Heart of Darkness 4

“I seemed at one bound to have been transported into some lightless region of subtle horrors, where pure, uncomplicated savagery was a positive lief, being something that had a right to exist – obviously – in the sunshine” (133-4).

                In the narration Marlow has finally reached the station, the home of the mysterious Kurtz. However, what he is encountering has left him dumbfounded. Kurtz is a dark character, a character instilling fear on all those around him, and Marlow has realized that this is a place where he may not necessarily want to be. As he states, he has been “transported into some lightless region of subtle horrors.”  However, these things have not been kept lightless under Kurtz. These things normally kept out of view are being paraded. They are being kept “in the sunshine.” The natives follow Kurtz’s command and attack viciously under him. There are heads propped up on stakes being displayed. What most view as dark horrible actions are being celebrated. Marlow is becoming gruesomely aware that this is not simply a station for collecting ivory. Kurtz has created an alternate society here where he is allowed to do as he pleases, and all those around him worship his every action, whether out of fear or not.  Conrad perfectly depicts it as “pure, uncomplicated savagery.” Throughout the story the native people had been looked at as savages, but for the first time a white man is being associated with this savagery. That is what is so astounding to Marlow. He does not want to have anything to do with a man who is supposed to be civilized yet that can instill this kind of environment. Savagery can no longer be something solely associated with the natives. The African people cannot be the only ones associated with the darkness anymore, and Marlow is taken aback by this realization.

Heart of Darkness 3

                Whether or not Joseph Conrad was racist has long been disputed. Analysts have gone back and forth on whether or not he is being intentionally degrading to the African people or if readers are just putting too much meaning behind his words. As far as this passage goes, all signs point towards racist. Conrad is blatantly being discriminatory. He speaks with an insufferably condescending nature that is practically painful to read. He writes, “What thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity- like yours…Ugly” (105). Chinua Achebe actually brings up this point multiple times in his paper “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness” because it is so ridiculous that it is almost laughable. Simply, the thought of their humanity is ugly to Conrad. He has no interest in simply acknowledging the simple scientific fact that they are indeed human. They are just as human as he is or any other white male.  Conrad’s inability to even say a nice word about these people is even more deplorable. In talking about one of the African men working diligently on the boat, he describes the event to be “as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat” (106). He goes on to say that “[the man] was useful because he had been instructed” (106-7). That little subordinating conjunction solidifies the meaning of this statement. The African man could not be simply useful; he was only useful because of the white man who had taught him. All the African people can be are subordinates. They do not have the ability to stand alone and actually accomplish anything because they are completely barbaric as far as Conrad is concerned. Of course, there is the argument that Conrad is just a repercussion of the time period. These are not his opinions but the opinions of the world. However, the world did not write this book. Conrad did, and the language he used and the descriptions he made go far beyond elementary racism.

"Introduction to Poetry" Paragraph

“Introduction to Poetry” Billy Collins

                The use of personification emphasizes the way that poetry should be and actually is read. In the first half of the poem, Collins is more idealistic in describing how he wants readers to go about looking at poetry. He writes, “I say… walk inside the poem’s room/ and feel the walls for a light switch” (5-8). Poetry has become an actual living thing as opposed to an inanimate piece of paper. In a way what Collins’ does with his writing is exactly the same idea he is trying to portray with the words themselves. Poetry is not black and white. It is complex, having many layers ready to be discovered. It is the reader’s job to unfold these mysteries and find the “light” that illuminates the true meaning of the poem. By using personification in his own writing, Collins doubly stresses that the study of poetry is intricate and requires deep thought. In the last five lines, the tone of the poem shifts, but the employment of personification remains constant. In discussing what readers actually do in trying to decipher the meaning of a poem, Collins writes that “They begin beating it with a hose/ to find out what it really means” (15-16). The normal reader does not follow the advice given at the beginning of the poem. Rather, he chooses to force a meaning out of it. He chooses to take bits and chunks of the poem and pull some trivial meaning from that. The average reader does not take the time to slowly examine the poem and find the big picture. This personification shows the hacking that regularly occurs. Collins wants the reader to realize that to truly understand a poem, a journey must be taken, not just a step in one direction or the other.

