Judgement Call

Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, into the heart of Africa. The story's narrator is Marlow. Marlow tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames which is in London, England. One central idea in Conrad’s work is the idea that there is little difference between the civilized people in the novel and those described as savages. Heart of Darkness raises important questions about imperialism and racism. Along with this, Chiuna Achebe, an African Literature teacher wrote an essay called “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”, in which he discusses Conrad’s ideas in the novella Heart of Darkness.

                In "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Chinua Achebe criticizes Joseph Conrad for his racist stereotypes towards the continent and people of Africa. Rather than portraying Africa for what it actually is, Achebe claims that Conrad broadcasted the "dominant image of Africa in the Western imagination”. Chinua Achebe then goes on to make a bold statement about Joseph Conrad and his novella Heart of Darkness. Achebe believes that “Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist”. In his essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Achebe documents the ways that Conrad dehumanizes Africans by reducing their religious practices to superstition, saying that they should remain in their place, taking away their ability of speech, and belittling their complex geography to just a single mass of a jungle.  One of Achebe’s main claims was that in Conrad's work, the African landscape was degraded to a mere prop necessary for the story of a European man to be told.

Through Achebe’s various claims, he was trying to convey Conrad’s true intentions as a racist. It would be hard for us to say that he was an outright racist as Achebe claims. This is because the structure of Heart of Darkness does not make it easy for us to tell whether or not Marlow is really a reliable narrator or not.  However, we must recognize the flaws of any work of literature and the flaws that may be contained within any historical context.  Of course that does not mean that we can excuse something immoral just because of the time period it was written in.  To do so would open up excuses for immoral behavior now and in the future. However, on the basis of Chiuna Achebe’s essay "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" and the basis of only the claims made in the essay I think it is fair to say that Joseph Conrad was being racist. Heart of Darkness describes the bad living conditions where blacks used to live. It highlights how they suffered from starvation and diseases in addition to racial discrimination and the ill-treatment of the whites to the blacks who were working as machines. Conrad was downgrading a culture by oversimplifying their way of life which does dehumanize the people who live within this certain culture and knows the true complexity and depth of it.

Environmental Influences

A person’s environment affects the way they live and think because it strongly affects what influences they are exposed to and what opportunities they have. Have you noticed that the topic that many novels are focused upon is how an environment can affect its characters? Well Wuthering Heights is one of those books. Throughout the novel, Emily Brontё describes two manors, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Although they are not far from each other, both locations are extremely different and the people that live on each manor contrast due to their disparate environments.

Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange are in many ways set in opposition to each other. The Heights sits exposed on a stormy hilltop, but the Grange is calm and protected down in the valley. Wuthering Heights is the estate of the Earnshaw family and it’s located on England’s Yorkshire moors. Wuthering Heights is described by Mr. Lockwood, a tenant at neighboring Thrushcross Grange, as desolate and the “perfect misanthropist's heaven” (1). The house itself seems dark and forbidding which is mostly likely used to cater to the gothic element of the novel. Throughout the book, Wuthering Heights is associated with stormy weather which explains the name of the manor. 'Wuthering' being a significant adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric disorder to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. In contrast, Thrushcross Grange is the home of the Linton Family and it is much lighter and more orderly than the Heights. Thrushcross Grange is described as filled with light and warmth. Unlike Wuthering Heights, it is “elegant and comfortable-a splendid place carpeted with crimson, and crimson covered chairs and tables, and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold” (10). Thrushcross Grange had a much more refined and pleasant appearance.

There are tons of differences in the residents of these two places as well. For example, Edgar grew up with his sister Isabella and is fair, well educated and quite the opposite of Heathcliff. If Heathcliff represents the Heights then Edgar represents the Grange in that he is civilized yet sheltered and quite dull. Emily Brontë uses the setting of Wuthering Heights to extend how the novel uses contrasting characters to support the theme of Good vs. Evil. It is not just the homes alone that contrast but more importantly the individuals that emerge from each place and mirror its setting. Wuthering Heights are packed with the working class whereas Thrushcross grange has residents who belong to a higher level in the social ladder. The Earnshaws are wild and passionate while the Lintons are tame and civilized.

Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, illustrate this concept, as they are double opposites in the story. The physical characteristics of the two places and the people that reside there are the driving forces for this opposition. With the union of Cathy and Hareton, the barriers of class are finally broken and the two incompatible worlds of Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights blend together in harmony. They achieve in life what Heathcliff and Catherine can only achieve in death.

