessarily increases that particular mode of its activity by which we are able of building from the raw material of organic sound an elaborate intellectual pleasure” (De Quincey 45). In the previous statement it is evident that the author admits that opium is responsible for most of the mental stimulation he receives from these trips to the theater and, without the different perspective thatthe substance provides him, he would be granted a broad dissimilar experience. He even challenges a person who complains about his inability to understand music, exclaiming “Ideas! my good lord? there is no occasion for them: all that class of ideas, which may be available in such a case, has a language of representative feelings” (De Quincey 45). Much like the quote regarding the author's inability to understand Italian, De Quincey once again rejects the assumption that full mental awareness is necessary to appreciate an art form; it is only through returning to a more natural state of mind, one that has gained independence from the overwhelming need for absolute understanding, that the author can grasp his surroundings on a more simplistic and ultimately more enjoyable level. of the profound pleasure that the use of opium offers De Quincey at this stage of the novel, the author also opposes some social conceptions of its negative effects. In giving the reader examples of his excursions to the theatre, De Quincey states that “Thus I have shown that opium does not necessarily produce inactivity or torpor; but who, on the contrary, often took me to markets and theaters” (48). By mentioning these clearly cultural places, it is evident that De Quincey intends to convey that not only has he been present in these places, but can also be considered a fully functioning social figure who, in fact, is able to approach these places from a new human perception . Although the use of opium can be considered debilitating, De Quincey states here that, contrary to hindering his self-awareness, opium actually enhances it. He also states that "the remedies I sought were to fit into society and to keep my intelligence continually active in matters of science" (48). Ultimately, these two quotes, when considered together, represent the fact that De Quincey is able to engage in multiple forms of discourse: both natural observation of London as it functions unconsciously, and active engagement in academic discourse. Without his use of opium, it is possible that De Quincey would not have been able to so easily exploit the uncanny to appreciate the city for its most intriguing complexities, those complexities that might have gone unnoticed at first glance. Although De Quincey appears to argue largely in favor of this mental departure from what can be considered normal reality, the dreams he experiences as a result of opium abuse provide him with a path towards what is humanly incomprehensible and sublime. In detailing the effects of opium-induced nightmares, he explains that "...a theater seemed suddenly open and illuminated in my brain, presenting nocturnal spectacles of more than earthly splendor...the state of darkness which accompanied these splendid spectacles , amounted to last to pronounce the darkness, as in a suicidal despondency, cannot be approached with words” (De Quincey 68). Although at first glance it may seem that De Quincey completely rejects and abhors the sublime images he describes in the quote above, it is rather that these visions produced such a natural perspective on human perception that it was beyond his comprehension. He also states later that, “…the human face had often mixed in my dreams, but not despotically, nor with any. special power of torment” (De Quincey 72). From the above quotes it is clear that although the images presented are foreign and, in some cases, terrifying, these dreams suggest an even greater return to nature as he often experiences the sublime. Because opium produces a mysterious repetition of the same images of faces and natural phenomena, De Quincey is able to operate and appreciate perspective.