Analysis of the short story 'Examination Day'.
Examination Day Essay `This essay will discuss certain reaction to the story ‘Examination day’, as well as reviewing the lifestyle and world Dickie lives in. The Jordan family are not rich but they are part of the working class society. The accommodation is quite small, they’re ‘little apartment’ is described in line 21: ‘The boy … wandered to that part of the living room which had been ‘his’ from infancy.’ This shows that things have not changed in terms of housing since he was young and probably their wealth has not increased as much as they would have liked. In the ‘little apartment’ Mrs Jordan mentioned ‘the Exam’ which was why the tension was quite high in the room. ‘The Exam’ is the ‘Government intelligence test they give to children at the age of twelve.’ This examination was to make sure that there is no-one clever enough to overrule the current government. This test shows an example of what a dictator ruled government is like. This government is a totalitarian government in terms of not wanting to lose power or authority of any sort. These citizens are stuck in an unwanted dictatorship. The examination room was just as restricted as the lives they lead. The room was very dim which represents amount of information they know about the world and their current government. Also in Dickie’s eyes the room doesn’t look very inviting
Heart of Darkness. Discuss the variety of ways in which the title of the novella might be considered an appropriate one.
Discuss the variety of ways in which the title of the novella might be considered an appropriate one. The 'Heart of Darkness', a novella by Joseph Conrad was written in 1899 and is set in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, the third largest country in Africa. The Congo River flows in an arc across the country and is surrounded by dense forest, making some parts virtually inaccessible. At the time of Conrad's writing, the country was colonised by King Leopold II of Belgium. He took profits from exporting goods such as ivory (as shown by Conrad in the novella) and rubber and built railways across the country to transport these goods and people. Just before Conrad wrote 'Heart of Darkness', Darwin's theory of evolution had raised widespread anxiety about human nature and its origins and in the novella Conrad explores how far we have really come from animals. Ultimately Conrad is condemning colonialism and the effects to which it leads. The story is told by a frame narrator who tells us of Marlow recounting his experiences in Africa. Before Marlow describes Africa and what has happened to him he gives the reader his view on London, the Thames and more generally, England. His description is a way for Conrad telling us that England used to have and, maybe still does have a heart of darkness. The narrator tells us that there is a 'mournful gloom' over London, 'the
The Setting of Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now
The Setting of Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, written in 1902, deals with themes relating to self discovery and the hypocrisy of European imperialism in the late 19th century. Francis Ford Coppola's film, Apocalypse Now, saw the successful transfer of the themes discussed in Heart of Darkness to a 20th century format - the Vietnam War. Conrad's novella follows the journey of Willard along the Congo River, into the heart of Africa. While in search of the infamous Kurtz, Willard experiences the brutality and mindless insanity as a result of European colonisation. Willard's journey becomes one of self discovery as he delves further into the foreboding country. In 1979, Francis Ford Coppola used his directing genius to transform the features of Heart of Darkness, including setting, plot, themes and characters, such that they could be appreciated by a 20th century audience. For numerous reasons, the battlefields of the Vietnam War lent themselves well to the style of Conrad's novella, hence becoming the obvious choice for locating this 20th century Heart of Darkness. At the simplest level, Vietnam provided a backdrop that mirrored the geographical setting of Heart of Darkness. Climatically, Vietnam was similar to the central African Congo region, with hot, humid weather conditions. Vietnam was also able to feature the dense,
Kurtz And Marlow As "Doubles" in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
Roumyana Mihailova 11/2 30th March 2004 Kurtz And Marlow As "Doubles" Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a fascinating novel about colonialism. Its two main characters - Charlie Marlow and Mr Kurtz - are colonialists encountering the wilderness of the Africa. Both of them are Europeans, and thus the reader expects them to embody the values asserted by civilization. However, while Marlow appears to be exemplary for a man with moral conscience, Mr Kurtz's meanness is horrifying. The difference between the characters is provoking because they share a lot of characteristics: both are intelligent, good-speakers, independent and exceptional man that are ready to take risks in order to achieve their goals. As Conrad creates Mr Kurtz and Marlow as characters that are "doubles" and at the same time makes them significantly different in their morality, he demonstrates how a man with qualities but without restraints may turn into a brute. In Heart of Darkness Marlow is a sailor who tells the story of his experiences in Africa, where he has met Mr Kurtz. The narrator in the novel is one of the men who listen to Marlow's tale. Thus, the narrator makes a direct characteristic of Marlow. The first quality presented to the reader is Marlow's uniqueness: "The worst that could be said of him was that he did not represent his class" (Conrad p.7). The character is distinguished from the
