Conrad's Africa

      Heart of Darkness finally comes to its closure after diving through the dense, African, jungle taking us deep into the idea of darkness itself in our journey to the unknown. Conrad does an excellent job describing the mysterious jungle by giving life to it through detail and imagery bringing an interesting paralel in the setting of the novel.

      Conrad writes the book as a story within a story. In both occasions we are set in a river, at one point in the Thames then the story unfolds in the Congo.  The beginning of the novel brought the idea of the magnificence of the Thames river and how it'd led explorers to meet great destinies across mysterious and dark places around the world. Then it touched a very interesting paralel that could be related to that of the Congo. England was a dark and mysterious place once and this same river led explorers hundreds of years before to discover a land full fog, scary darkness, uncivilized natives, and mystery. The Romans here where the explorers bringing civilization to what was considered a dark place. Then he showed us a different darkness.

     There was a description I considered important in shaping my final definition of darkness. Conrad relates it to the unknown as we see the deeper we go in the jungle the heavier darkness we find, He then makes a distinct exception to introduce a profounder darkness. He makes reference to "the heart of an immense darkness" leading up through the Thames. This leads us to another crucial idea portrayed across the novel. The european thought of superiority and excellence and their lack of knowledge and interest in the natives is in itself the greatest darkness of all. The ignorance with which they live with lays deep in the heart of darkness of a world which few take time to understand and all take time to judge with outright ignorance. The African stereotype and the single story in European mentality is the heart of darkness.

Inhumane to Humane

    As Heart of Darkness progresses, so do our characters. We now see open criticism to imperialism as the idea Marlow had embedded in his head is challenged by the true reality of the natives he's come to meet. To his surprise these cruel demon spawns that live in this despicable place have much more to them and we now find strong contradictions between what Marlow wants to believe and what he's experiencing around him.

"He was an improved specimen...He ought to have been clapping his hands and stamping his feet on the bank, instead of which he was hard at work...full of improving knowledge."

     Marlow is referring to the steam operator in his boat. The native or poor devil, as he calls him, is challenging the African stereotype of ignorance and erratic behavior. As his own thought process in obscured by this strange fellow he comes back to justify this explaining the man has been instructed and thats all to it. It doesn't come to his own merit as he is still a local devil, it was the europeans that taught him and took advantage of this naive creature. What Marlow can't see is that his own ideas are struggling to keep the colonial mentality weaved together and maybe as he progresses through Part III he'll understand reality in its true perspective. 

Conrad's Racism

      Reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad has brought up many speculations over the true reality of racism and what it represents to me personally. Part 1 of the novel only comes close to introducing the true idea over such a matter and leaves a certain ambiguity over what Marlow, our main character, thinks of this issue.

    I've never really seen myself as a person confronted by hatred towards others based on their color, race or religion. It's not only unethical but it brings strong confrontations with my morals and values learned at home. Then again, the novel is set in a different context with a different set of ideals in a very different reality which end up making me question whether negative thoughts over racism are something connected to our post-modern world or where they always present in society. It's very interesting to see how Conrad extracts Marlow from this issue and really leaves it up to us to decipher whether or not there's irony in his words or whether he's just another believer of the empire. 

      The early 1900's were flooded with a steady stream of oppression and repression in the european colonies of Africa. A few decades earlier they'd cut out a map of Africa in the Berlin Conference changing the history of the continent forever, leaving the people under cruel regimes looking only for raw materials and an exploitable work force. This makes the concept of racism really obscure at the time the book was written. It was the reality known to the world. As I continue the novel maybe Conrad's standpoint will be clear on this issue but for now it'll remain in the darkness.