Heart of Darkness 2

“When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the reality – the reality, I tell you – fades. The inner truth is hidden…But I felt it all the same” (103).

                                At the very rudimentary understanding of this passage, Marlow is steering a boat through relatively uncharted waters. He is the eyes and ears of the boat, in charge of making sure they reach their destination. In the broader scope of things, this can be looked at as one big metaphor. Marlow is so focused on the task of steering alone that he is not taking in the area they are passing as a whole. He is not appreciating the big picture. Rather, he is acutely tuned into his job alone. This is comparable to his thoughts he expressed earlier on imperialism. When it came to the treatment of these African people, Marlow feels badly about his actions towards the people only in retrospect, only as current day Marlow. Past Marlow describes their violence towards the native people as “very proper for those who tackle a darkness” (69).  As he states here, when one is in the midst of acting, the repercussions can often be left unconsidered. When he looks back on this rabid pillaging that occurred, he realizes the errors in his ways to an extent of course, but in the moment he was unable to discern right from wrong. He was simply following the formula, doing what he thought was supposed to be done. In this passage it is the same idea. The reality of the situation he is in is lost; he is only aware of the boat and getting the boat through the obstructions. He could not be bothered with what these obstructions actually are, what this foreign place he is in is showing him. It is practically intentional ignorance with Marlow not wanting to have to consider the bounds of the unknown world.

"35/10" Outline

“35/10” Sharon Olds

Thesis: Olds’ colorful language and precise syntactical choices serve to emphasize the large disparity between youth and old age.

A.      Juxtaposing the daughter’s characteristics with those of her mother illuminates the gaping difference between the two.

a.       “our daughter’s brown/silken hair … the grey gleaming on my head” (1-3). By placing these two descriptions beside each other, Olds’ creates the image of brown hair cascading next to grey hair, solidifying the change that age causes over time.

b.      “the fold in my neck/ clarifying as the fine bones of her/ hips sharpen?” (6-8). The words “clarifying” and “sharpen” directly contrast each other, evoking a sense of sympathy for the speaker as her body moves in the opposite direction of her daughter.

B.      Olds’ employment of enjambment contributes strongly to the two portraits of the women being painted.

a.       “she opens like a moist/ precise flower on the tip of a cactus” (9-10). The flower is opening, so it spills onto the next line; in the same way the daughter is growing and maturing.

b.      “my last chances to bear a child/ are falling through my body” (11-12). As her chances are falling, the sentence also falls to the following line. Age is constantly moving forward, so the lines continue without pausing.

C.      Imagery serves a vital role in illustrating the contrast between the mother and daughter.

a.       “the silver-haired servant behind her” (4). Not only is the mother old with her silver hair, but also she is behind the girl, creating the idea that the daughter is the newer version of the speaker.

b.      “her full purse of eggs, round and/ firm as hard-boiled yolks” (13-14). The daughter still has her youth; she has a “full purse” and is right on the cusp of the peak of her life. Though this description is more biological, it cements the idea of adolescence that the speaker so desperately wishes she still had.

"Mirror" Outline

“Mirror” Sylvia Plath

Thesis:  Sylvia Plath, employing intricate figurative language, explores the personas that a mirror is able to take on and shows that everyday objects are not always what they seem.  

A.      In the first stanza she personifies the mirror in its simplest form: propped up on a wall, observing everything that passes.

a.       “Whatever I see I swallow immediately/ Just as it is” (2-3). This personification explores the idea of the mirror as an impartial judge; it does not distort what it sees. Rather, a mirror just portrays what it witnesses.

b.      “But it flickers/ Faces and darkness separate us over and over” (8-9). This idea of “us” between the speaker and the mirror and the dramatization of darkness, which in reality could just be turning off a light switch, evokes a sense of sympathy for the mirror, an object normally overlooked.

