What is The Sandman (short story)?
'''The Sandman (short story)''' is a [[short story]] by [[Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann]], which he wrote in 1817. It's a [[science fiction]] [[horror]] [[story]]. ==Plot== When he was a [[child]], Nathaniel snuck out of his room at night and watched his [[father]] work with an [[alchemist]] named Coppelius on creating [[robot]]s called [[automaton]]s. When Nathaniel was scared and [[scream]]ed, Coppelius decided to take his [[eyes]] out of his [[head]] and put them in an automaton but Nathaniel’s father stopped him so Nathaniel woke up [[thinking]] it was a [[nightmare]]. Years later a [[man]] named Coppola came to Nathaniel to sell him [[glasses]] and Nathaniel threatened to throw him out a [[window]] because he reminded him of Coppelius. Nathaniel wrote to his [[girlfriend]] Clara and her [[brother]] Lothar telling them what happened to him in his [[childhood]] but they think it's a [[false memory]] so Nathaniel breaks up with Clara. After [[Professor]] Spallanzani tells Nathaniel that Coppola comes from [[Italy]] and Coppelius is from [[Germany]], Nathaniel buys a [[telescope]] from Coppola. Then Nathaniel sees Spallanzani’s [[daughter]] Olympia with the telescope and falls in [[love]] with her. Then Coppelius tears her [[human]] [[eyes]] out of her [[machine]] [[head]] and [[running|runs]] away as it turns out Olympia is an [[automaton]]. Nathaniel has a [[nervous breakdown]] and starts to have [[psychosis]]. After Nathaniel gets better he decides to marry Clara but then he sees Coppelius with the telescope and goes [[violent]]ly [[insane]]. Nathaniel [[kill]]s himself and Coppelius tears his eyes out of his head and runs away [[laugh]]ing with them probably planning to use them when making new automatons. ==Freud’s analysis== [[Sigmund Freud]] wrote an [[essay]] on The Sandman in which he came up with the idea of the [[uncanny]] which is also the source of the idea of the [[uncanny valley]]. [[Category:Horror stories]] [[Category:1810s books]] [[Category:German literature]] [[Category:Science fiction bo