     

The Great Nations of Europe

This song poses a very interesting and almost childish perspective of european imperialism and colonization in the 1500's. We can find irony laying over its lyrics all over such as "Hide your wives and daughter; hide the groceries too. The great nations of Europe comin through".  Its ironic because if these are "the great nations of europe" why do the pose such a threat to your wives and daughters. Theres a tention between what is said v what is meant in the use of "the great nations of europe". Several other parts of the song are pretty straight forward and contain little to no irony. "Now they're gone, they're gone, they're really gone. You never seen anyone so gone." Here he simply makes reference to the disgraceful fate that met the indigenous tribes in south america excluding irony from its words.

Chief Bromden

          Past experiences shape a person's personality and mold his behavior as he progresses through life. As we've come to know, Chief Bromden struggled with his invisibility as a young child forcing him to be shun as an outcast from society and ultimately be locked up in an asylum. We come to meet him as a guy who acts deaf and dumb to hide from others because of his fears and insecurities. I, like him, have found myself in situations were this is my only defense mechanism.

"I was a lot bigger in those days." (36)


      One summer I went to camp for the first time. It'd be only a couple of weeks and I'd be back home but I didn't really know anyone and wasn't really up to making any new friends. Like Chief, I hid away from others secluding myself and avoiding contact with my fellow campers to avoid that fear of rejection and simply to feel comfortable with myself. As a few days went by I was finally approached by another spanish speaking camper who started chatting me up. I went from no words to a few monosyllables and then finally I broke out. That feeling of comfort, understanding, and confidence burst into me and I'd never talked so much in my entire life.

       The chief experiences a similar effect that molds him back and makes him grow out of his shell when McMurphy approaches him. He feels comfortable and lets down his fears. Without even realizing  it he's growing back to his original size and at the end he's not only talking but standing up for himself. 

The Combine's Machines

         In Kesey's OFOCN machines seem to take crucial place presenting both chief's perspective on the ward and the symbolic meaning of these bizarre movements happening across the hospital. His almost delusional descriptions give place to an intricate system of machines that control the patients and allow Nurse Ratchet's full control over their minds. Its these images that really open our minds to understand the degree of control thats ongoing all throughout the ward.



"...she wields a sure power that extends in all directions on hairlike wires too small for anybody’s eye but mine; I see her sit in the center of this web of wires like a watchful robot, tend her network with mechanical insect skill, know every second which wire runs where and just what current to send up to get the results she wants." (19)

            Machine stand as a total personification of control and helps Kesey send us that image of complete regulation and order inflicted in the patients minds. They hide behind the walls and work in cooperation with each other to keep everything in the ward under control. It represents how the nurse is able to exert her power giving it more momentum in a mechanical almost physical way ignoring the fact that her tactics are straight out psychological. Those machines we don't see, but they are moving everything around just as she wants it to be and exemplify the symbolic meaning of power through strong images we could consider being Chief's madness.

        In the end machines are almost automated objects that work under someone else's control just as these patients in the hospital ward.   

The Foggy Cuckoo's Nest

The fog seems to be a recurring element all throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as Chief makes reference to it constantly. One very important thing to take in mind first is that due to the fact Chief isn't a reliable narrator we can't take the fog as literal as he presents it to us in the book. I've tried looking at it from different perpectives and the first one that crosses my mind is a sedative or some type of medicine released through the ward for all patients. Ms. Ratchet is in control of this fog and we see how she uses it as a tool to keep the patients at ease just like her manipulation of time (once again an over exaggeration from Chief).


"Before noontime they’re at the fog machine again but they haven’t got it turned up full; it’s not so
thick but what I can see if I strain real hard. One of these days I’ll quit straining and let myself go
completely, lose myself in the fog the way some of the other Chronics have..." (27)

You can also look at it as being something more of a way Chief describes this feeling Nurse Ratchet installs in all patients through the Ward. It may really not be a literal fog but a creation of the mind used to represent the control Ms. Ratchet has over them. It prevents them from rising up against her and creating a mutiny in the ward almost keeping them content or satisfied whenever they're under it. Chief describes it as something we he could hide behind and not be seen, and he describes it as something positive happening to him. He also makes reference of how he'd like to let go himself completely into the fog as if it took him away from that miserable ward. Chief is also unable to clearly see when under the fog so we could think his way Ms. Ratchet keeps the patients subjugated and prevents them from ever improving their life situation. They're blind to their surroundings, happy or rather satisfied, and not capable of assimilating the situation happening around them.

