“I must go with him into another part of the woods, where there was a certain root, which, if I would take some of it with me, carrying it always on my right side, would render it impossible for Mr. Covey, or any other white man, to whip me,” (Douglass 49). This so called ‘root’ is only mentioned in one passage of the Narrative, but it is with a certainty that it holds a lot of symbolism. Although Douglass took the root out of courtesy and deemed it simply superstitious, the reader can infer that it signifies his very ties to Africa where his ancestors lived as a free people. His roots are important to remember, for his people were not always slaves.
Candy has pledged his savings to the project of the dream ranch, and cannot let go of his one remaining hope of a pleasant old age when Crooks says it will never happen. When Candy fools himself, saying ‘You god-damn right we’re gonna do it’, we realize just how pathetic and vulnerable he is. It is very hard not to feel pity for him at this point. Overall, therefore, there are many characters in the book towards whom we feel sympathetic, and there are many who are also pathetic: generally the two things go together, but Curley is perhaps the exception who proves the
Just thinking about the skinning of an animal terrifies me, but it saddens me more to know that there are people in the world that can kill animals just for the profit that it can bring to them. When an animal is captured, it is put through unbelievable pain. It sometimes drives the animal to tear through its own flesh and bone, sometimes the animal even loose teeth because they bite on the trap. Sometimes the animals are left suffering for hours before the hunters show up to kill the animal by stumping on the animal. This type of animal cruelty is legal for people with a license to hunt, but for those who are not legalized hunters can face many years in prison and be fined thousands of dollars.
I had clothes, and they had none. I decided [this] was what it meant to be a slave…you had no claim on [your] future” (pg.192). I think that Lindo is a good man. He tried to save Aminata from Appleby and he swore he tried to buy her baby too but Appleby didn’t want that to happen. I honestly think his intensions are good, but the people around him are not.
“These round knobs were not ornamental but symbolic; they were expressive and puzzling, striking and disturbing” (55) The round knobs were heads of the savages displayed on a pole. Kurtz did not turn them around, but kept them faced towards the front as a sign of his power. This act symbolizes his want to instill fear and intimidate those that came across it. Marlow does not seem too affected by this showing his deadness to these inhumane events. 3.
Animals have the right to live without being at any point, confined, exploited, tormented, or eaten. It’s wrong of people to use animals to experiment. The thought of them making fun out of them makes me sick because there is no need for it. A couple of the things I wanted o mention that I agreed on was
It may be this delusion of great superiority that causes the colonizers to believe that it is nothing wrong with them forcing their ways upon the natives. Upon interpreting Heart of Darkness, it gives off the message that colonizers in general genuinely believe the civilizations that they colonize are inferior compared to their own society. In the story, a European trade company, referred to throughout the story as “the Company”, pushes their enterprise into Africa creating an imperialistic relationship with the natives. They leave practically no barrier between their business and the society of the native, leading to the inevitable abuse of the inhabitants. However, the excuse of civilizing the natives is used.
His idealism is seen in his exchange with his aunt before departing for the Congo; Marlow is uneasy with the idea that the company, which claims to be bringing the light of civilization to the savage African masses, is being run only for profit. His aunt, who is older and one can assume has more worldly experience and wisdom than her young nephew, reminds him that “the laborer is worthy of his hire” (Conrad 10), suggesting through an allusion to Timothy 5:18 that the company has every right to profit from their work. Marlow scoffs at “how out of touch with the truth women are” (10), yet it would seem that at that point it is Marlow who is out of touch with the truth, caught up in the ideal that a company can be run for either
Compare the ways in which the particular point of view of a character or persona is important to the understanding of theme in any 2 modern texts you have studied. In The Great Gatsby and Heart of Darkness, the narrators filter the story they each tell through their necessarily subjective consciousness. These points of view result in particular effects that could not have been achieved with an omniscient narrator: distorted societies and blurry perception, the difficulties of perceiving anything purely, as well as ironic tension due to ambivalence towards the central character. The points of view, with their blurry perceptions, contribute to a dream-like atmosphere. Both societies are described impressionistically – the jungle is a “mournful and senseless delusion”, while the East is said to have a certain “quality of distortion”.
So don’t try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else…” (Goldman 131). The Lord of the Flies also tells Simon that the beast is real, because he is the beast. Simon does not fall for the trap or give in to temptation because it is against his moral values. “Pig’s head on a stick” (Goldman 130), Simon says to the Lord of the Flies. By not allowing his civilization to slip away, Simon is able to understand what the beast truly is: it is a savage instinct that is inside all of the boys that influences their every decision.