Blog 4: Heart of Darkness

In paragraph 103, Marlow continues to digress from his account of the events leading up to the death of his helmsman, as he pauses frequently and quickly changes the subjects he describes. Contemplating, Marlow mentions details of his journey and the people he meets in anachronistic order. His lack of ordered thoughts suggests that the remembrance of the events he describes have severely traumatized him. To him, his journey towards the deeper land has psychologically damaged him, as he faces incomprehensible danger and the manifestation of human darkness from living among the dangerous natives and death, far away from the comforts of civilized home. As Marlow comments, the listeners of his story cannot comprehend the psychological toil the journey has on civilized men like him; with many external protections like the developed morality of civilization and police establishments, man can refrain himself from dwelling in the evils of the unconscious and the evil, primal traits of the mind. Without these external influences, Marlow believes that inner strength only stands to stop one from falling captive to the "powers of darkness."

Blog 3: Heart of Darkness

In paragraph 83 in the Heart of Darkness, Marlow continues to ponder his deeper journey into the unknown, contemplating on the strangeness of the natives. Ironically stating that "the earth seemed unearthly", he fears being unfamiliar with the natives. Though he perceives them as monstrous savages, he hesitates to describe them, demonstrating that he cannot grasp the mystery and unknown danger they pose to him in this unknown land. Yet, he also mentions that by looking into himself, somewhere in his unconscious, traits remain that reflect the savagery of the primitives, despite the differences between the white man and the natives. Interestingly, his observation resembles Freud's belief in the id, ego, and the superego. The traits that Marlow mentions belong to the id, and the principles of mankind and the "cloak of time", the progression of civilization and its benefits, belong to the superego.
Afterwards, he observes the "savage" fireman working on the boiler as if he was an inferior species. He comments on how the native is a much more improved kind than the natives on the bank simply for the training and knowledge the native received from the white men to work. As the fireman works, Marlow describes the fireman's actions and demeanor as if he were a frightened, extremely obedient servant. In describing the teachings the fireman had to fix the boiler, Marlow points out that the teachings were understood in terms familiar to the native- the appeasement of evil spirits, which highlights the balance between good and evil.

Blog 2: Heart of Darkness

To contradict the suggestion of the "glorious affair" surrounding Fresleven's death, Marlow depicts the conflict violently as the tension rises between Fresleven and the natives. Although he suggests that Fresleven's assertion of dominance to maintain his self-respect is noble, Marlow frequently mentions the remains of the former captain, giving the paragraph a somber and dark tone. Also, despite Fresleven being supposedly the "gentlest, quietest creature" and the natives' frantic escape demonstrating fear for the captain's death, the violent confrontation highlighted the savage, wild, and dark nature of man that the novel will continue to show.

Heart of Darkness: Blog #1

As an introduction to his journey to the heart of darkness, Marlow illustrates the Romans' journey to London to compare the two journeys. In the Roman times, the Roman Empire was seen as the zenith of civilized society and London as a faraway, uncivilized land. For the Romans, the journey to conquer uncivilized lands far away from the comfort of civilized Rome deprived them of familiarity with society and shrouded them in the unknown. Much like the conquering Romans, Marlow is journeying into an uncivilized land filled with uncomfortable weather, illness, death, and mystery, away from the comforts of civilized London.

Reflection

What I really enjoyed learning about this first semester is how to analyze the film interpretations of Hamlet and how they go about to communicate themes and symbols. I like the fact that we were studying the play through a different medium so that we were able to analyze it in different perspectives. We were able to look at the light settings, the camera focus on faces or objects, a clearer understanding of hushed speech, and what the camera excluded from its focus to understand the film director's interpretation of the play. What I also enjoyed this semester is reading T.S. Eliot's poem The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. Even though I wasn't in class to learn about the poem, I was able to understand that the poem talks about the complexity of the modern man and the obsession with time. I haven't fully understood the poem yet, but it reminds me of similar works of literature like Yeats' Second Coming or Vonnegut's and Orwell's works that have a gloomy, but curious focus on the complexity of man in the early 20th century. And yes, I do like to read about early 20th century works that have that kind of perception on the complexity and grandeur of man.

Performance Choices

Though I was not there for the performances of Hamlet, I really like Ashkan's approach in playing Hamlet. Compared to other portrayals of Hamlet, he acted with a much more casual, yet cautious tone, as if he was aware of the king as his adversary, and he intended to hide his true emotions(though I do not know if that was Ashkan's intention). But, if I had the chance to act in this scene(Act I Scene II), I would play Hamlet with a much more sinister tone, similar to the language of Branagh's or Doran's Hamlet. I would use the sinister, lively tone and subtly witty language, along with a physical and emotional detachment from the king and queen, that would perfectly lead Hamlet to emotionally release and reveal to the audience his emotional volatility and fragmented thoughts in his soliloquy.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Some of the literary features that make this poem an extraordinary reading are the complexity and fragmentation that frequently occur throughout the poem. In this poem focused on time, the speaker narrates with a stream of consciousness, suggesting that he presents his thoughts and emotions without clarity nor organization.Though the reader must be knowledgeable of all the literary references Eliot includes in his poem, Eliot presents these literary allusions in anachronistic order to demonstrate the complexity and fragmentation the literary mind throughout time(though not the only reason).
In the third stanza, the narrator personifies the lingering yellow fog as a stray animal comfortably living in the lower city levels of industrial society. As yellow fog appears synonymous with poisonous gas(mustard gas, to be precise;possibly a reminder of the tragic WWI) and, hence, alludes to approaching death, the contradiction between the yellow gas and the connotation of its actions as warm and comfortable add to the complexity of the modern man. To further complicate the modern man and add to the fragmentation of the poem, in the fourth stanza, the speaker mentions the seemingly irrelevant pairs of words "toast and tea", "yellow smoke", and "murder and create". Though the combination of these words in one stanza communicates to the reader the elements and possibility of time, the words,nonetheless, form a fragmented mirror that distorts and complicates the view of the chaotic, modern world.