B.      The second stanza, using personification, embodies the mirror as a lake and moreover as a companion.

a.       “A women bends over me,/ Searching my reaches for what she really is” (10-11). Here, the mirror becomes more than just a reflector; it is a portal to the soul, a place people go looking for themselves.

b.      “Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness” (15).  The relationship between the mirror and another person is explored again, creating the image of the mirror as a breathing, moving person.

C.      The last two lines place the mirror in the scope of time and show its constant presence though the world around it may change.

a.       “In me she has drowned a young girl” (17). This analogy illustrates how the mirror shows her a face she has not seen before; she is not the same person she was as a child.

b.      “in me an old woman/ Rises toward her day after day” (17-18). The mirror thrusts upon her the age she would like to forget. Every day, the mirror is a reminder of who she has become, which this analogy depicts.

"Dulce et Decorum Est" Outline

“Dulce et Decorum Est”  Wilfred Owen

Thesis: With his expressive word choice and overall structure of the poem, Owen portrays the dark and depressing side of battle while dismissing the preconceived notions of the glory to be found.  

A.      Owen utilizes enjambment at points of great action; the flowing of the lines represents the intense movement all happening at once.

a.       “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood/ Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs” (21-22). In the same way that the blood rushes from his lungs, one line rushes into the next.

b.      “deaf even to the hoots/ Of gas-shells dropping softly behind” (7-8). Bombs are being dropped, and people are blowing up; there is no time to breathe to pause between lines among the shouting.

B.      Through descriptive similes, the distress and despair in this scene is effectively communicated.

a.       “And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime” (12). This man was hit by a bomb, and one can immediately picture the awkward movements that must be occurring due to this description.

b.      “His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” (20). The same man from before has now fallen; he is defeated, and his mangled face becomes so vivid through this simile.

C.      Through the distinct shift in verb tense, the shift that comes in war when disaster strikes is illuminated.

a.       “We cursed through sludge…we turned our backs” (2-3). At the beginning of the poem, the men are slowly returning from battle, thankful for each step they are taking but disheartened by the losses already suffered.

b.      “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” (16). The bombs have struck, and death is imminent, so the verb tense transitions to present.

The Character of Prospero

                In Act 1, Scene 2 of The Tempest, Prospero shares the story of how he ends up deserted on this island. However, not only does the audience learn about Prospero’s past, but also many of his character traits are revealed.  Prospero describes himself as “neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated/ To closeness and the bettering of my mind” (I.ii.89-90). When he was duke, he had this extreme hunger for knowledge. All he wanted was to hide away in his library and read his books. More or less, Prospero was living in another world. Throughout the course of his tale, he depicts his brother as a heartless villain who stole the thrown from under him, but he also explicitly states, “The government I cast upon my brother/ And to my state grew stranger” (I.ii.75-76). Prospero does not even realize that all that has happened to him is his fault. So removed is he from reality that he cannot see that he has harmed himself. In fact, it makes Prospero a pitiable character. One cannot help but feel bad for him not only for his position on the island, but also for his inability to notice his wrongdoing. On the other hand, one can argue that he is a master manipulator as well. He is telling this terribly tragic tale to his daughter who has had no exposure to anyone besides her father. She is listening to his every word and hating her uncle. At the same time, she is becoming even closer with Prospero; she can justify why he has inflicted this tempest. He is manipulating the audience into believing that the men on the boat deserved all that was coming to them. At this point, he is the one that actually has all the power. With his magical spirits and spells, he is in control of the entire island, and he has shipwrecked all the men of power from the mainland. All the next moves are his. This scene reveals Prospero to be a very complex character, a poor, banished soul on one side and a devious, conniving ruler on the other.