Conrad, Racist?

Joseph Conrad is known as one of the greatest authors of all time. Based on his not knowing English until he was in his twenties, definitely impresses many because of his fantastic and eloquent writing style. His novel Heart of Darkness was extremely successful based on this type of style he has. Though many adored the novel and ranked it as one of the best pieces of literature, others often disagreed and labeled Conrad a racist. Chinua Achebe responded to this piece with being incredibly angered and offended on how racist the story really was, and enraged that it was labeled as such a masterpiece. 

On February 18th, 1975, the great African writer Chinua Achebe presented a Chancellor’s Lecture at the University of Massachusetts, entitled ‘An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.’  This lecture opened my eyes and helped me view Heart of Darkness in a different way, and gave me perspective on why some think it is a racist novel and others believe it to be a literary masterpiece. The novella is filled with imagery, symbolisms, and allusions as well as an extremely complex and intertwined theme and meaning that reveal darkness and savagery. Many critics view this as being very incredible and prestigious, while Achebe feels differently. The African writer voiced his opinion on how he believed Conrad was, "a thoroughgoing racist" for depicting Africa as "the other world". Conrad saying that “We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that worse the aspect of an unknown planet... The prehistoric man was curing us… wondering and secretly appalled as sane men would be…” he is portraying through Marlow that the Congo as a place that is completely separate from the world as if it were something that had never been touched and was undeveloped. The people were described as prehistoric as well meaning that they were like the land that they resided on, separate from mankind. Conrad often makes differences between the natives and the Europeans through talking about the Europeans as gods and put together, while the natives are uncivilized and savage. Conrad is praising the Europeans in this novel and treating the Congolese like animals. 

Though, Marlow could be seen as the equivalent to Joseph Conrad, and his personal trip to the Congo, where he had always wanted to go. The perspective he uses within the novel could just highlight the Europeans actions, and how they are incredibly savage and had a dark side come out of them. Even if Marlow is the fictional embodiment of Conrad, then I agree with Achebe with that he was a racist. Because the actions taken by Marlow were very derogatory, and Conrad depicted it without sugar coating any of it. Though, during that time, and it is shown with the other Europeans in the novel, that new things and ideas were seen as obscure, and many white men felt superior to others, so it could be seen as a cultural norm. Though, I do agree that this is not an excuse to be racist, but the time period proves that there really was no new ideas that told the men to break free of these norms and take responsibility for their actions and what they said to these people. 

Overall, I agree with Achebe that Conrad is a racist. Though, I do not believe that his work should be discredited because of the time period he was in. The work is very eye opening and the actions  could have been non-censored to prove their savagery and unpleasant behavior as well.

Wuthering Heights

If someone asked me what my favorite genre of novel is, I could not answer them. I like many different novels for many different things. Gothic literature interests me a lot because of the elements. As an actress and lover of theatre, I have experience on playing off of a set, and how that setting helps morph the characters into whatever they need or want to be. Emily Brontë's novel kept up this love for books and the setting of characters because her novel was so well thought out and developed every part of it that I had to be in love.

Wuthering Heights is the first book this year that I actually read every single word and did not skip a beat. Part of that was because it was hard to read, but the other part was because it was very interesting and Emily Brontë's writing style allowed me to grasp the setting in a way that I knew where I was based on the syntax and structure. Brontë's gothic tale definitely drew me in even more because of what a gothic novel entails. Through the setting of the house and the development of the characters, the book drew me in incredibly.

At first, I was scared of the novel. I felt like the novel did not like me and did not care whether or not I liked it. I opened the book and upon the first chapter I saw many words put together that made sense but actually did not make sense. Though, once I got the hang of it I felt as though I was able to grasp what Emily Brontë was writing.

The scenery of the novel is what inspired me to write my process paper on the setting. It perfectly mimicked the characters that lived inside of the world, yet cast a contrast on the only two scenes that remained there. Though they were close together, they were very different along with the people that lived there, and when they intertwined is where the story got very interesting. The characters played off of not only themselves, but each other, and Brontë had a unified event where it was fun and scary to read at the same time.

Overall, Brontë used her wits as a female in the late 17th century to create a novel that was outside not only her, but the whole world's boundary. This artistic form took control of her and created her only novel, which was such a great success because being a woman made it so everyone said she could not do it, and she accomplished a book that is so well thought and developed to the point where the generations could be much like history.

Fierce

War has a very personal and intimidating connotation. The United States does a lot of things to their current and previous soldiers, and many authors that write about it use words to soften the blow of how harsh and traumatic the war is to these men and women. Once I received the assignment to read "Base Details" by Siegfried Sassoon, I was very confused on what the message was. I thought "base" as some sort of bottom, as if the speaker was at the bottom of something. Having "fierce" and "bald" standing next to each other also confused me, until I read more into it, and eventually found some sort of answer. 

