Compare Kurtz's African woman to "his Intended" and show how this contrast highlights the central theme of the novel: Darkness and Light in Heat of DarknessIn Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness
By James Campbell Compare Kurtz's African woman to "his Intended" and show how this contrast highlights the central theme of the novel: Darkness and Light in Heat of Darkness In Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness, Marlow - who is both the protagonist, whose actions make up the main plot of the novel, and the narrator, whose thoughts and attitudes shape the reader's perception of the story - has a revelation about human nature. Initially, he associates things such as civilisation, knowledge, and good in terms of light - as it appears; and lack of civilisation, savagery, and evil in terms of darkness - an expected perception. However, as Marlow begins to have glimpses at the truth of human nature, his associations reverse. He associates darkness with the civilised brutality of imperialist Europe, and light with the savage reality of native Africa. The theme of darkness and light is developed throughout the novella, revealed by the disparity between Europe and Africa, portrayed more specifically between the two secondary symbols: the European woman - "His Intended", and the African woman - his mistress. These two women innocently serve to identify the difficulty in distinguishing between darkness and light, the appearance and reality of humanity. And as Marlow inexorably discovers in his revelations, underneath the shell of each and every human being there is a
Comparison of Beloved by Toni Morrison and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
IB Comparative World Literature From a literal viewpoint, the novels Beloved by Toni Morrison and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad have no correlation on the grounds that they feature entirely different settings, timeframes, character types, and style. However, when the overall themes and messages of both books are examined, the reader is able to see that both stories make strong statements about societies plagued by racism. In Morrison's novel, Beloved, Denver's character undergoes significant personality changes that vary with the progression of the plot and especially with Beloved's presence in 124; these changes mirror the emotional and psychological journey of the character Marlow from Heart of Darkness. Both of these evolving characterizations reflect the authors' intents to display the effect of racism and societal corruption on individuals. Throughout Beloved, the relationships between the key characters are in a constant state of motion and fluidity, depending on the presence of the most influential character, Beloved. In particular, the relationships involving the character Beloved are often especially dynamic, and Beloved's presence in the lives of several characters frequently leaves them with significant emotional changes. Specifically, the cycle of Denver's maturity throughout the plot relates strongly to the power that Beloved had over her at any
Analizing Marlow
Jason Chernenko Lit 219W, Sec. S1 Essay #1 Marlow and his Confusing and Ever Changing Sides Marlow is the protagonist in Heart of Darkness and is throughout the novel, mostly the narrator. He takes the place of a riverboat captain who died from a scuffle with the natives. In the beginning of the novel, he does not expect the experiences he was going to receive. Throughout the story Heart of Darkness, the main character, Marlow, demonstrates a range of character traits; he is at first ambitious, adventurous, and curious next he is sexist and outspoken, and finally he shows that he is ambiguous and sympathetic. Right from the very beginning of the story, Marlow's curious and adventurous side is apparent. Marlow is a sailor who is employed by an English trading company and sent to an African colony. There he travels up the river, visiting the trading stations who barter for ivory with the natives. On his journey, he hears about a man named Kurtz, whose station is the one furthest up the river, deep in the African jungle. Some talk of Kurtz in awe, others admire Kurtz, but they all seem to fear him. He journeys through the Congo, trying to find the man called Kurtz. However, he becomes obsessed with meeting Kurtz, becoming more curious as he gets closer towards him. As Marlow gets closer and closer to Kurtz he understands that the man has gone insane and is now doing the
The perfection of a short story lies in the symbiosis between content and form. Stylistic devices - especially imagery - contribute to the effect of the story
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 2 Stylistic Devices: Imagery 2 2.1 Imagery in Katherine Mansfield's "Miss Brill" 3 2.2 Imagery in Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Sharer" 6 3 Conclusion 9 Bibliography 12 Introduction The perfection of a short story lies in the symbiosis between content and form. Stylistic devices - especially imagery - contribute to the effect of the story, and according to Joseph Conrad "it is only through complete, unswerving devotion to the perfect blending of form and substance; it is only through an unremitting never-discouraged care for the shape and ring of sentences that an approach can be made to plasticity, to colour, and that the light of magic suggestiveness may be brought to play for an evanescent instant over the commonplace surface of words" (Conrad 1955). Short stories often rely heavyly on imagery and visual language, for the quite obvious reason that authors have very little space at their hands to bring a subject to life, to give the audience a vivd impression of it. Where a novelist can take any number of pages to establish an atmosphere, develop a character, unfold a plot etc., the author of a short story must make do with an extremely limited amount of text and information. It is therefore necessary, in order to attain intensity, to employ those stylistic
Man's Journey into Self in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now
Man's Journey into Self in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Inherent inside every human soul is a savage evil side that remains repressed by society. Often this evil side breaks out during times of isolation from our culture, and whenever one culture confronts another. History is loaded with examples of atrocities that have occurred when one culture comes into contact with another. Whenever fundamentally different cultures meet, there is often a fear of contamination and loss of self that leads us to discover more about our true selves, often causing perceived madness by those who have yet to discover. The Puritans left Europe in hopes of finding a new world to welcome them and their beliefs. What they found was a vast new world, loaded with Indian cultures new to them. This overwhelming cultural interaction caused some Puritans to go mad and try to purge themselves of a perceived evil. This came to be known as the Salem witch trials. During World War II, Germany made an attempt to overrun Europe. What happened when the Nazis came into power and persecuted the Jews in Germany, Austria and Poland is well known as the Holocaust. Here, human's evil side provides one of the scariest occurrences of this century. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi counterparts conducted raids of the ghettos to locate and often exterminate any Jews they found. Although Jews are the most widely known
