The theme of imperialism appears throughout Heart of Darkness and plays out through the eyes of Marlow. As Marlow ventures deeper and deeper into the Congo and further away from what he knows as civilization he slowly realizes the gravity of the destruction of man and nature that is occurring due to British imperialism. As he goes deeper he is getting closer to the truth about imperialism. In the story the British Empire is at its peak and its incessant desire for goods such as ivory and rubber cause them to ignore the inalienable rights of every man. Conrad wanted to show the dark side of imperialism in the name of progress. He accomplished that by showing the brutalities the workers suffered to bring those goods to the civilized world. A wealthy Duke in England with an ivory staircase did not see the atrocities that occurred to extract the ivory, and as an arrogant imperialist he did not care.
Marlow doesn’t really believe in the idea of imperialism but he still profits from The Company, which symbolizes everything that is wrong with the idea of unbridled imperialism. The narrator defines imperialism when he states “the conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, it is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” (5).
Kurtz himself was considered a model imperialist but he succumbs to and dies as almost a savage, the very people that imperialist oppressed and considered less than a man. It has come full circle. Conrad accomplished his goal to shine the light on the darkness of man and what we are capable of and imperialism was darkness and brutality personified.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
NRJ #1-Nature Vs Man
Throughout Conrad’s Heart of Darkness he illustrates the theme of nature versus man by contrasting the white European man’s idea of civilization with that of the primitive natives in the Congo. I am utilizing the theme of nature versus man in the sense of how a civilized and cultured man can revert to the savagery of his natural primal roots when put in situations such as what Marlow and Kurtz experienced. The character of Marlow is used as a conduit to which these two worlds can be seen through his eyes. He witnesses the morbid treatment of the natives as a wrongful act by his own people, the whites, who see the natives as filthy and savage. He then sees Kurtz, a seemingly civilized man, in a state of near madness and acting as a savage. The story would make you think that Kurtz went mad, but in actuality he is merely reverting to what is natural for someone when they are taken away from the cultured world and put into a savage, intolerable and uncivilized society. Marlow comments that “you thought yourself bewitched and cut off for ever from everything you had known once….in another existence perhaps”(2.34). The jungle with its natural darkness and mysteries are a prime location for cultured men to lose their civilized self. It is indeed another existence.
When Marlow is traveling on the river toward the Inner Station he sees and hears the natives and he feels sort of a connection with the natives as he comments “but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity-like yours- the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar” (2.36). He sees the natives as a primordial adaptation of his own self, but he stops short of saying that they can be equal to the modern cultured man. The white man in Heart of Darkness feels he is doing the correct thing to civilize the natives, but in reality the white man is being de-civilized by the natives as well. The dilemma of Heart of Darkness is that we all have a form of a primal man inside of us that can be stressed out of us if we are put in an isolationist and savage situation.
When Marlow is traveling on the river toward the Inner Station he sees and hears the natives and he feels sort of a connection with the natives as he comments “but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity-like yours- the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar” (2.36). He sees the natives as a primordial adaptation of his own self, but he stops short of saying that they can be equal to the modern cultured man. The white man in Heart of Darkness feels he is doing the correct thing to civilize the natives, but in reality the white man is being de-civilized by the natives as well. The dilemma of Heart of Darkness is that we all have a form of a primal man inside of us that can be stressed out of us if we are put in an isolationist and savage situation.
Friday, March 19, 2010
DRJ #4- Acts 4 & 5
My first reaction with Act 4 is that Claudius feels he could have met the same fate as Polonius the 0099 Curtain Spy. Hamlet's blade was meant for Claudius. Polonius' death was just a prelude to more deaths to come, albeit none were as amusing as his. Earlier the Infamous Mr. C and 0099 Curtain Spy were behind the curtains when Hamlet was talking to Ophelia in Act 3 Scene 1 and it was a successful recon mission. But Polonius pushed his luck too far and paid a price. After Polonius’ death the whole play takes on a very different tone, it’s not all about Hamlet’s madness, but it is about putting plans into action. Both Hamlet and Claudius attempt to put an end to the other; Claudius by sending Hamlet to England and have him killed, and Hamlet trying to muster the will to thrust a sword through Claudius. Hamlet now knew he was capable of killing and became more brazen in his plans. The deaths of the characters were not all heroic but Hamlet seems to have come out as a more honorable person. Unfortunately Hamlet had to die also in order for the “rotten in Denmark” to be completely purged.
