Subsoil (short story)
Encyclopedia
The short story
Subsoil by Nicholson Baker
first appeared in The New Yorker
periodical
on June 27, 1994. Subsoil is a terrifying, yet humorous tale of a man, Nyle T. Milner, who meets his doom after being assaulted and forced by attacking, sprouting potato
es that lure agriculturalists into their sleepy Krebs Cycle
.
Following his encounter with the potato, Nyle makes his way down from his room for dinner. He learns that the menu was leek and potato soup; however he is the only one eating it. After some time, he mentiones the Mr. Potato Head Kit he had found earlier and states how it had startled him. After dinner, Mrs. Tait leads Nyle into the kitchen, revealing to him dozens of potatoes all shapes and sizes and making sure to mention that they only use "fresh" ones. Nyle leaves the Taits and proceeds to his room. While trying to fall asleep he wondered why Mrs. Tait used the word "fresh".
He wakes up to venture back downstairs to the kitchen, though when he gets to the door he notices a sprout coming through the keyhole. He opens the door and notices a dozen or more potatoes coming toward him. Nyle goes back inside and tries to blockade the door. The potatoes are coming after him. Nyle tries to escape; however the dead Mr. Potato Head's spuds spawn veer toward Nyle's face, causing him to fall. The potatoes begin to inhabit his body planting themselves within. After some time Nyle wakes up in a very dark place - the box he originally encountered upon his arrival at "The Taits". A child begins pushing the Mr. Potato Head features into Nyle and puts him back into the box. Many years later, a man opens the box and is frightened by the mummified potato which ultimately begins the new Krebs Cycle.
historian
being fearful of potatoes. Normally we would expect that the man could overcome this fear and find it laughable. We did not expect that the disfigured Mr. Potato Head
and a band of vengeful potatoes would attack and inhabit Nyle. The normal/expected outcome of the story was washed away by an absurdity
/illogicality
.
Regardless of the fact that the story is about a man fearing potatoes, within there are deeper undertones. In reading the story, take notice to how many of the characters died and the events surrounding their deaths. There is a common reason they all died, which is work. Raymond Purty who is mentioned in the story worked for years as an expert on the early silo
s and was working on a book about them, died due to three tons of raw soy
suffocating
him. Also the engineer
dreamt of by Nyle, Shelby Hemper Fairchild, died at the hands of her own work the Guttersnipe. Lastly the main character, Nyle T. Milner, was highly invested in studying harrows
(which of course harvest potatoes). Although a harrow itself didn't outright kill him, the potatoes which it harvested did. He as well as the others were consumed by their own work.
If the story wasn't ironic in the sense that many of the characters were killed by their line of work, the main point which Baker was trying to convey to his audience wouldn't have been as forcefully made. By having the irony of the characters being killed by their respective line of works, Baker is trying to express the message that we should take our work seriously and have pride in it, but we should also not let it consume us. We should have some time for play as well, or else it will end up taking over our lives completely. This theme is more apparent and easier to pick out than the next one.
Another theme presenting itself within Subsoil is that we cannot subdue nature. Anything in life can influence us in a positive or negative way, it all depends on how we handle it - if you can take something scary and laugh it off, it won't be as scary. However, if you struggle to make it less serious it can take over your mind and ultimately affect you.
present. Nicholson Baker infuses a variety of elements into this riveting story in order to create an uncanny/surreal
experience for the audience. By challenging boundaries and limits of everyday thought, strains the readers mind and imagination
allowing for an ingenious, humorous, and terrifying tale of a man who is inhabited by vengeful potatoes.
The most noticeably employed are betrayal of innocence, fear and extremes. Baker took a simple childhood memory, a Mr. Potato Head
, and a simple vegetable and warped them into cold hearted killers. Forcing readers to throw out the fun loving images of a Mr. Potato Head, as well as their original thoughts on a dinner-time side dish and replacing them with this new fear invoking extreme.
Another element Baker used to make this story even creepier was the concept of horror. Subsequent to Nyle seeing the shriveled up Mr. Potato Head he is left with a feeling of revulsion and fear which intensifies onward through the story.
