Themes

The main themes of the short story “Enoch” by Robert Bloch are mental illness and versions of reality. The author’s intention with the story is to draw attention to the way people perceive mental illness. The ill person might think he is possessed, while the others simply deem him crazy and exclude him. The ambiguity of Enoch’s existence makes readers question what is real and not and the existence of the supernatural. …

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Mental illness

The theme of mental illness is explored through the whole plot of the story. The main character of the story is a man named Seth who claims he is controlled and manipulated by a little creature (Enoch) who inhabits his head and who orders him to kill people.

However, even without knowing about Seth’s serial murders, the people in his town already think that he is crazy because his mother who practiced witchcraft was killed and he has lived alone all his life. Ironically, although the people in the town believe his mother was a witch, the men he tells about Enoch do not believe him. Seth illustrates the way a person who is probably mentally ill perceives his own disease. Seth prefers to adopt the narrative of the victim (the idea that he is powerless in Enoch’s grip) and refuses to take any responsibility for his crimes. Furthermore, he shows no sense of remorse. This suggests that Seth is a…

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Versions of reality

The theme of versions of reality is explored in the story mostly through Enoch’s character. For the first part of the narrative, we only read the subjective account of Seth, the first-person narrator who believes that an evil tiny creature named Enoch inhabits his head. Although the narrator gives a detailed and realistic account of his relationship with Seth, it is still easy to assume that he is crazy and he invented Enoch out of loneliness and to justif…