The Gravediggers give a common man’s view of the kingdom and of death. Though they only show up in Act 5 Scene 1, they play a vital part in the final scenes of the play by giving a perspective of death to Hamlet that he had not considered. When they talk about the idea of suicide when digging Ophelia’s grave, they discuss if suicide is a forgivable sin. Hamlet was contemplating suicide in earlier scenes. After Hamlet hears those words and then sees that it is Ophelia that is being placed in the grave he sees death in a different light after that point. When the gravediggers play with the skulls, it shows that no matter how royal your blood may be, when you die, the worms eat you and you become simply a bag of bones that can be tossed back and forth and used as a prop for a joke. Hamlet shows his disgust with what the gravediggers are doing when he says “That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain’s jawbone,that did the first murder! It might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'erreaches, one that would circumvent God, might it not?" He sees how his own bones will be lying there one day and he had no control if they were to be defiled.
Mortality is a theme that fits well with Acts 4 and 5. Each main character meets their demise by the end of the play whether they deserved death or not. Persons of royalty feel as if they will live forever, but Hamlet learned in the gravedigger scene that no one lives forever and all are mortal. Even though we feel that Gertrude should have been spared, she is still “rotten” as is the whole kingdom. No one is innocent in this kingdom. If any of the ruling royalty had lived, the lingering stench of a corrupt kingdom would have still permeated in the castle. Even Hamlet had to die to purge the kingdom of its putrid state. That sounds harsh I know, but the only way to purge corruption, deceit, madness and sin is to purge it completely and start over. Hamlet addressed mortality and began to understand what death meant, that we all return to dust when he said “No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it: as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam; and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel? Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay, Might stop a hole to keep the wind away:O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe, Should patch a wall to expel the winter flaw!”
The Gravediggers give a common man’s view of the kingdom and of death. Though they only show up in Act 5 Scene 1, they play a vital part in the final scenes of the play by giving a perspective of death to Hamlet that he had not considered. When they talk about the idea of suicide when digging Ophelia’s grave, they discuss if suicide is a forgivable sin. Hamlet was contemplating suicide in earlier scenes. After Hamlet hears those words and then sees that it is Ophelia that is being placed in the grave he sees death in a different light after that point. When the gravediggers play with the skulls, it shows that no matter how royal your blood may be, when you die, the worms eat you and you become simply a bag of bones that can be tossed back and forth and used as a prop for a joke. Hamlet shows his disgust with what the gravediggers are doing when he says “That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain’s jawbone,that did the first murder! It might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'erreaches, one that would circumvent God, might it not?" He sees how his own bones will be lying there one day and he had no control if they were to be defiled.
Mortality is a theme that fits well with Acts 4 and 5. Each main character meets their demise by the end of the play whether they deserved death or not. Persons of royalty feel as if they will live forever, but Hamlet learned in the gravedigger scene that no one lives forever and all are mortal. Even though we feel that Gertrude should have been spared, she is still “rotten” as is the whole kingdom. No one is innocent in this kingdom. If any of the ruling royalty had lived, the lingering stench of a corrupt kingdom would have still permeated in the castle. Even Hamlet had to die to purge the kingdom of its putrid state. That sounds harsh I know, but the only way to purge corruption, deceit, madness and sin is to purge it completely and start over. Hamlet addressed mortality and began to understand what death meant, that we all return to dust when he said “No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it: as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam; and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel? Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay, Might stop a hole to keep the wind away:O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe, Should patch a wall to expel the winter flaw!”
Saturday, March 13, 2010
DRJ#3-Hamlet-Act 3
My first reaction was what the heck is up with all the curtain spying going on, was that some sort of standard spying protocol in those days? We find in Scene 3 that even though Hamlet is spiraling out of control with his plots and plans, it is revealed that Claudius did in fact kill The King, and Hamlet's revenge is justified. Polonius' death was humilating for a person of his esteem, and his death begins a string of deaths that leads to the climax of the play. I cant help but think of, that in some way, it reminds me of Gladiator, the movie. Some scenes seem to continually make me think of that movie, but in that one a son kills his father the King and Gladiator is bound for avenging his death. Similar but different I guess.
Horatio is seen little in Scene 3 but he is, by Hamlet's own description, a complete opposite of Hamlet. Hamlet tells him "for thou hast been—
As one in suffering all that suffers nothing—A man that Fortune’s buffets and rewards Hast ta'en with equal thanks" which means that you are a calm person who takes things as they come and dont get too upset about what happens in life. Horatio seems to be somewhat balenced, but goes along with Hamlet's crazy plans anyway showing loyalty to Hamlet. Hamlet seems to demean Horatio but Horatio takes it in stride.