“Reading Kafka’s “The Trial”, especially for the first time, we often experience a blend of precision and obscurity; words, sentences, and single events are clear in themselves, but are linked to each other in ways we cannot always gra
"Reading Kafka's "The Trial", especially for the first time, we often experience a blend of precision and obscurity; words, sentences, and single events are clear in themselves, but are linked to each other in ways we cannot always grasp." The blend of precision and obscurity is one of the most remarkable aspects of the style in which "The Trial" is written. The device is used constantly and consistently throughout the novel, and we assume that it is used like all other stylistic devices, i.e. to throw an aspect of the novel into relief. In an attempt to determine, if possible, what this aspect is, follows a detailed analysis of two paragraphs on pages 159 to 160 that I deem to be characteristic of the blend of precision and obscurity. In the two paragraphs, detail and precision interact with each other to produce a blend. Almost all descriptions are quite in depth, such as the description of the "old woman wrapped in a warm shawl", yet these detailed descriptions are not connected with anything else in the book. The old woman does not reappear anywhere else in the book, and no symbolism, hidden meaning or reference becomes apparent after having analyzed the description. In more conventional novels, almost every character that appears is in some way, whether clear or obscure, connected with the main plot or a sub plot. Not so with "The Trial". The old woman's importance and
Bring out the significance of the title 'The secret sharer' - What do Legatt and the captain share and how does that affect the title of the story?
Bring out the significance of the title 'The secret sharer' What do Legatt and the captain share and how does that affect the title of the story? The secret sharer by Joseph Conrad, is a tale of two strangers who meet in unusual circumstances. Legatt who was the first mate of the Sephora, escapes his ship where he was held captive after murdering a member of his crew. He swims to another ship and admits the whole truth to the captain. Both the captain and Legatt have bad relationships with their crew and they empathise with each other. Legatt is to be kept secret from the crew. His secrets are that he has murdered and is hiding to escape punishment and death. The captain's secrets are that his men, the ship and the responsibility of his first command daunt him. The two of them share these secrets with each other and an intense relationship is built between them. Thus giving the title 'The secret sharer'.. The captain and Legatt share physical similarities, they are the same size. "My sleeping suit was just right for his size" (pg6-7) And they share a very close resemblance of each other; this is reflected in the description of Legatt by the captain. "The shadowy, dark head, like mine" (pg 7) Legatt and the captain share very similar backgrounds, which draw a closeness and bond between these two men. They both attended the same sea school. "You're a Conway boy?" (pg 7)
Write an essay discussing the relationship between Marlow's final words and the book's title, Heart of Darkness
Write an essay discussing the relationship between Marlow's final words and the book's title, Heart of Darkness In the novel Heart of Darkness it is the western invaders, who are, almost without exception, embodiments of cruelty, selfishness, and blindness; and even in the cognitive field, where such positive phrases as to enlighten, for instance, are conventionally opposed to negative ones such as to be in the dark, the long-established expectations are reversed. In Kurtz's painting, as we have seen, the effect of the torch light on the face was sinister. Ian Watt, author of 'Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness', discusses about the devastation set upon the Congo by Europeans. The destruction set upon the Congo by Europeans led to the cry of Kurtz's last words, "The horror! The horror!" The horror in Heart of Darkness has been critiqued to symbolise various aspects of situations in the book. However, Kurtz's last words "The horror! The horror!" magnifies only three major aspects. The horror magnifies Kurtz's inability to restrain himself, the colonizers' greed, and Europe's darkness. Kurtz comes to the Congo with gracious intentions. He was of the opinion that each ivory station should stand like a beacon light, offering a better way of life to the natives. He was considered to be a universal genius: he was a great orator, writer, poet, musician, artist,
The Failure of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness.
