Juuxtaposition Of Light And Darkness In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

In today’s world, one can find many instances of selfishness, whether it be corruption, killing, or even breaking a heart. However, like a diamond in the rough, someone who is truly selfless is hard to come by. One example of a selfless writer is C.S. Lewis, author of Till We Have Faces. Lewis wrote some of his novels in a way to not only educate the world that selflessness will always win but also the fact that selfishness will always lose.

This constant reminder of sin negatively impacts the one wearing the object because it causes other characters to judge and act evil towards them. Derek Maus discusses Hawthorne's use of symbolism throughout his work and claims that Hawthorne values the use of symbolism because it allows for him to deliver a message in a non traditional way (Maus 43). Hawthorne uses symbolism in his works because it allows for him to display the negative effects of guilt in sin in a way that will cause readers to become more engaged. Symbolism shows the negative effects of guilt and sin in both The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil” because in both stories the main character faces hardship simply because of an object they wear that has no other meaning than to represent sin. Although these items were only symbols, the characters wearing them faced harsh judgement because of what they

According to the definition of an anti-hero, the anti-hero is a central character in a story, film, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes. (Murray et al., 1961). Many anti-heroes have troubling circumstances that have resulted in their current state of being and go through psychological and spiritual conflicts within themselves, which have an impact on the decisions that they make. (Warner, 2008) The anti-hero is often a reluctant rescuer - the one that we follow and adore if only because of his own imperfections and essentially flawed human nature. He or she is someone who resembles ourselves, reminding us not only of the ambiguous morality of reality but also the possibility of liberating change and otherworldliness.

“Her characters, who sometimes accept and other times reject salvation, often have a warped self-image, especially of their moral status and of the morality of their actions” (Hobby). This addresses how some of the important lines in the story describe to the reader about the extreme exaggeration and the psychological realism of the church, which O’Connor wanted to express within her story. The extreme use of exaggeration and how the use of the characters bring a sense of an uncanny feeling of good and evil within each character, portrays how deep the meaning is seen in this short story. “the story is filled with dark, grotesque humor created largely by the story 's many ironies” (Hobby). The author of this source highly emphasizes that O’Connor creates this dark humor for her characters to build on her meaning in the story and uses irony to create the distortion within her

Cruelty, finding the pain and suffering of another to be pleasurable, an aspect of human of nature few admit to having yet despite the negative effects, it is also what comes to define a person in crucial moments for its a source of motivation as well as a way to reveal a person’s true intent. As unfortunate as it is, cruelty is a crucial function of society itself and allows the characters of Caleb's Crossing to develop on a much deeper level. Throughout Caleb's crossing, Geraldine Brooks uses cruelty as a key motivator in Bethia's decisions on where she stands regarding both the settler and native conflict as well as her personal view on the various beliefs being presented. In the beginning -as most foreign people taking over another's land would- she viewed the natives as subhuman and in need of saving, believing that she and her people (mainly her father) could do it. During the settlers' betrayal of the pact with the Wamponag regarding beached whales, their butchering of the whale is described in gruesome detail showing how animalistic man in general really is.

And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel—although he neither saw nor heard—to feel the presence of my head within the room” (Eager Poe 91). This quotes meaning is to create suspense and fear about what will happen next which is the old man’s death that couldn’t happen without him waking up. Just like the “Money’s Paw” the old man dies because of unlikely

The poem elaborates the concept of virtue, temptation, and dishonesty, which I can connect to and knowledge from my experience. The Gawain Poet incorporates Sir Gawain’s behaviors with common human behaviors and flaws that people have. Although he is honorable knight, he is not a perfect character in the poem just like people having their own flaws. Many early poets and authors also create their works based on this fundamental imperfection a person has the in reality. In conclusion, based on my experience I connect to Sir Gawain because of the struggles and imperfection I have.

How does point of view affect the theme of Grendel? John Gardner’s Grendel reveals the opposite side of the story depicted in Beowulf by making Grendel the narrator. Grendel, a monster, is the only source of information the reader has, which forces the reader to gain trust in Grendel’s thoughts and memories. Although Grendel and Beowulf share the same storyline, but switch perspectives, the themes happen to change, solely because the reader reaches a deeper level of connection with Grendel by discovering the similarities humans have with him and pities his loneliness. Grendel’s emotions are always emphasized because they define him and often determine his actions, but they are also relatable to the reader and the Danes.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door,” (The Raven 1). It’s the middle of the night, and he hears someone at his door. No one would be knocking on a person’s door at midnight, because everyone would be sleeping so this is strange for him to hear. The narrator is practically asleep who 's been awoken by commotion. This is a little bizarre for him to overhear at that kind of hour.

In Heart of Darkness, there is a genuine difference between what is light and what is dim. These differentiations work inside of the truth of what is viewed as socialized and graceless. The light speaking to progress or the enlightened side of the world and the dull speaking to the uncouth or savage side of the world. All through the book, there are a few references to these two differences. In Conrad 's novel, high contrast have the standard implications of underhanded and great.