The collective works of H.P. Lovecraft have entertained and inspired readers from all over the world. He has filled our imaginations with psychopaths, mad doctors, haunted towns, cosmic gods, and all manner of other disturbing images. However, the point that has disturbed some readers and sparked a fair amount of criticism regarding his work was Lovecraft’s racism. Like many authors Lovecraft used his work to express his frustrations with his personal life as well as the general state of life around him. And despite how easy it can be to criticize Lovecraft’s intolerance he was by no means a free radical in a world of open minded acceptance. Though I do not say he and his ideals should get a pass, Lovecraft’s opinions were much more common during his lifetime, and they can now serve as an example to learn from or discuss the social politics during the twentieth century, and perhaps even our current social climate as well. In many ways the social mentality during Lovecraft’s time seems somewhat foreign compared to today’s standards, but in just as many places it is hard to tell if thing have ever changed. There are numerous communities segregated not by law but by societal pressures, and people who lash out at minorities and foreigners either physically or politically. We are taught to not only learn about the past but to learn from it. Lovecraft expressed many ideas that were integral to his time. And while we may not agree with those ideas, we can still learn from them as we try to better ourselves, so as not to repeat his mistakes.
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