Both A Passage to India and Heart of Darkness can be interpreted as portraying Imperialism in a critical light, as a dark force which spreads from England into foreign environments
The Hollowmen and the Horrors of the Abyss: An exploration of Forster's views of Imperialism in 'A Passage to India' explored via and compared with Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'. Both A Passage to India and Heart of Darkness can be interpreted as portraying Imperialism in a critical light, as a dark force which spreads from England into foreign environments, and conveying the negative aspects of it, such as racism, cruelty and exploitation. As this is such a huge topic I will in this essay attempt to explore Forster's portrait of imperialism by using Conrad's novella's running theme of the "Heart of Darkness" - I am going to use the interpretation of the inner "Heart of Darkness" within all people- as a key to interpret Forster's views on imperialism and to see if they were similar to Conrad's. Morgan Forster's idea of the "Undeveloped heart" - being the lack of compassion and inability to understand or express feelings and emotions in the English public school boy - for me is a key similarity with Conrad's novel and his idea of the "Heart of Darkness" as the dark side of man. It seems throughout 'A Passage to India' that the defect is present in all people, but that the morally grey force of imperialism encourages it. For Forster, human defects thrive and are brought to the forefront by the force of imperialism. For men and women living in Forster's England, the defects
Presenation of childhood in Jane Eyre and Once in a House On Fire
Presentation of childhood in Jane Eyre and "Once in a House on Fire" Charlotte Bronte writes about the past life of Jane Eyre as a child in the household of the Reed family, she describes how Jane Eyre was alienated and oppressed by the Reed family. However, Andrea Ashworth, even though she does endure bullying and misery, has more numerous happy moments such as when she plays with her sister when they were "hopping about in the cold" and imagined "bombs whistling out of the sky", however the reader is shown that it was a restricted fun as they "took care to keep their voices down" which shows how afraid they are of annoying their stepfather. The entire book of "Jane Eyre" begins by the use of pathetic fallacy to reflect the situation and mood of the protagonist, Bronte writes "The cold winter wind and "a rain so penetrating", this detailed description of the harsh weather could mean that the protagonist is in a dire situation. This is then followed by irony as Bronte writes that Jane Eyre was "glad of it" as it gave her an unexpected holiday from the walks with the Reed family, even though her description of the weather was made so harsh through the use of visual imagery. This is in contrast to "Once in a House on Fire" which at the beginning of the book presents the reader with a number of facts which are presented by Ashworth in such a way that we do not feel sympathy
Within the three texts, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, Look back in Anger by John Osborne and The Whitsun Weddings by Phillip Larkin, each writer explores the concept of a changing world.
Michael LasseyA2 English Literature ‘Many post-World War II writers were concerned with making sense of a rapidly changing world’. Compare and contrast ways in which your chosen writers present a changing world. Within the three texts, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, Look back in Anger by John Osborne and The Whitsun Weddings by Phillip Larkin, each writer explores the concept of a ‘changing world’. However, this presentation of post-war Britain is dramatically different in each work. With Waugh, almost exclusively focusing on the effect of the aristocracy and upper classes, he differs from Osbourne and Larkin in this respect, as their texts largely concern the affect on the ‘ordinary’ and the working classes. All three main narrative voices in each of the three texts, however, all share the same sense of disillusionment, albeit for different reasons, that was part of the zeitgeist of Britain at the time still in the grips of economic and cultural austerity from the war . This disillusionment with the new world is also met in the texts with a longing for the past and a sense of nostalgia, particularly seen with the characters of Jimmy in Look back in Anger and Charles Brideshead Revisited. The three texts, although different in form and genre, all explore through varying literary methods, how the social changes in post-war Britain created a new generation
The English Patient
INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE PROFESORADO Nº 4 "ÁNGEL CÁRCANO" ENGLISH LITERATURE II THE ENGLISH PATIENT MICHAEL ONDAATJE "NATIONALITY AND IDENTITY" DEADLINE: 24/08/08 TEACHER: RAQUEL VARELA STUDENT: PAOLA MAREGA Nationhood - a constraint on people's identity and relationships The English Patient, written by Michael Ondaatje in 1992, is a historical-fiction novel, defined also as historiographic metafiction1. Its tone is "reflective and poetic" (Schonmuller, B., 2008:13) and one of its major themes is nationality and identity. The narrative is an account of the gradually revealed histories of four people living in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. The characters are the mysterious and critically burned English patient of the title, a Canadian army nurse called Hana, David Caravaggio, an Italian thief, and an Indian sapper, nicknamed Kip, belonging to the British Army. Each of them is far away from home, displaced by the war, and though they come from different and conflicting countries, they are able to live together in the villa and get on well in spite of their national and cultural differences. The English Patient focuses on the personal experiences of war of the four main characters, who have been deeply wounded by a conflict based on national divisions (Woodcock, J., 2006: 51). It also explores the effort of the characters, particularly that of the patient