Loyalty is a theme I see in Act 3 due to the various players' allegiances being revealed and tested. Horatio is loyal to Hamlet and never thinks twice about helping him follow through with his revenge for his father. We see that Polonius is loyal to Claudius and pays the price for his blind loyalty. I have to admit his death scene actually was somewhat amusing, with his cry of "Oh, I am slain", and Hamlet's response to his death. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (sounds like a law firm, sorry, I couldn't resist) show their loyalty to Gertrude and Claudius when they go to try to persuade Hamlet after the play. They know that Hamlet is on to them when he says "Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!You would play upon me. You would seem to know my stops. You would pluck out the heart of my mystery." Also even though Hamlet reveals to Gertrude why he is so mad and angry, she seems to still not waiver from being loyal to Claudius. And what does all this loyalty get them? It gets them dead, thats all. Dead man walking....
Horatio is seen little in Scene 3 but he is, by Hamlet's own description, a complete opposite of Hamlet. Hamlet tells him "for thou hast been—
As one in suffering all that suffers nothing—A man that Fortune’s buffets and rewards Hast ta'en with equal thanks" which means that you are a calm person who takes things as they come and dont get too upset about what happens in life. Horatio seems to be somewhat balenced, but goes along with Hamlet's crazy plans anyway showing loyalty to Hamlet. Hamlet seems to demean Horatio but Horatio takes it in stride.
Loyalty is a theme I see in Act 3 due to the various players' allegiances being revealed and tested. Horatio is loyal to Hamlet and never thinks twice about helping him follow through with his revenge for his father. We see that Polonius is loyal to Claudius and pays the price for his blind loyalty. I have to admit his death scene actually was somewhat amusing, with his cry of "Oh, I am slain", and Hamlet's response to his death. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (sounds like a law firm, sorry, I couldn't resist) show their loyalty to Gertrude and Claudius when they go to try to persuade Hamlet after the play. They know that Hamlet is on to them when he says "Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!You would play upon me. You would seem to know my stops. You would pluck out the heart of my mystery." Also even though Hamlet reveals to Gertrude why he is so mad and angry, she seems to still not waiver from being loyal to Claudius. And what does all this loyalty get them? It gets them dead, thats all. Dead man walking....
Friday, March 5, 2010
DRJ #2- Hamlet Scene II
Initial Reaction: Forgive me if I say that Hamlet is beginning to read more and more like a modern day soap opera or a Lifetime movie with a tragically dysfunctional family only being played out using a kingdom. In the first scene Polonius is one of the main character as he is dealing with situations with his children. He sends Reynaldo to Paris to find dirt on Laertes and also has to listen to Ophelia’s account of how Hamlet came to her room seeming crazy. I think any college student can relate to Laertes situation, how parents who are not fully trusting of their children find a way to spy on them. I have heard how some parents sign up on Twitter or Facebook under a pseudo name and become friends with their children just to keep tabs on them. It is my opinion that Polonius is sending Reynaldo in order to protect his own status within the kingdom, not as much as trying to protect his son.
Character Analysis: Polonius is a featured character in Act II and we find out much about his motives and character. He seems to be a protective father to Laertes and Ophelia but it soon escalates to a damaging character flaw for him as his actions meant to protect his children are more detrimental to them. He doesn’t trust his son and he feels that Laertes’ possible misdeeds in Paris will reflect badly on him and thereby harming his status in the eyes of the new King. He feels his daughter is a gullible ignorant girl who cannot make decisions in life regarding men thus his warnings about Hamlet. He told her to be careful in a cold unemotional way, not with compassion and feeling as a caring father would. Polonius was loyal to King Hamlet before his death and he seems to be trying to make his mark with Claudius by using deceit and a corrupt nature much like Claudius. He shows his loyalty to Claudius by saying “I assure my good liege, I hold my duty as I hold my soul, both to God and to my gracious king…”. He launches into a speech on the importance of duty and honor and then follows up with declaring to the King that Hamlet is crazy. Polonius can’t keep up with all the pots he has in the fire and seems almost absent minded and confused when he loses his train of thought and says “What was I about to say? By the mass, I was about to say something. Where did I leave?”