Comparisons Between the Development of the Subconscious in Characters in Gordimer's July's People and Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Amber Lee English 2 - World Lit September 22, 2002 Comparisons Between the Development of the Subconscious in Characters in Gordimer's July's People and Conrad's Heart of Darkness Following an irregularity or turbulence of one's environment and lifestyle, basic human motivations and behavioral patterns undergo many significant changes. The psychological development of the characters in July's People and Heart of Darkness is comparable to each other, as the characters in both novels experience a change from living a life of comfort and luxuries to being reduced to a lifestyle dependent upon nature and few material privileges. This also causes the characters to feel a severe threat to their sense of mastery as a European. The characters in both novels are driven into the less explored regions of Africa, which Graham Greene describes as a great continent in the shape of a human heart, "a place where barbarism triumphs over humanity, nature over technology, biology over culture, id over superego." (McLynn, ix) It appears that Africa has become a topology of the mind, all beckoning part of the chaotic unconsciousness within the while European, waiting to be discovered and explored. It is easy to scout parallels between Marlow's tale and the Smales' stay in Africa, seeking insight into the language of depth psychology. In July's People, revolution forces the Smales to escape
Conrad's usage of imagery in the "Heart of Darkness"
Aristotle, a famous Greek philosopher, said that the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. If that is the case, then Joseph Conrad is a true artist regarding the pictures he paints with his words. Conrad's most effective literary tool for plot development and expressing the theme is his use of imagery. Karl, a noted critic, explains this technique that Conrad uses. "The scenes and images (that Conrad depicts) are a variety which permits extension and almost a limitless number of references are possible"(168). His use of imagery is so detailed and accurate, one feels as if they are in the scene he is describing. Conrad's work that best represent his profound usage of imagery is, "Heart of Darkness." In this famous short story, Conrad creates these evocative images of Britain and other parts of the world showing his readers the negative side of humanity. He does this by describing historical events, different races, and the environments in which his characters dwell. Conrad uses imagery in his short story, "The Heart of Darkness," to establish a criticism towards western civilized society and an exploration through the Human Psych. During his time, British Imperialism spread all across Eastern Asia and the Africa. Regarding Africa, British colonies could be found in the southern and central part of the African
Fear of the Dark.
Fear of the Dark As evening draws to a close over the town, a young girl wandered aimlessly through the winding alleyways. The sunlight does not steadily fade away in the city, as it does in the open countryside. Instead, as the bright orb passed over each alleyway, the light rays were instantly extinguished as they fell behind the towering forms of the buildings. This leaves the usually sunny streets in pure and perfect darkness, as if the light has been simply stopped, as a light bulb is switched off and a candle flame is so easily snuffed. The dark shadows stole across everything, smothering all in its path with an unbearable feeling of loneliness and doom. And so it went on, with a seemingly insatiable hunger that needed to be satisfied... To the girl, an insignificant being in the endless world of darkness, the streets seemed to go on forever. She was caught, racing desperately about the winding alleys, like a lab-rat in an infinite maze. Running on and on forever. Always with the hope that the next corner will be the last... Her only option was to persevere, as staying put would make no progress at all. Going back was virtually impossible, for her path had been swallowed up by the advancing dark. Tall buildings leaned over to gaze curiously down at the lost stranger, their windows glaring down like hollow life-less eyes. As eyes were no longer of any use, she reached
Features of Twentieth Century Literature.
20th century is the age of modernism in literature.20th century's literature follows differently from the 19th century literature, because of importance given to presentation of human consciousness and human psychology. As result new narrative techniques like impressionism and stream of consciousness has been introduced, the purpose of whom is to highlight human perception. Impressionism has been adopted by many writers, replacing realism.20th century is an age of emphasis on inner reality, therefore psychoanalysis and human psychology is an important part of literature. Experience is given structural support by, motifs, myths, and parallel themes. Isolation and, loss of hope in humanity are one of the salient themes of modern literature. E.M. Forster, Joseph Conrad and James Joyce are three prominent writers of the twentieth century, who applied modern techniques and themes in their novels. Human consciousness is an important aspect of 20th century novel. Human, thoughts, feelings and stimulations are much important constituent of the century s fiction. In fact "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is like a little world of Stephen's mind, which is a result of an evolutionary process. Ulysses can be called the story of thought life of Stephen and
Good and evil
Good and evil Two authors of different periods wrote on the same subject. Each approaches the idea from a different direction. Anton Chekhov looks at the aspects of light as a sign of hope. Franz Kafka examines the despair that comes from darkness in humans. Despite their different approaches, both address the aspects of the human psyche that deal with good and evil. Light to Chekhov displays hope and the good in man. Kafka sees darkness as the example of human evil and despair. The use of light in The Cherry Orchard and The Metamorphosis shows the antithetical elements of good and evil and the authors' attempts to show the human condition of the conflicting elements hope and despair. Kafka's mind dealt in the darkness, and Chekhov's mind dealt in light. According to human mythology, light and dark represent good and evil. Good things happen under the light; in the shadows, the human psyche does not feel comfortable. The aristocrats in Cherry Orchard exist in a changing society, with the new ways crumbling away their positions. Madame Ranevskaya, one of the main aristocrats, says upon her return from Europe, "All white, all white! Oh, my cherry orchard! After the dark and stormy autumn and the winter frosts you are young again and full of happiness" (Chekhov 28). This observation emphasizes the good that humans associate with light. The aristocrats distribute