Heart of darkness provides us with a definitive guide on what it means to be a civilised human being. Discuss this statement with close reference to the novel.
Heart of darkness provides us with a definitive guide on what It means to be a civilised human being. Discuss this statement With close reference to the novel. Heart of darkness provides us with a plan as to what civilisation is giving information on a selection of subjects including the main themes colonialism and imperialism. To be civilised does not mean you wear smart clothes or have a respectable lifestyle is the main point introduced by this book. Civilisation and the white man are commonly connected as which man is thought upon as 'civilised'. Civilisation to a white man introduces the idea of clean clothes, shoes, speaking the queens English, owning a well kept house with a respectable family. But Conrad shows us this doesn't mean that a person is civilised. Kurtz began as a normal civilised person but then becomes a dictator, a controller of hundreds of natives. Conrad portrays the characters that he believes to be civilised in a way that the reader classes them and believes they can do no wrong. The savages are described as having no shoes they are thought upon as sub-humans and are subject to extremely racist attacks 'nigger' as they are different 'negro' words that should never be used by civilised beings. However the behaviour of the savages seem to be a lot more moral and civilised that the white man. A 'negro' of middle age is shot through the head
Discuss the similarities and differences in 'The Darkness Out There' written by Penelope Lively and 'The Black Veil' written by Charles Dickens.
Discuss the similarities and differences in 'The Darkness Out There' written by Penelope Lively and 'The Black Veil' written by Charles Dickens. Wide Reading Assignment The two stories that are being compared are 'The Darkness Out There' by Penelope Lively and 'The Black Veil' by Charles Dickens. The titles share similarities. They both contain words which hint at strange and mysterious happenings such as 'black', 'darkness' and 'veil'. 'The Darkness Out There' is about two normal children named Sandra and Kerry who go to an old lady's house as part of a club to which they are members of. The lady's name is Mrs Rutter. They start talking about a place called Packers End which is a big wood which is allegedly haunted. Mrs Rutter then tells them the true story. A German bomber crashed down in the woods during the war. She went out to look and saw that there was a pilot who was still alive. The next morning she looks at him knowing that he will soon be dead if she doesn't help him. She leaves him again and comes back the next day to find that he has died. Sandra and Kerry soon change their opinions of Mrs Rutter from a kind, old sweet lady into an evil woman with no heart. 'The Black Veil' is about a young medical practitioner who recently went into business. A woman comes to him in distress and tells the doctor about a man who is ill. She leaves him her address and leaves.
Is The Secret Shareran appropriate title for this short story? Support your ideas with detail from the text.
. -Is The Secret Sharer an appropriate title for this short story? Support your ideas with detail from the text.- In The Secret Sharer, a captain escapes his ship where he was held captive after murdering a member of the crew. He swims to another ship and admits the whole truth to the captain. Both captains have bad relationships with their crew and they empathise with each other. Legatt, who came from the other ship, is to be kept secret from the crew as his life depends on it. They have to keep quiet and whisper. An intense relationship is built up between the two of them. The captain always refers to Legatt as my "other self", "my double" or "my second self". This indicates that they belong together such as lovers. It implies that they are one person and are bound together. Legatt tells the captain immediately that he just killed a man and the captain just accepts it without question. He understands why he did it. They trust each other totally. Between them they know everything about each other, they knew each other before their eyes met. For Legatt to expose himself to a complete stranger there would have to be a bond. It is a twisted love at first sight. Another aspect of the title's secretively is brotherhood. The two captains conspire together like brothers. "Whispering side by side, with our dark heads together and our backs to the door, anybody bold enough to open
How do the authors of the two novels 'Broken April' and 'The Thief and the Dogs', use darkness to reflect the protagonist's state of mind?
