Selfishness In Heart Of Darkness
Selfishness is caring more about yourself and getting ahead in your life than caring for others in life. The twentieth century in England was a very dark time, and the literature was a great representation of that. Inherent selfishness and greed are basic human traits that are prominently shown through the thoughts, actions, and words of those in twentieth century literature such as Heart of Darkness, “The Hollow Men”, and “The Soldier”. In Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, Marlow, the main character, travels to the Congo to do what at first seems like a good deed. He was going to work for a company that claimed they were making the area more civilized, but in reality, they were selfishly taking over the land while overworking the natives. …show more content…
The narrator of the poem said that if he died in a foreign country, that country somehow became better than it was before (Brooke 1275). That is a selfish way to think; it is selfish to believe that a death makes that area better because of where that person came from. The narrator felt that an English person would make the place “blest by suns of home”, meaning that that place was blessed by his death (1275). Also, this particular soldier speaks of “an English Heaven” (1275). He had such belief and want for a special “English Heaven” because he felt like because he was British that he was entitled to a separate Heaven (1275). The soldier selfishly felt as if there was a special place only for past English men. Selfishness, though thought of as harmless, is like a plague that affects the world. The greedy choices of one person can affect multitudes of people. From the Congolese people affected in Heart of Darkness to the meaningless lives in “The Hollow Men”, others were affected by the selfishness of other people. The selfishness shown through these twentieth century pieces of literature is also relevant to life in the current time. People in all eras make self centered decisions that can hurt
Examples Of Selfishness In The Crucible
491 Words | 2 PagesIn Arthur Miller's “The Crucible” (1953), it is shown that people seem to forget basic morals when dealing with mass hysteria. Puritans in the play do not want the devil or any other demonic figures such as witches in their community, they will go to great lengths, as far as turning their back on their own people to get rid of these demonic figures as shown in “The Crucible”. This idea of witches in the community caused chaos in the village which led to the deaths of 20 people in the village. Do people in the play not care about the consequences other people face because of their actions? In the play, loyalty falls far below self selfishness in the face of mass hysteria.
Compare And Contrast Selfishness In 'Hills Like White Elephants'
706 Words | 3 PagesThe two stories chosen are “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway written in 1927 and “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” by D.H. Lawrence written in 1922. I decided to compare selfishness in both of these stories. The “Hills Like White Elephants” main characters are the American and girlfriend Jig, deals with an unwanted pregnancy and an operation. The story takes place at a train station, the two characters over a couple of beer strike up a conversation regarding Jig condition.
How Does All Quiet On The Western Front Affect Humanity
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All Quiet On The Western Front Effects Of War Essay
1064 Words | 5 PagesThroughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men. Many soldiers entered World War 1 as innocent young boys, but as they experienced the full effect of the war they consequently lost their innocence.
Are People Good At Heart Argumentative Essay
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The Singer Solution To World Poverty Rhetorical Analysis
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Adversity In Unbroken
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Collectivism And Selfishness In Ayn Rand's Anthem
594 Words | 3 PagesCollectivism and Selfishness in Anthem Imagine living in a world where everybody's lives are completely mapped out by the government. Where every decision is made without the input of the citizens it affects. In the novella Anthem, Ayn Rand depicts a completely collectivist society, where every idea, action, and invention is purely for the benefit of society as a whole. Everything is done with the entire population in mind, and individuality is extremely frowned upon.
Theme Of Selfishness In The Great Gatsby
776 Words | 4 PagesSeveral people may assume that selfishness is both unhealthy and wrong. A selfish person usually puts his own needs before the needs of other people. Selfish people need to be able to draw the line between when they need to worry about themselves, or when they should be concerned about other people. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in the view of Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, it is evident that the nature of man is showing selfishness through cruelty, greed, and manipulation. Cruelty is just one way that the nature of man shows selfishness.
Thesis For The Things They Carried
999 Words | 4 PagesOver all, this story allows us to observe changes within the mentalities of army officers. First, the trauma of living in a war zone can add a significant amount of intangible weight into someone’s life. In “The Things They Carried,” we discover that Cross’s men “carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die (443).” Given that the majority of humans have experienced some form of trauma, we can understand how some men were driven to suicide and others into
Comparing Disabled And Wilfred Frost's Out, Out And Disabled
1007 Words | 5 PagesPeacefulness against chaos, beauty against ugliness. One time is between personification and inhuman feelings to describe the brutality of nature. In “Disabled” other people in the town think the soldier as an animal. They also see him as a burden and a unwanted responsibility. They look down upon him and pity him but do nothing.
Destruction In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
616 Words | 3 PagesAlthough he has no way of knowing anything about the man’s life, O’Brien attempts to humanize the soldier by creating a story for him, and memorializing it in order to place meaning on the man’s life. It is interesting to note that parts of O’Brien’s description of the soldier’s life reflect his own feelings. For example, while speaking about the man’s recruitment to the army, O’Brien tells, “…secretly… [the war] frightened him. He was not a fighter.”
Theme Of Masculinity In The Things They Carried
1945 Words | 8 PagesIn Tim O’brien’s book, The Things They Carried, we see the detrimental causes and effects of the enforced stereotype of male masculinity. Tim uses many factors including the setting, characters, symbolism and other components like these to conveys his feelings and emotions. Many of those feelings and emotions derive from his personal experience in the war. The Things They Carried accurately shows what it is to struggle with the stereotypical image of a man in how it presents itself in everyday life along with its adverse and restricting effects.
Theme Of Ignorance In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness
1186 Words | 5 PagesIgnorance of another's personal values or situation results in an impassable schism between the two parties. People fail to understand each other, and as such, they regard each other in lower lights. In “Heart of Darkness”, Joseph Conrad, through Marlow, writes his novella through a lense of ignorance and the perspective of the typical white person of the time in order to relate his story to the reader. Marlow and the accountant are contrasted with Kurtz to display the effects of evil on an individual.
Analysis Of The Last Laugh By Wilfred Owen
1730 Words | 7 PagesA heroic couplet structure within the poem provides a degree of clarity while still asserting the chaos and cruelness of war. Once again, it can be inferred that Owen himself serves as the speaker. However, this time his audience is more focused on young soldiers and families rather than plainly the public in general. In contrast to the previous work, this poem is set primarily in a World War I training camp, signifying the process young soldiers go through prior to deployment to the front line. The tone of this poem is more foreboding and condemnatory, not only describing the training soldiers but outright degrading their forced involvement as morally wrong.
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