Lovecraft relies heavily on imagery and language in the first paragraphs of the story. Some readers who prefer more action have criticized the opening pages as slow and overly wordy. However, Lovecraft takes this opportunity to let the reader experience the blasted heath in detail. He uses setting to establish a sense of loneliness and isolation, leading the reader from an overview of the unoccupied forested hills deeper into the close darkness of the valleys. The sense of isolation in the back country of New England mirrors the loneliness and isolation of humankind in a universe utterly indifferent to them.

Lovecraft loved science, particularly the more unusual branches. The behavior of the scientists in the story may reflect Lovecraft’s reading of the work of Charles Fort, who maintained that mainstream scientists had an unreasonable prejudice against unconventional knowledge. When the scientists in the story are confronted with something outside their experience, they apply labels—most of which mean, “we don’t know”—and take no more interest. They might have learned more about the aftereffects of the meteorite if they had been interested in knowledge outside of their conventional understanding. Their abdication leaves Nahum more isolated than ever.