How do the authors of the two novels 'Broken April' and 'The Thief and the Dogs', use darkness to reflect the protagonist's state of mind? Throughout the ages of literature, darkness has often been used as symbolic in the representation of evil, fear, concealment, loneliness and blindness. The authors of the novels 'Broken April' and 'The Thief and the Dogs 'have used this image of darkness to reflect the protagonist's state of mind. Both, Kadare and Mahfouz have used dark imagery repeatedly to reflect the feelings of 'loneliness', 'isolation' and 'fear'. The dark imagery reflects the thoughts and inner sentiments of the protagonists in both the novels. To understand the symbolism of darkness, we must first understand the role of the protagonist, the society around him, and the influence of his friends or family in shaping his character. In The thief and the Dogs, Said Mahran is the main character. Said is condemned as a criminal. He is a frustrated man who has been moulded and mistreated by his own society. He is a victim of his community. He is born poor and deprived of the basic human needs. The irresponsible and inhuman act of his wife, his friend Illish Sidra and his master Rauf Ilwan has shaken his belief in love, friendship and human values that make human life worth living. Therefore, he is constantly living a lonely, forbidden, isolated and fearful life. The image
The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius By Lucius Maximus, Later Known as Gais Lucius Maximus Augustus
Chloe Port 10TA The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius By Lucius Maximus, Later Known as Gais Lucius Maximus Augustus Suddenly the streets of Pompeii were surrounded by darkness, an eerie darkness that did not seem to clear but to flood the town. Was this the beginning of the end? Everybody began to flee from the forum running as fast as they could leaving their masters behind. A large black cloud was growing and growing. It seemed to take over the heavens and began spewing ash from every direction. A shadow of poisonous gas was flowing, causing many to fall to the floor to their deaths . Nothing could be seen through this fog of ash and smoke, many husbands were identifying wives and children by their voices. Some prayed to die others to live for the sake of loved ones and family. I could not believe that people were willing to hold their hands up to the Gods. I wanted to survive this test of the heavens. My ears had got used to the cries of the babies, the wailing of the mothers and the shouts of the men often exclaiming that there could not possibly be Gods and that the end of the world was upon us. The earth was trembling and the ground shook beneath us. All we could do was pray, whether it was to live or to die. Our lives were being held in the palms of the
How does the preparation for the river journey at the start of Heart of Darkness prepare the reader for the themes, imagery and narrative technique of the remainder of the novel?
How does the preparation for the river journey at the start of Heart of Darkness prepare the reader for the themes, imagery and narrative technique of the remainder of the novel? The tone at the start of the novel is grim and sets the scene for the rest of the narrative. This is shown when the frame narrator says brooding gloom and mournful gloom (page 31 and 33) it can give the idea that the rest of the novel will follow path and be grim as the first pages are. It also introduces the themes of the rest of the novel when the frame narrator talks about Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Franklin who were involved in Imperialism, this is introduced with such phrases as bearing the sword, and often the torch (page 32) this gives an idea that the men who have left the Thames bear the sword and torch of Imperialism and that the frame narrator is no doubt in favour of Imperialism. The first pages also show us that there will not only be a frame narrator as he talks first, but also there will be another narrator, of course who is Marlow you can see this when Marlow refers to Romans coming down the Thames and invading. Imagery is introduced when the frame narrator sees London as the scared fire of civilisation (page 32) and Marlow sees London as one of the dark places of the earth (page 33). These phrases give contrasting views, the frame narrators of light with reference to fire and
Compare how two authors use the elements of a ghost story in 'The Old Nurse's Story' and 'The Darkness Out There'. Which text do you think is the most effective and why?
Coursework Poonam Paw-10E Compare how two authors use the elements of a ghost story in 'The Old Nurse's Story' and 'The Darkness Out There'. Which text do you think is the most effective and why? A ghost story is a story intended to scare and entertain. They are almost like horror stories; the only difference is that they aren't always gory. They are told in many different forms, books, theatre and also in films. Ghost stories have been significant for 100's of years, and are a very popular form of entertainment. There are many different types of ghost stories, however I am going to look at only two main types. I will study a contempary ghost story, and compare it with a 19th century ghost story. Although both these stories are written at different periods of time and are distinct, they share some similar ingredients. They usually consist of supernatural occurrences, bad weather, strange noises, nighttime and isolation. All these conventions are combined together to make ghost stories effective. They create an eerie effect, and send shivers down our spines. The two stories that I will compare are called 'The Old Nurse's story' by Elizabeth Gaskell, and 'The Darkness Out There' by Penelope Lively. The 'Old Nurse's Story' was first published in 1850. It is a Victorian ghost story, and therefore has many
A Critique on Hobo, by Robert Bloch.