The Failure of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Kurtz fails for many reasons and in many ways. Kurtz's failure is especially tragic because he once had the potential for great success. He was an eloquent, powerful, and persuasive speaker who at one point was adored by all the inhabitants of the heart of darkness, the great and mysterious jungle. Everyone from the innocent natives to the administration of his corrupt company was in awe of him. Why then, did someone with such amazing promise fail? From the beginning, Kurtz was made out to be an icon, an idol, a deity. To Marlow, he was the only thing that made sense in the company, on a journey, in a wilderness wrought with confusion. The company hailed him as their biggest asset and success. He delivered massive amounts of ivory to them and they liked that very much. Kurtz represented many things to many people. In class, we described him as a representation of the wilderness, the voice, a superior God-like being, an imperialist who was a symbol of colonization, and a symbol of the jungle. We also considered him a symbol of power, vain, dehumanized, inhumane, a rule-breaker who had to face his consequences, and a once-great man who was trapped somewhere in the layers of the Heart of Darkness. Late in the book, several characters mention all the things that Kurtz could have been, his
Explore the themes of justace and things not being as they seem in The three Strangers by Thomas Hardy and The Darkness out there by Penelope Lively
'The Three Strangers' is a pre 20th century story that was written in 1883 but set in 1820. 'The Darkness Out There' was written in 1970. From the titles of the stories we assume they would be a mystery or horror story. We think this because the word 'darkness' is used and this gives you the idea that it is a horror. The 'Three Strangers' makes it seem mysterious, because they are people you don't know and there are three of them, this makes them seem overpowering because of the number of them. The similarities that happen in the two stories are the characters that are introduced seem as if they are the villain at first but then they turn out to be the hero of the story. Kerry in 'The Darkness Out There' and Timothy Summers (first stranger) in the 'Three Strangers' both fit in with the part of being misjudged. In the stories there are some parts which are similar. In 'The Darkness Out There' the German pilot was killed, and in 'The Three Strangers' Timothy Summers was almost killed by the executioner for stealing a sheep. Both stories have similarities in the way they are written. They have been written so that the reader makes a mistake in thinking that one of the characters is bad when they are really the hero of the story. 'The Three Strangers' was set in 1820 in a place, Thomas Hardy made up called Wessex. The setting was out on the moors in the cold, wind and rain,
Comment on the representation of colonialism in this section of the heart of darkness that you have read so far.
Amy Belham English Literature Comment on the representation of colonialism in this section of the heart of darkness that you have read so far. In this essay I will be commenting on the representation of colonialism from Joseph Conrad's 'The Heart of Darkness'. It is about colonialism in Africa by the Europeans and is set in the 1890's. The history of Europe and of the other countries conquered by Europeans between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries were strongly influenced by the expansionism of England as well as by their determination to build empires overseas. There was a colonisation of the Congo, which was part of 'the scramble for Africa'. In 1875 less than one-tenth of Africa had been turned into European colonies. By 1895 only one-tenth of Africa was not under European control. This shows how over only a period of 20 years Europe controlled most of Africa and that Europe owned strong colonialism power. When writing about the concepts and motives of colonialism's Joseph Conrad shows that a reason for them to take that action is to gain wealth. The narrator says 'Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame' so this shows that those men are going to sea to find money and fortune. Also its saying that some men are going out to gain some sort of fame. When saying 'Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame' also the narrator is associating them with the Roman invaders who