One important question that pops in my head is how other patients react to the fog? We only see Chief and the fog but its not clear what happens to the others in the ward. The only reference I've seen made to others and the fog is when Chief wonders how Mc Murphy would act under its effects. "They haven’t really fogged the place full force all day today, not since McMurphy came in. I bet he’d yell like a bull if they fogged it." (46)

The fog is a perfect tool for Ms. Ratchet but I'm not sure how she achieves this state of mind in the patients and I think I'll just have to wait to here more about the fog further on the book. 

The Tree of Life

The movie Waiting for Godot  is an excellent portrayal of the book, and from its very beginning is able to present lots of information in regards to setting and character development we sometimes are unable to see when reading the book. What I seemed to like the most is that when watching all through Act 1, the movie present the visuals to many actions that weren't so clear in the book so my whole understanding of the play improved.

There's one very important element that remains steady all throughout the play. They're sitting in a desolate wasteland and the only outstanding object is a tree. So what could this tree represent? The growth of its leaves represent hope for Vladimir and Estragon, signaling the arrival of Godot (who never ends up showing) but its also a visual for condemnation. They talk about hanging themselves to see it all go away but they're incapable of doing so. Whenever we see them come to terms with the idea they wonder if it shouldn't be better to wait for Godot before taking a decision as severe as this one. This constant clash between their choices creates back and forth discussions between Vladimir and Estragon that seem to go on forever.

The tree also brings some irony along with it. It seems to be the only living thing around there besides the characters so we could look at it as the tree of life. But it'd be the tree of life bringing death to Estragon and Vladimir. There we see a huge contradiction and even some biblical allusions all surrounding this tree. They'll stay there waiting and waiting beside a tree they aren't even sure is the correct one Waiting for Godot.

Waiting For Who?

Confusing would be a pretty accurate adjective when describing the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Written almost entirely in a dialogue between two characters, I find myself permanently annoyed when reading through pages and pages of endless fights and confusing monologues that lead us back to the same dialogue in this absurdist play.

Estragon and Vladimir, our two main characters, find themselves struggling with hope on the arrival of this strange man they refer as Godot. Since the beginning of Act 1 they mention this almost magical character they're waiting on almost as if they were looking for his approval. He never seems to come and after the second time we clearly understand this figure is really never going to appear.

Once again we're touching on existentialism confronting the human struggle to find some meaning in life. Vladimir and Estragon find themselves wrapped around this lack of purpose and uncertainty finally presenting them with this feeling of anxiety on their own existence. They hold on to the hope of Godot's arrival thinking that at that point they'll be able to take action so they keep on looking for something external to give them a deeper meaning to life. We could even look at Godot as a religious figure comparable to God. The world is full of people searching for their higher calling; reading books and travelling the world searching for the reason of their existence. Existentialism provides us with the quickest and most efficient answer to this dilema: there is no reason for us to be here, we're just here and thats as simple as it gets.

In the end, even though the play is very repetitive and obnoxious in some parts, its a perfect example of existentialism and absurdism. I do look at it as a very interesting piece of literature and it'd definitely be a fun experience to watch the play.

An Introduction to Existentialism

Society now a days floods us with the preconception that we are all destined for something greater in this world. Religion feeds us the idea that God has sent us to this earth with a purpose, some higher meaning. Its all used to add meaning to our lives which otherwise would be plain, ordinary, and obscure.