A third concept engaged was that of the abhuman
. In Gothic fiction
this refers to something that has only remnants of being human, in the process of becoming monstrous
. It may not be extremely clear how a human and a potato can be interrelated or even comparable. Yet Baker accomplishes this feat by giving the potatoes, specifically the Mr. Potato Head life as well as emotions (specifically revenge).
The last major Gothic element that can be found in Baker's story is Darwinism
. This notion is basically "survival of the fittest"
which is demonstrated by how the potatoes overpower and inhabit Nyle's body.
Unfortunately there are not any documented criticisms of Nicholson Baker's Subsoil. However, there are criticisms of other works by Baker which may be applicable for critiquing this particular story. Baker's writing is gimmicky and whimsical - he writes comedic novels
and stories that do not carry a plot - leading many critics to take him and his writing with a grain of salt.Baker
is also notable for altering common/everyday activities into superb twisted descriptions of thought and serious consideration. He is also widely recognized for his "originality and linguistic virtuosity".
newspaper.
Two years later it appeared in the American Gothic Tales
anthology
created by Joyce Carol Oates
, and published by Plume Publishing
.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
Subsoil by Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker is a contemporary American writer of fiction and non-fiction. As a novelist, he often focuses on minute inspection of his characters' and narrators' stream of consciousness, and has written about such provocative topics as voyeurism and planned assassination...
first appeared in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
periodical
Periodical publication
Periodical literature is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar examples are the newspaper, often published daily, or weekly; or the magazine, typically published weekly, monthly or as a quarterly...
on June 27, 1994. Subsoil is a terrifying, yet humorous tale of a man, Nyle T. Milner, who meets his doom after being assaulted and forced by attacking, sprouting potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es that lure agriculturalists into their sleepy Krebs Cycle
Citric acid cycle
The citric acid cycle — also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle , the Krebs cycle, or the Szent-Györgyi-Krebs cycle — is a series of chemical reactions which is used by all aerobic living organisms to generate energy through the oxidization of acetate derived from carbohydrates, fats and...
.
Main characters
- Nyle T. Milner is the main character in Subsoil. He is an agriculturalAgricultural scienceAgricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...
historianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, who is researching and writing a book about the early harrowHarrow (tool)In agriculture, a harrow is an implement for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the soil. In this way it is distinct in its effect from the plough, which is used for deeper tillage. Harrowing is often carried out on fields to follow the rough finish left by ploughing operations...
.
- Manager of the Harvey Motel (No Name Given) is mentioned in passing towards the beginning of the story. It is said that she is very interested in Nyle's work, and goes out of her way to make his stays comfortable at the hotel.
- Bill Fipton is the owner and curator of the Museum of the Tractor in which the main character visits multiple times, and during the course of the story.
- The Taits are the inn keepers, of which Bill Fipton suggests Nyle stays during his visit. Their inn is noted for having an "interesting" soup.
- Raymond Purty is mentioned while Nyle ponders if he will ever finish his monographMonographA monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
. He was an expert on early siloSiloA silo is a structure for storing bulk materials.Silo may also refer to:* Silo , a 3D modeling software* Silo , a defunct chain of retail electronics stores* SILO , used in Linux...
s and was working on a manuscriptManuscriptA manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
about them, however while working on it he was suffocatedAsphyxiaAsphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
under three tons of raw soySoybeanThe soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
.
- Juliette, is a worker at "The Taits". She makes the labor-intensive and infamous soup.
- Douglass Grieb was mentioned in passing during dinner. He was a controversial figure in his line of work. Not only that but he was the last person to use the room in which Nyle was occupying during his present stay at the Taits'.
- Shelby Hemper Fairchild was dreamt of and felt sorry for by Nyle. She was a minor engineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, who died from inhalationInhalationInhalation is the movement of air from the external environment, through the air ways, and into the alveoli....
of a cotton ballCottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
. She also developed Bleidman & Company's famous Guttersnipe (an erratic but groundbreaking turfSodSod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
flailFlailA flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...
and trencherTrencher (machine)A trencher is a piece of construction equipment used to dig trenches, typically for laying pipes or cables, or for drainage. Trenchers may range in size from walk-behind models, to attachments for a skid loader or tractor, to very heavy tracked heavy equipment.-Types:Trenchers come in different...