Blanche and Stanley
The play has been read as a symbolic exploration of the conflict between the north and south and between a lost past and a harsh present. How far can you argue the appropriateness of such a reading through an exploration of the conflict between Blanche and Stanley. Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire reflects upon the dark aspects of humanity and the result of these social downfalls, symbolised by the Deep South and the new world. The play seems to focus on the extremes of human brutality: madness, rape, nymphomania and violent deaths. Williams often commented on the violence in his own work, which to him seemed part of the human condition. Critics, who attacked these extremes of his work, were often making an attack on his sexuality. A Streetcar Named Desire shows the conflict between traditional values of an old-world of graciousness and refined beauty versus the thrusting, rough edged, physically aggressive new world. The conflict between the two ways of life is concentrated within the battle between the two protagonists Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski. The old civilisation vested in Blanche and the modern in the virile figure of Stanley. The two are like chalk and cheese, the result of their different lifestyles, status and culture. Blanche, an educated woman of wealthy, aristocratic Creole descent and symbolically the last of the Dubois lineage of 19th
Innocence and Experience in "Atonement" and "The Go-Between"
"Adam and Eve, on eating the apple, could not have been more upset than I was" (The Go-Between Ch. 10). Discuss the ways in which the movement from innocence to experience is portrayed in two novels. "A story of innocence betrayed, and not only betrayed but corrupted" - thus L.P. Hartley set out to write The Go-Between, a story of childhood, sexual awakening, social convention and class. Ian McEwan's Atonement, a postmodern novel heavily influenced by The Go-Between, shares all these themes and more as it explores the nature of innocence and experience. The Go-Between and Atonement are most notably Bildungsromans - novels which chronicle the "coming of age" of a child. While many novels of the genre feature a movement from innocence to experience in the protagonist, both Leo and Briony, the narrators of these two novels, undergo an exceptionally profound and disastrous loss of innocence. The dual narrative voices of the two novels are themselves both innocent and experienced: the naivety of the juvenile narrator is overlaid with the shrewd hindsight of their aged self. This is used to dramatic effect in Atonement, when the older Briony bluntly states the imminent disaster - "Within the half hour Briony would commit her crime" - creating an atmosphere of prolepsis, or narrative anticipation. The Go-Between similarly hints at the forthcoming tragedy, albeit through the
Henry V compared to the War Poets. Throughout 'Henry V' there are very strong references to God, sin and salvation. War is viewed as a moral and spiritual means of upholding the status quo.
There are many different attitudes to war: pacifists find it morally outrageous and unnecessary, others a necessity to protect and defend their own country and that of others. During the life of Shakespeare the security of the King on his throne was unstable. Defending the throne and social stability through war was imperative. This is reflected thematically in 'Henry V', with Shakespeare promoting the King as a divinely appointed ruler and encouraging acceptance of this. Throughout 'Henry V' there are very strong references to God, sin and salvation. War is viewed as a moral and spiritual means of upholding the status quo. With this in mind, 'Henry V' opens with the mature king, 'The mirror of all Christian kings', seeking justification for declaring war on France, with Henry asking the Archbishop if God is happy with his claim to the French throne. 'May I with right and conscience make this claim?' Henry, asking the Archbishop for support as King of England, demonstrates his desire to fight in the name of God, confirming that God's appointed monarch is bound by spiritual laws. Later on in the play we learn of Henry's other justification for war: honour. He says he is not interested in gold - he only wants honour and glory for his country. 'But if it be a sin to covet honour, then I am the most offending soul alive.' Henry will not proceed with war unless his decision to
The strength of Much Ado About Nothing lies in its balance of contrasting elements
The strength of Much Ado about Nothing lies in its balance of contrasting elements. Do you agree? Much Ado about Nothing is a romantic comedy which depicts a story of love, tragedy and mistaken identity. The story is told with a typical comic edge which incorporates witty wordplay with simple slapstick situations; however it also has contrasting elements of potential tragedy which completely contradict the otherwise romantic stance of the story. The balance of these contrasting elements certainly improves the overall effect of the play, adding viewing value in the form of interest and enjoyment. However, does the strength of the play lie in the balance of contrasting elements or the principal comic romanticism? In the sense of Comic Romanticism, Shakespeare takes the same route with Much Ado About Nothing as many modern comedy directors, using the same age old conventions to amuse the audience. However it is in the complex and articulate language he uses to invent and conduct the comic interplay, complex courtships and overall predictability of the story line that makes Much Ado About Nothing so successful in the terms of a romantic comedy. One of the main conventions of romantic comedy is the possibility for potential tragedy. Shakespeare achieves this to a very successful level, incorporating changing levels of tension and still managing to take a comic route. The