Existentialism comes in bringing relief to all of us, "none believers". "Everybody is here; everybody exists, but there is no reason as to why."Its a bold statement Meursault lives by day in and day out. He's never looking or prospecting on his life plans because ultimately, we'll all face death and that day nothing you ever did in this earth will matter. Actually nothing ever matters.

His life is tied up around impulses and a "right now" feeling. He needs no meaning or explanation to why he's here because the fact is that he is, and his sole objective is to fulfill his impulsive desires. When shooting the Arab it comes down to the fact that he can either do it or not, the consequence is completely irrelevant to him. He's just feeling like it.

The whole concept of a meaningless life is scary for some but its inspiring for others. We're all the same in this world, meaningless as it is. Put meaning to your life by fulfilling your desires achieving happiness. If you fancy putting smiles on people's faces, go right ahead. If its something else you crave, find it and add meaning to your life. Lets just hope its nothing illegal and such. 

Meursault's Life

After finishing The Stranger I realized the whole idea of existentialism remained present all throughout the book and never really dissipated. A few questions did arise from the text as the narrator's tone is purely objective and very direct leaving several gaps or dead ends in the book.

The biggest gap Camus presents in the book is how the "stranger" was created. We don't know what happened to Meursault that led him to isolate himself in such way from society or what broke his relationship with his mother in such a way. Maybe he had a romantic deception early on in his life that didn't allow him to fall in love and only permitted him to live by pure instinct and impulses.
These are all speculations because Camus really only gives us a little clue on Meursault's youth when saying "When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered." (41) Now we question why he had to leave his studies and why was this such a big blow to Meursault's life?

Its clear Camus doesn't want to go very in depth with the specific reasons as to why Meursault behaves the way he does but he hints the readers that some external situations in his life shaped his personality turning him into a true, devoted existentialist. 

Camus's Existentialism

The Stranger by Albert Camus opens up a whole new world to me exposing the thoughts and behavior of a man living and breathing  an existentialist mind set. In the first pages of the book we encounter few emotional responses from our character presenting very interesting insight on what true existentialism represents.

"It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, an that, really, nothing had changed." (24)

Camus portrays Meursault's character as a direct, almost indifferent man who only carries an objective view to his world. Maman dies and his lack of emotion almost shocks the reader as he clearly says its really just as if everything remained the same when we could categorize a parent's death as one of the most tragic events in one's life. The ideas reflected in existentialism, in which we're suppose to enjoy moments and live only in the present showing few concerns for past or future really end up isolating Meursault and creating this abstract character that seems to view his life extracted from it. Its Camus's own way of bringing along the whole existentialist concept that creates such bizarre character.

"A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn't mean anything but that I didn't think so. She looked sad. But as we were fixing lunch, and for no apparent reason, she laughed in such a way that I kissed her." (35) We find ourselves tied up once again in Meursaults detachment from his life and from one of the most basic feelings of all. Love. He managed to hide away from it when his mom died and once again we encounter him hiding away when Marie asks him. Its a relationship he only bases on desires and impulses bring forth existentialism once again. He's a complete stranger to his life and that of the people around him.

Colorfulness

"He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night" (180).

    In The Great Gatsby we encounter Fitzgerald's heavy use of symbolism as he utilizes colors to give further on depth to the text. Several colors are used throughout the book but the color blue and how Fitzgerald uses it to express specific emotions really captured my attention. In the quote above Fitzgerald touches on the color blue which we see exemplifying emotions such as sadness or unhappiness. People often make reference to the fact they're feeling blue meaning their unhappy or sad. Here as Nick sees Gatsby's tomb in the cemetery he makes reference to the "this blue lawn" presenting the image of sadness and unhappiness surrounding his burial sight. Many things around Gatsby were represented by the color blue as the lawn in his back yard was also characterized by this color. It just represents how unhappy he really was on the inside and how he surrounded himself with these superficial people to create this illusion that he wasn't all on his own. All around Gatsby was a blue character and as he laid dead in his tomb the lawn around him remained blue.