"If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath," was what drew me into the poem, yet left me asking many questions (1). The speaker is not actually a part of the war, because he starts the poem with “If”. Saying if he was in the war, and if he was doing all of those things. He is an outsider looking in, and seeing what the people in the war go through. Based on the title, "Base Details," I was still confused and was wondering what all of these words were leading me to. Once I read "Majors at the Base" is where it finally clicked (2). Though the diction is very strong within this poem, I decided to explore Sassoon's use of euphemism, because he was being direct with the poem, but not as direct as he could have been.

Sassoon explored war with a very remorseful tone, and touched upon the topic of the soldiers dying, and even those dying after the war. He uses euphemism evidently at the start of the second quatrain, with “Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel,” which could possibly mean a man or woman after the war drinking himself to death after being exposed to a very traumatic event. Instead of saying that someone was annihilating their liver from the traumatic events of the war, he used very simple words to still prove how powerful the war is. He also says “we’ve lost heavily in this last scrap,” which is another way to say that people in the war that have passed away. 

Though this poem talks a lot about death, the overall melancholic tone is provided through the use of euphemisms. The speaker puts the audience into the scene, where if they were in the military and was standing among Majors and running up to the line of death, but did it in a way that was not extremely vulgar nor uncomfortable. Sassoon used his diction to talk about the aftermath of war, and how if one does not die in the war, they will probably make it home safe, yet die at home based off of how they treat themselves by “Guzzling and gulping,” or drinking. Though it was the diction that got his point across, the poetic device he used within that is euphemism, because he made the topic of post-war veterans dying into a sad topic without being very literal, yet symbolic. 

What Year Is It, Anyway?

1984, a satirical piece of literature created by George Orwell to comment on society. As the book starts rolling, we meet the main character, Winston Smith. He lives in London during a time where a totalitarian regime has full control over everything, including what people say and do. The telescreens help with watching and listening to everything people say and do. 

Now, how is it a work of satire? A satire is usually defined as a work that mocks, exaggerates, or makes fun of a topic for social commentary and action. Knowing that 1984 was created in 1940, it is quite odd, just from looking at the cover, that a man who lived in the 1940s would write about the 1980s. 

Orwell clearly wanted to satirize how governments have been treating their people. Just at the start, the main character is against the government and purchases a diary to keep his thoughts, which is illegal. The fact that it is illegal to have a diary, shows how extensively invasive the society he created is. Since he is relating this to real life, it exaggerates the fact that the government does not want you to have your own thoughts, nor make your own decisions and actions. He uses the simple item of a diary to propose the idea that thoughts are illegal—and to the audience, that definitely makes them question all their motives, and ask, is the government really watching? 

As the continuation of many events occur, Orwell introduces Julia, who becomes Winston’s love. But, love is prohibited in London at this point. What to do? Get in trouble for one you love? This forced absence of love definitely mocks the idea that one cannot have their own thoughts. They must think, act, and love just as the Party wants them to. When Orwell exaggerates a country to that extreme, he wants to take on the social commentary up a level and make one question their government, and how they think that they are being treated in the country that they live in. O’Brien is a character that brings these two apart, because he is a member of the Party. He is a spy and gets into the story of Winston and Julia just to catch them disobeying the party and making them separate. This act exaggerates a policeman, where if one disobeys a law, the law in 1984 being love, they are instantly taken away with no questions asked. It makes one wonder, how far can a tyrannical power go without being ridiculous? Is Orwell just adding to the intensity to get more questions about one’s government?

The torture that O’Brien puts Winston through is that of extraordinary. For one to get tortured for not thinking the same way as the government is downright wrong. Orwell is clearly satirizing how life may be in the 1980s. As a man that wrote his novels in the 40s, it is quite difficult to see what will happen in the future, but he used what was going on at that point in history, such as Communism gaining control in countries such as Russia, to expand on it and make a prediction that Communism will rule all around the globe. All of this exaggeration sounds fairly familiar to me. Do you think some places are living in George Orwell’s 1984? 

Nana Loves You

I created a rhyming book for my psychology class about Alzheimer's Disease. I thought that I would share it on my blog because this blog is for reading and writing.

Chapter One:

What’s wrong with Nana?

From the beginning she was there,

loved you from the start,

but something changed about nana,

you think it’s in her heart

but no, she still loves you,

she just forgets your name

just remember to take care of her,

because her love will stay the same

so what does she have?

you ask mom or dad one day,

“nana has Alzheimer’s Disease,

and unfortunately it will not go away”

but you want more answers

you want to make sure she's taken care,

all of this information at once,

life does not seem fair.

you find that her brain is shrinking,

in there are growing plaque,

it slows down many functions,

so you must have her back

just remember nana loves you,

and some day she’ll be gone,

but what’s important is to take care of her,

and be her shoulder to rest on.

Chapter Two:

So where did this come from?

in 1906,

over a century away,

lived a Dr. Alois Alzheimer,

who paved his way

through looking at brains

and asking what's wrong

he found an illness so rare

and the findings were prolonged

about five years had gone by

and he unfortunately passed on

so his friend, Dr. Emil Kraepelin

presented his findings thereupon

through research and research

found that the disease is not so rare

diagnosed are over five million per year

which isn't too fair

but that's just in America

and earth is a very big place

but through continued research

we can win the race

Chapter 3:

How is nana treated?