Theme Analysis- Deceit and deception would be the theme for Scene II as it plays out throughout the scene. Polonius showed deception by having Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes and also by his actions with his daughter’s news to him of Hamlet’s visit to her room. Both show that he is using deception to gain his own rewards, not utilizing it to help his children. Claudius uses deceit in having Hamlet’s friends keep tabs on him, his whereabouts and his mental state. Hamlet begins his plotting on how he will uncover the truth about his father’s death. He asks one of the actors in a troupe that enters to perform a speech from Virgil’s Aeneid which tells of the story of Achilles death whose son was Phyrrus. He then tells them he wants them to perform “The Murder of Gonzago” the next night for Claudius with added language by Hamlet so that he can watch the reaction of Claudius and see if he flinches or seems guilty about King Hamlet’s death. He says that he has heard that some people who are guilty sometimes confess their crime when they are led to feel guilt through a certain scene in a play. Hamlet is seeking ways to confirm what he already knows, that Claudius killed his father. Hamlet is not brave enough to take the action of killing Claudius and is seeking other ways to inflict revenge. He even admits his own weakness when he says “Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,That I, the son of a dear father murdered,Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with wordsAnd fall a-cursing like a very drab,A scullion! Fie upon ’t, foh!”. He is also deceiving his own self in thinking that he could act on what his heart and mind is telling him to do.
Character Analysis: Polonius is a featured character in Act II and we find out much about his motives and character. He seems to be a protective father to Laertes and Ophelia but it soon escalates to a damaging character flaw for him as his actions meant to protect his children are more detrimental to them. He doesn’t trust his son and he feels that Laertes’ possible misdeeds in Paris will reflect badly on him and thereby harming his status in the eyes of the new King. He feels his daughter is a gullible ignorant girl who cannot make decisions in life regarding men thus his warnings about Hamlet. He told her to be careful in a cold unemotional way, not with compassion and feeling as a caring father would. Polonius was loyal to King Hamlet before his death and he seems to be trying to make his mark with Claudius by using deceit and a corrupt nature much like Claudius. He shows his loyalty to Claudius by saying “I assure my good liege, I hold my duty as I hold my soul, both to God and to my gracious king…”. He launches into a speech on the importance of duty and honor and then follows up with declaring to the King that Hamlet is crazy. Polonius can’t keep up with all the pots he has in the fire and seems almost absent minded and confused when he loses his train of thought and says “What was I about to say? By the mass, I was about to say something. Where did I leave?”
Theme Analysis- Deceit and deception would be the theme for Scene II as it plays out throughout the scene. Polonius showed deception by having Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes and also by his actions with his daughter’s news to him of Hamlet’s visit to her room. Both show that he is using deception to gain his own rewards, not utilizing it to help his children. Claudius uses deceit in having Hamlet’s friends keep tabs on him, his whereabouts and his mental state. Hamlet begins his plotting on how he will uncover the truth about his father’s death. He asks one of the actors in a troupe that enters to perform a speech from Virgil’s Aeneid which tells of the story of Achilles death whose son was Phyrrus. He then tells them he wants them to perform “The Murder of Gonzago” the next night for Claudius with added language by Hamlet so that he can watch the reaction of Claudius and see if he flinches or seems guilty about King Hamlet’s death. He says that he has heard that some people who are guilty sometimes confess their crime when they are led to feel guilt through a certain scene in a play. Hamlet is seeking ways to confirm what he already knows, that Claudius killed his father. Hamlet is not brave enough to take the action of killing Claudius and is seeking other ways to inflict revenge. He even admits his own weakness when he says “Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,That I, the son of a dear father murdered,Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with wordsAnd fall a-cursing like a very drab,A scullion! Fie upon ’t, foh!”. He is also deceiving his own self in thinking that he could act on what his heart and mind is telling him to do.
Friday, February 26, 2010
DRJ #1- Hamlet, Act 1
Initial reaction: Claudius’ character certainly reminds me of an actual true story of a man I knew some years ago who married his brother’s wife. In my story, the other brother was not dead, but I would think he almost felt dead with what happened. The one brother I compare to Claudius virtually stole away his brother’s wife and ironically and almost tragically went from being uncle to two boys to being their step-father. The Claudius-like brother knew he was tearing apart a family and still went forward with his misdeeds. The two boys soon learned to hate the step-father for what he did to their family. To this day, some 15 years later, it still reverberates in their family and they are a broken and distant family. I could see this Claudius-like brother telling the two boys to stop mourning their father being out of the house and start thinking of him as their new father. These real life dramas play out every day I would imagine, not in a play.