Khalid Attia English Language and Literature Mr. Roy Short Stories 'Inside Stories' A Critique on Hobo, by Robert Bloch The story opens with a man called Hannigan 'on the lam again', leaving a town he calls 'Knifeville' for reasons which are later revealed. From the offset we realize that this man is a Hobo, as suggested in the title, traveling from town to town to find refuge and avoid the so-called 'Knifevilles'. As soon as he hops into 'an empty', the smell and the lighting reflect the mood and ambience of the boxcar. The word 'musty' resonates in one's mind as being a smell closely related to death, although not relating to smell but to darkness, also touching on the idea of death. He feels the 'perspiration trickle down' his body, as if already frightened. 'That's what Sneaky Pete did to a man'. At this point we think that 'Sneaky Pete' is a person and is what is making Hannigan perspire; we become wary of the boxcar and Hannigan's surroundings. As the train picks up speed and moves on we see the lights as a 'solid neon chain'. Again 'Sneaky Pete' is mentioned but by now we realize that it is most probably alcohol as he mentions it several more times in the story and every time it is more and more closely related to alcohol rather than a person. Hannigan shrugs, trying to convince himself that he drank to celebrate his leaving
The Black Veil and The Darkness Out There
Literature Comparison English Coursework This piece compares and contrasts two short stories. One story is 'The Black Veil' and was written by Charles Dickens pre 1900. The other story is 'The Darkness Out There' and was written by Penelope Lively post 1900. The title 'The Black Veil' refers to the presentation and behaviour of the main female character in the story. During the tale she hides behind her veil, and the reason for her distress is also hidden. The veil symbolises the events, and the title reflects the gloom and the mystery of this story. The title for the other story is much more forthright. The reader knows the tale is about darkness in the world. However, the darkness not only refers to creepiness that can be found in a dark wood, but it also relates to a hidden type of darkness that can be found in a person, in this case an old lady. 'The Black Veil' is a story that keeps you guessing right until the very end. However, from the start the reader knows that something suspicious and tragic is about to happen. The lady in 'the black veil' seeks the help of a new young doctor, but her requests are confusing and bewildering. "Tomorrow morning, he of whom I speak will be, I know, though I would fain think otherwise, beyond the reach of human aid; and yet, tonight, though he is in deadly peril, you must not see, and could not serve, him." At the
With Reference to the designated extract from Heart of Darkness write a detailed analysis. Pay particular attention to the narrative devices used and examine these features in relation to realism and/ or modernism.
With Reference to the designated extract from Heart of Darkness write a detailed analysis. Pay particular attention to the narrative devices used and examine these features in relation to realism and/ or modernism. Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' is an early modernist novella. Peter Brooks has described it as 'A detective story gone modernist'. He chose this description because although 'Heart of Darkness' is an adventure story, it is not a typical detective tale as the inner narrator, Marlow, talks and philosophises far too much, and there is simply not enough action. 'Heart of Darkness' has often been described as an autobiographical work. Conrad himself made a journey, to the Congo in 1889 and captained a river steamboat. Peter Ackroyd claims the novel 'seems to reach into the heart of Conrad himself' and capture the effects of his expedition. Conrad became haunted by trauma and illness after his journey into the Congo and much of this is evident in his novella. It is however not true to say that Conrad and Marlow are the same person. Marlow is simply a projected personae created by Conrad from his own experiences. Conrad creates distance between himself and Marlow by incorporating an anonymous narrator. It is likely that Conrad chose this narrative technique to try and disassociate himself with the racist connotations throughout the novel, particularly Marlow's