Nana takes medicine,

so the disease is not so fast,

though it does keep progressing,

it keeps it from being so aghast

she may take Cholinesterase inhibitors

which may be difficult to say,

but it helps with boosting cell-to-cell communication

which increases her time to play

she can also take Namenda,

which is a very common drug

it helps her know what’s going on

so she can continue giving you hugs.

though these medications do help

they are not magic

the disease will always continue to advance

which is very often tragic.

Chapter 4:

How does Nana feel?

She lived her life fully,

she watched everyone grow,

she loves all of her memories,

but they leave her very slow,

She remembers her recipes,

she knows her favorite song,

she remembers to blow out candles,

she rarely is ever wrong

though that’s only stage one,

and it seems to happen fast,  

for things continue to get worse,

and the symptoms become more vast

soon confusion consumes her,

does not know the time,

forgets the day of the week,

and the behaviors start to climb,

the lack of sleep increases,

the vivid  nightmares do not end

she doesn’t remember why she’s crying,

and she doesn’t recognize her friend.

she continues to wander

finding herself lost

she thinks it is summer

and confused on why she sees frost

stage two seems the longest,

finding new things to be confused,

she accidentally fell,

and does not remember how she got bruised

when stage three comes,

she thinks she is only eighteen years old

she does not know who you are

and you are feeling very cold

she can get sick very easily,

she thinks babydolls are real,

she cannot think for herself

and she forgot how to feel

though the disease takes long,

it goes by very quick,

from forgetting a recipe,

to not being able to kick

And if it was up to her,

She'd step outside herself for one day,

She'd see herself the way she is,

And she would want to go away.

But she is not a burden,

so treat her with care,

remember not to get frustrated,

so you must always be aware.

when she is gone,

remember she’ll be at peace

and her love for you will come back,

and her suffering will cease

so remember nana loves you,

and cherish her every day,

take care of her thoroughly,

because she is the one who paved your way.

That's So George Orwell

Is George Orwell a psychic? In a couple of his novels, mainly Animal Farm and 1984, he often predicts what is close to happening in the future. In Animal Farm, the use of a rise of power, which are the pigs, perfectly depicts what happens in North Korea and Russia. As for 1984, he talks a lot about Russian communism and being watched by the government.

1984 starts off with providing an exposition on the type of world George Orwell created. Orwell is incredibly descriptive with his scenery, which is a cold, yet bright day in England, (Oceania) in April of 1984. The novel was published in 1949, so the genre of the novel definitely pertains to science fiction, and he is trying to predict the future. Yet, how well does Orwell predict this? Let us see…

The “Big Brother Is Watching” that Orwell introduces in his novel is definitely satirizing the Communist Movement in Russia. He isn’t particularly predicting the future at this point, but he definitely takes the communism to an extreme. We learn that two-way telescreens are installed in every public and private room in Oceania, including the bathrooms. The Party, or government, monitors their citizens through the telescreens, and plays constant propaganda 24/7. 

What does this sound like in 2016? No, not Russia. Some could argue the United States because of the government conspiracies. But I think he is resembling North Korea. He is satirizing the totalitarian government that Russia has, but predicting that it gets very extreme and eventually leads to constant monitoring and actual consequences for those who do not agree with what the government has to say! 

There are also three slogans that the Party put on the side of some buildings 

War is Peace 

Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength

These could possibly relate to now. In 1984, George Orwell wrote about some sort of future time, and using London as his setting provides the fact that he believed communism and a totalitarian government would eventually take over the world. Though this did not actually happen, or at least as fast as he thought it would, the slogans he provides on the side of the building could relate to today. These slogans do not only pertain to a communist and totalitarian movement, though. The slogan that definitely pertains to today is “War is Peace”, because the United States is constantly involving themselves in war so they can have peace. The peace that they want is very contradictory to killing people. This slogan could be part of the United States because the government believes that war will eventually lead to peace. 

Overall, George Orwell can predict the future. He created a major totalitarian society that is constantly increasing. He is satirizing the Russian government passed on Big Brother, yet the extreme is still relevant today. And remember, Big Brother is always watching. 

Why Othello Is The Office: A Brief Explication Through Pictures

Here is Iago. Since he was not promoted to

Othellos' lieutenant, he is going to make things a lot harder than they need to be.

Here is Iago again. Here, we see his evil laugh because his plan is starting to work! With Cassio getting fired, and the handkerchief being planted, everything is working in his favor.

Once Othello believes that Desdemona did cheat on him, this is his face.

Here we have Iago with pretty much everyone. It is also Othello with Cassio and Desdemona because he hates both of them. It is also Roderigo once he is catching on to Iago's deception.

Here we have Othello again. Very sad because the love of his life supposedly betrayed him. He hates looking at her and hearing the things she has to say. He also hates Cassio and hates hearing the things he has to say too.

I would say that this could be Emilia. She does not want her husband to do this to other people, and she does not want Othello to be so cruel to Desdemona (after he smacks her).

I would call this Cassio because it seems like he really only cares about women and does not really pay attention to anything else.

Enjoy