Character Analysis: Hamlet is the protagonist in this story and his fatal flaw is his rage of anger toward Claudius. He was already furious about Claudius marrying his mother only a month after the King’s death and then adds to that wrath after his encounter with the Ghost who claims to be his father and tells of how Claudius killed him. Even though he tells his friends that he is in control and for them to not worry, inside his rage is burning and no man can think straight when he hears of such an act which Claudius did. At this point of the play Hamlet meets Aristotle’s depiction of a tragic hero wherein Hamlet is of noble birth and we feel a pity for him in his situation.
Theme Analysis: There is a clear theme in the first act of Evil versus Goodness. It is clear that the King was admired and a good man signifying Goodness and his brother Claudius is the complete opposite, a murderer, a manipulator, a liar, someone with a cold and unfeeling heart representing Evil. These two elements in the theme are not hidden within the scenes; we immediately realize that Claudius is trying to manipulate Hamlet when he tells Hamlet that it is useless for him to mourn his father any longer. His father was dead for only two months. When we read how the Ghost tells his side of his own murder by his brother, it sets the scene for what is to come which will be a battle between what is good and what is evil. Hamlet lets it be known that “Foul deeds will rise, Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes”, or translated to men’s deeds will be revealed even if they try to hide them. Marcellus’s famous statement of “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” sets the tone of what is to come.
Character Analysis: Hamlet is the protagonist in this story and his fatal flaw is his rage of anger toward Claudius. He was already furious about Claudius marrying his mother only a month after the King’s death and then adds to that wrath after his encounter with the Ghost who claims to be his father and tells of how Claudius killed him. Even though he tells his friends that he is in control and for them to not worry, inside his rage is burning and no man can think straight when he hears of such an act which Claudius did. At this point of the play Hamlet meets Aristotle’s depiction of a tragic hero wherein Hamlet is of noble birth and we feel a pity for him in his situation.
Theme Analysis: There is a clear theme in the first act of Evil versus Goodness. It is clear that the King was admired and a good man signifying Goodness and his brother Claudius is the complete opposite, a murderer, a manipulator, a liar, someone with a cold and unfeeling heart representing Evil. These two elements in the theme are not hidden within the scenes; we immediately realize that Claudius is trying to manipulate Hamlet when he tells Hamlet that it is useless for him to mourn his father any longer. His father was dead for only two months. When we read how the Ghost tells his side of his own murder by his brother, it sets the scene for what is to come which will be a battle between what is good and what is evil. Hamlet lets it be known that “Foul deeds will rise, Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes”, or translated to men’s deeds will be revealed even if they try to hide them. Marcellus’s famous statement of “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” sets the tone of what is to come.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Chopin Support for Thesis Activity
Thesis #1
Chopin utilized a rather conflicting emotion from Mrs. Mallard when she stated “Free! Body and soul free!”. With the use of exclamation points you would have thought that she was screaming this from the top of her lungs, but ironically she was whispering. Chopin uses this sentence to show that women at that time were taught to hold their emotions inside, but they screamed for equality and eventually they progressed to be able to shout their emotions without feeling subjected by the male dominated society.
Thesis #2
Chopin takes us through three stages in her story; the death of a believed oppressor, a feeling of a new life afterward by Mrs. Mallard, the oppressed, and then death once again to the very one who was so looking forward to this newfound freedom. How ironic that at right at the very moment she felt “she would live for herself”, that her struggle was finally over, when she felt fully alive, her life was taken from her. It is a lesson in accepting the freedom that is given and not celebrating the death of your oppressor.
Feedback From Blunk:
Nice job!!!! Excellent selection of evidence from the text and explanation of that evidence. Please, definitely post this to your blog so that everyone may see this example.
Chopin utilized a rather conflicting emotion from Mrs. Mallard when she stated “Free! Body and soul free!”. With the use of exclamation points you would have thought that she was screaming this from the top of her lungs, but ironically she was whispering. Chopin uses this sentence to show that women at that time were taught to hold their emotions inside, but they screamed for equality and eventually they progressed to be able to shout their emotions without feeling subjected by the male dominated society.
Thesis #2
Chopin takes us through three stages in her story; the death of a believed oppressor, a feeling of a new life afterward by Mrs. Mallard, the oppressed, and then death once again to the very one who was so looking forward to this newfound freedom. How ironic that at right at the very moment she felt “she would live for herself”, that her struggle was finally over, when she felt fully alive, her life was taken from her. It is a lesson in accepting the freedom that is given and not celebrating the death of your oppressor.
Feedback From Blunk:
Nice job!!!! Excellent selection of evidence from the text and explanation of that evidence. Please, definitely post this to your blog so that everyone may see this example.
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