).
Storyline
Nyle T. Milner, a hard working agricultural historian, is busy researching and working on a book about the early harrow. He is in the process of traveling to the Museum of the Tractor located in Harvey, New York for the fourth time. He asks Bill Fipton for recommendations of accommodations, and Bill offers up "The Taits" inn stating that they make an "interesting" soup. He explores the hotel room and comes across a Mr. Potato Head Kit. He opens the box quickly and is surprised to find a real potato with all the facial features still punctured into it. The mummified potato startles him.Following his encounter with the potato, Nyle makes his way down from his room for dinner. He learns that the menu was leek and potato soup; however he is the only one eating it. After some time, he mentiones the Mr. Potato Head Kit he had found earlier and states how it had startled him. After dinner, Mrs. Tait leads Nyle into the kitchen, revealing to him dozens of potatoes all shapes and sizes and making sure to mention that they only use "fresh" ones. Nyle leaves the Taits and proceeds to his room. While trying to fall asleep he wondered why Mrs. Tait used the word "fresh".
He wakes up to venture back downstairs to the kitchen, though when he gets to the door he notices a sprout coming through the keyhole. He opens the door and notices a dozen or more potatoes coming toward him. Nyle goes back inside and tries to blockade the door. The potatoes are coming after him. Nyle tries to escape; however the dead Mr. Potato Head's spuds spawn veer toward Nyle's face, causing him to fall. The potatoes begin to inhabit his body planting themselves within. After some time Nyle wakes up in a very dark place - the box he originally encountered upon his arrival at "The Taits". A child begins pushing the Mr. Potato Head features into Nyle and puts him back into the box. Many years later, a man opens the box and is frightened by the mummified potato which ultimately begins the new Krebs Cycle.
Major themes
Subsoil is filled with humorous irony and many hidden lessons for its readers to learn. The story is filled with very ironic circumstances - one of the major ironies is the idea of an agriculturalAgricultural science
Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
being fearful of potatoes. Normally we would expect that the man could overcome this fear and find it laughable. We did not expect that the disfigured Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head! is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of plastic parts that can attach to the main body. These parts usually include ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, a nose, and a mouth. The toy was invented and developed by George Lerner in...
and a band of vengeful potatoes would attack and inhabit Nyle. The normal/expected outcome of the story was washed away by an absurdity
Absurdism
In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
/illogicality
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
.
Regardless of the fact that the story is about a man fearing potatoes, within there are deeper undertones. In reading the story, take notice to how many of the characters died and the events surrounding their deaths. There is a common reason they all died, which is work. Raymond Purty who is mentioned in the story worked for years as an expert on the early silo
Silo
A silo is a structure for storing bulk materials.Silo may also refer to:* Silo , a 3D modeling software* Silo , a defunct chain of retail electronics stores* SILO , used in Linux...
s and was working on a book about them, died due to three tons of raw soy
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
suffocating
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
him. Also the engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
dreamt of by Nyle, Shelby Hemper Fairchild, died at the hands of her own work the Guttersnipe. Lastly the main character, Nyle T. Milner, was highly invested in studying harrows
Harrow (tool)
In agriculture, a harrow is an implement for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the soil. In this way it is distinct in its effect from the plough, which is used for deeper tillage. Harrowing is often carried out on fields to follow the rough finish left by ploughing operations...
(which of course harvest potatoes). Although a harrow itself didn't outright kill him, the potatoes which it harvested did. He as well as the others were consumed by their own work.
If the story wasn't ironic in the sense that many of the characters were killed by their line of work, the main point which Baker was trying to convey to his audience wouldn't have been as forcefully made. By having the irony of the characters being killed by their respective line of works, Baker is trying to express the message that we should take our work seriously and have pride in it, but we should also not let it consume us. We should have some time for play as well, or else it will end up taking over our lives completely. This theme is more apparent and easier to pick out than the next one.