Mistreatment Awareness

     

      What exactly is sarcasm? Sarcasm is the “use of irony to mock or convey contempt”. In the poem “Base Details” by Siegfried Sassoon, the speaker uses a sarcastic tone to reveal the poem’s main idea that the Majors’ indifference leads their troops to death. In the poem, the speaker describes himself as if he were a Major. The narrator believes that he would have a “puffy, petulant face” and would spend his time “guzzling and gulping in the best hotel”. Also, the narrator believes that as the Major’s read the Roll of Honor, they would make comments like “Poor young chap” and “Yes, we’ve lost heavily in this last scrap”, thus revealing that the officers do not seem concerned about the loss of soldiers’ lives but more about their own lives.

      Along with sarcasm, the rhyme scheme of this poem also helped convey contempt. This poem followed an ABABCDCDEE rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme helps express the main points of the poem. One of these points being that the speaker sees the irony in the fact that the officers send the soldiers to die in battle, but they themselves stay behind the lines and focus on pampering themselves with extravagance. The narrator uses his diction to convey this contempt. The speaker pictures the majors as puffy-faced because he pictures them “guzzling and gulping”, which implies that they are fat and out of shape from eating and drinking too much. He also refers to them as “petulant”, a word often used to describe a spoiled child. Meanwhile, the soldiers are described as “glum heroes”, which allude to the soldier’s sadness because of the situation they were in. The speaker also criticizes the Majors by portraying them as uncaring when they hear the news of the dead soldiers. They refer to the battle in which many soldiers die as “a scrap”, and express concern only because they knew the father.

      The speaker’s main goal was to show the Majors for their true selves and emphasize the mistreatment that was occurring to the soldiers. By doing this, the reader can understand the speaker’s attitude towards war. The speaker was expressing sentiment for anti-war because he felt as though it was wrong to have some people who participated in war benefit at the expense of the others who also participated in war. Sassoon gets this idea across by using sarcasm and the rhyme scheme of this poem.

Satire's Comments on Social Expectations

   

     What exactly is satire? Satire is a literary device that uses humor and sarcasm to point out the absurdity of certain parts of life. Satire often points out flaws in society's expectations by creating characters who fit into a social stereotype and who the audience finds ridiculous. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen uses satire to make these points. One major theme in the book that requires Austen's use of satire is the focus on the silliness of the expectation of women and marriage in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Women were expected by society to want to find a wealthy and powerful man to marry, and to give birth to and raise children who they hoped would be boys. Women often did not expect much of themselves except to live this lifestyle where they upheld their duty to these expectations.

      Just like I mentioned in my last blog (If you haven’t checked it out, you should!), the opening line of the novel, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” lends itself to sketch out the plot and theme of the novel which has to do not only the expectation of women to marry the perfect guy but also with single men wanting a female (wife) so that they could have a good fortune. The opening line of the work indicates how Austen pictures the idea of social conventions having a role in how individuals are "supposed" to act. This line indicates the idea that it’s a single man’s duty to get married. This social expectation is also placed upon women. Women are expected to compete for a man's affection.  The fact that Austen uses the words "universally" and "truth" to describe this condition indicates that social conventions are something that are meant to be upheld under all circumstances, such as universal truths are supposed to be upheld in all circumstances.

       In this particular work Austen attacks the society’s condoning of marriage for money and social standing. Austen does this by magnifying the irrationality of their attitude towards marriage and the customs they practice. When she sets up the gathering scene in the novel, Austen got the chance to demonstrate some of the foolishness of the characters. This first scene is when a ball is held and all the young eligible bachelors and young unmarried ladies are given the opportunity to interact with one another and perhaps even find their future wife or husband.

     In this scene, Mr. Darcy’s pride and views of social superiority are clearly revealed. He refuses to dance with anyone who’s socially inferior to him, and rejects Mr. Bingley’s suggestion to dance with Elizabeth, because he believes she isn’t good enough to tempt him. Mr. Darcy’s views of social superiority that are presented in the ball scene contribute to the novel as a whole because even though Mr. Darcy begins to fall in love with Elizabeth throughout the novel, he fights against his feelings because of how strong his values of social superiority are.

Power Within The First Line

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen which was first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman, living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London. The opening line of the novel, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” lends itself to many purposes. One of the more obvious purposes of this quotation is to introduce Mr. Bingley’s entrance to Netherfield.  Another purpose of this line is to sketch out the plot and theme of the novel which has to do with single men wanting a female (wife) so that they could have a good fortune.

The opening line of the work indicates how Austen pictures the idea of social conventions having a role in how individuals are "supposed" to act. This line indicates the idea that it’s a single man’s duty to get married. This social expectation is also placed upon women. Women are expected to compete for a man's affection.  The fact that Austen uses the words "universally" and "truth" to describe this condition indicates that social conventions are something that are meant to be upheld under all circumstances, such as universal truths are supposed to be upheld in all circumstances.

This first line of the novel also exemplifies satire. It sets the mood of how the rest of the novel is presented. As you continue to read, you start to take notice that it’s not the men’s objective to get married but instead the young women’s intent of assuming these objectives for these men. This presents this sort of irony that it is less the ‘want’ of a man for this sort of fortune and more the ‘want’ of a girl to become married to a single man. Verbal irony is presented through the opposite literal meaning of the line which is the fact that quite a number of women would like to trap a single man in possession of a good fortune for a husband.

As I continue to read this novel, I think it will be interesting to see how the tone and style of Jane Austen’s narrative models after the use of satire in the first line of the novel. From the beginning, the lines give us a glimpse of her use of irony towards the mothers who are obsessed with getting their daughters married off to a rich husband. Just as Mrs. Bennet’s attempt to get one of her daughters to marry a young bachelor. Therefore, I believe as the story continues the use of satire will get even more clever which will make the book as a whole extremely fascinating. I will definitely keep you guys updated.  Bye for now.

How To Play The Game

Love, revenge, betrayal, and jealousy. This is a list of the main topics discussed throughout Othello. Othello is a tragedy of the Moor of Venice. It follows the Moor who is a general in the Venetian army and his wife Desdemona. Iago who is upset that Othello gave the position as his lieutenant to the inexperienced Cassio instead of him, seeks revenge through deception. Iago’s plan for revenge leads to a tremendous amount of tragic events. However, is he really the one to blame? The focus of blame is to find fault. In this Tragic play, Iago constantly lies in order to manipulate certain situations. As a result, Othello who trusts Iago and believes his lies acts out irrationally which cause events that are usually permanent. It’s hard to depict who is truly at fault however through long consideration I would say that Othello is the one to blame here.
One of the most negative qualities the Moor has is his impulsive nature. The Moor constantly makes decisions without considering future consequences. Also, the Moor is very gullible. Throughout the play, Othello completely trusts Iago because he believes that Iago is a honest and loyal man. Othello is oblivious to Iago’s deceitfulness. As evidence, “So please your grace, my ancient; a man he is of honesty and trust” (7). Othello has a misconception of Iago and what his true intentions are. Iago states, “Though I do hate him as I hate hell pains,yet for necessity of present life, I must show out a flag and sign of love, which is indeed but a sign” (5). Here, Iago is presenting his true intentions which is to act like he is showing Othello signs of loyalty when in reality he really despises Othello. The whole play is based on Iago’s master plan to destroy the Moor. With Othello’s full trust, Iago is easily able to manipulate him into believing that stuff were happening behind his back even though they were not.
Othello allows others to influence his judgement even if they may not have to credentials to do so. This can be seen when Iago first plants this idea in Othello’s head that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. Iago says, “Look at your wife: observe her well with Cassio; Wear your eye thus, not jealous nor secure: I would not have your free and noble nature abused” (46). This phrase completely changed Othello’s outlook on his wife. Now anything that might show Desdemona's interest in Cassio, Othello would believe. Also, due to his impulsive nature Othello lashes out and makes irrational decisions instead of asking Desdemona about the situation which eventually leads to unnecessary and permanent tragic events.
Iago knew how to play the game. He made all the right moves in order to get what he desired. Knowing each person’s character traits helped Iago manipulate each situation he was in. Was this right for Iago to do? Of course not! However, the biggest reason his plan worked was because Othello fell for it. If Othello had just took the time to further investigate the situation with Desdemona and Cassio, things could have ended differently. Othello would have found out what was really going on and be enlightened of the deceitfulness that was happening right before his eyes. However, because he was so credulous, he allowed himself to be manipulated and ultimately betrayed his wife by remaining more loyal to Iago.