Another theme presenting itself within Subsoil is that we cannot subdue nature. Anything in life can influence us in a positive or negative way, it all depends on how we handle it - if you can take something scary and laugh it off, it won't be as scary. However, if you struggle to make it less serious it can take over your mind and ultimately affect you.
Gothic elements
Throughout the short story, Subsoil, there are many Gothic elementsGothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
present. Nicholson Baker infuses a variety of elements into this riveting story in order to create an uncanny/surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
experience for the audience. By challenging boundaries and limits of everyday thought, strains the readers mind and imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
allowing for an ingenious, humorous, and terrifying tale of a man who is inhabited by vengeful potatoes.
The most noticeably employed are betrayal of innocence, fear and extremes. Baker took a simple childhood memory, a Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head! is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of plastic parts that can attach to the main body. These parts usually include ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, a nose, and a mouth. The toy was invented and developed by George Lerner in...
, and a simple vegetable and warped them into cold hearted killers. Forcing readers to throw out the fun loving images of a Mr. Potato Head, as well as their original thoughts on a dinner-time side dish and replacing them with this new fear invoking extreme.
Another element Baker used to make this story even creepier was the concept of horror. Subsequent to Nyle seeing the shriveled up Mr. Potato Head he is left with a feeling of revulsion and fear which intensifies onward through the story.
A third concept engaged was that of the abhuman
Abhuman
Abhuman, distinguished from inhuman, is a term used by William Hope Hodgson in his novel The Night Land and his Carnacki stories. Abhumans also appear in the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, and Bram Stoker among other notable modernist American and British authors.-Description:In...
. In Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
this refers to something that has only remnants of being human, in the process of becoming monstrous
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
. It may not be extremely clear how a human and a potato can be interrelated or even comparable. Yet Baker accomplishes this feat by giving the potatoes, specifically the Mr. Potato Head life as well as emotions (specifically revenge).
The last major Gothic element that can be found in Baker's story is Darwinism
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
. This notion is basically "survival of the fittest"
Survival of the fittest
"Survival of the fittest" is a phrase originating in evolutionary theory, as an alternative description of Natural selection. The phrase is today commonly used in contexts that are incompatible with the original meaning as intended by its first two proponents: British polymath philosopher Herbert...
which is demonstrated by how the potatoes overpower and inhabit Nyle's body.
Criticism
Baker's tale of vengeful potatoes is truly a weird story. However, it has plenty of humor and wittiness tied together with perfectly placed irony. Some aspects of the story don't really make sense, yet it simply works, but if you don't understand potato humor it seems almost hopeless and won't be appreciated it. The extreme of potatoes having the power to take control of a human being is also a bit of a stretch - requiring imagination to capture the true essence of this story.Unfortunately there are not any documented criticisms of Nicholson Baker's Subsoil. However, there are criticisms of other works by Baker which may be applicable for critiquing this particular story. Baker's writing is gimmicky and whimsical - he writes comedic novels
Comic novel
A comic novel is a work of fiction in which the writer not only seeks to amuse the reader, but also to make the reader think about controversial issues, sometimes with subtlety and as part of a carefully woven narrative; sometimes, above all other considerations...
and stories that do not carry a plot - leading many critics to take him and his writing with a grain of salt.Baker
Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker is a contemporary American writer of fiction and non-fiction. As a novelist, he often focuses on minute inspection of his characters' and narrators' stream of consciousness, and has written about such provocative topics as voyeurism and planned assassination...
is also notable for altering common/everyday activities into superb twisted descriptions of thought and serious consideration. He is also widely recognized for his "originality and linguistic virtuosity".
Publication information
Subsoil by Nicholson Baker, originally appeared on June 27, 1994 in The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
newspaper.
Two years later it appeared in the American Gothic Tales
American Gothic Tales
American Gothic Tales - is an anthology of "gothic" American short fiction. Edited and with an Introduction by Joyce Carol Oates, it was published by Plume in 1996...
anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
created by Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
, and published by Plume Publishing
Plume (publishing)
Plume is a publishing company in the United States, founded in 1970 as the trade paperback imprint of New American Library. Today it is a division of Penguin Group, with a backlist of approximately 700 titles....
.