HOD: section 3

Now that I am more aware of the events taking place in the novel, I can easily read through the book with an understanding. In this section we still are involved in the story of Marlow’s trip to the Congo. His ship has been extremely damaged and he believes it to be on purpose so he can not reach Mr. Kurtz, an ill man who is in the interior. Several months go by while he is fixing his ship.

The white vs. black is very apparent again. Natives are always accused of creating problems. A grass hut is burned and a native is beaten badly for it. The white colonizers are seen as the high and mighty royalty, but in actuality the whites are “evil” and the blacks are good. This differentiation that proceeds through the entire novel seems to compete with itself. No matter how much violence the whites inflict on the natives they still seem to come out “smelling like a rose”, and the natives can seem to do no right.

Chaos is still an issue in the area and darkness is represented by the violence from the chaos and attitudes of those around him. The brickmaker is only "friending" Marlow to obtain information and has no intention of becoming an acquaintance of his. There doesn’t seem to be any “light”. However, the painting of the blind folded woman with the torch has a significance. The torch to me acts as a “light” being brought to the Africans. It is a sense of hope. I may be wrong, but that is my interpretation.

Also, a change in narration does happen. The last couple pages show a shift from Marlow to the Unnamed. Marlow finally takes a break in his story so that his listeners can fully comprehend his story. This is good because the man needs to breathe for once. He must be an amazing story teller or one heck of a talker.

HOD: section 2

The hardest part about this novel is not completely realizing everything that is going on in the story. After only reading three pages yesterday, the discussion today had me lost and so I had to read the 24 pages twice just to understand what exactly was happening. I imagine it will get easier as we go.

This second section of the reading continues the story that we left in the first section. Marlow has been describing his journey in the Congo. There were no narration changes in this section. An interesting point about Marlow is that he is working for the Belgium coalition instead of the British. When Marlow observes the map in the office he can see that the Belgium Empire in Africa is very apparent. They are the main “stock holders” and show this through their vast amounts of wealth and the terror they rain on the natives. Darkness plays a part in this area of the story with the two women that are knitting black wool. They seem to be “guarding” the door to the office while Marlow waits to see if he gets the charter. He mentions that it he feels as though the door they are guarding is darkness. As he passes through the darkness he “sees” light by receiving the job. The black and white theme continues from here to the point where Marlow heads toward Central Station. The natives are terrible, savage like people and whites are preferred.

Other things that need to be pointed out are the state of the Congo and attire. There isn’t really any order to it at this time in his story. A lot of violence and blood shed is occurring. Many lives are lost. As for the clothing, Conrad seems to emphasize alot on the appearance of those whom he meets. Their appearance appears to give him their life story and they are placed in categories of achievement according to this.

PR 3: Lilacs in September

This poem links the life of a lilac to that of person. It was torn and disfigured by the furry of a hurricane. The turmoil reaches all the way to the root of the plant like frustration would reach the heart of human. This lilac faces many challenges through the storm, but in the end it still continues with its life. Nothing is changed in its process even though it is mutilated. We as humans should take this and apply it to our own lives. The storm can relate to anything tragic or of great importance that has affected your life. You need to take this and pick yourself back up. Nothing is too terrible in your life to slow you down and defeat you. We must continue with our lives as the lilac did. Survival is key.

I really like this poem. It really came easily to me. Everyone should be able to relate to this poem and I think that is the main reason I like it so much. The linkage between the lilac and humans is very apparent. No matter the how bad the problems are we face, they are not enough to make us quit. We push forward and conquer the problem. You will be able to continue with your normal life. The storm is never to strong.

Eveline

The theme of Eveline is that the past is not good to hold on to when thinking about the future. This short story is about a girl name Eveline and her tribulations of going away from home and leaving what she has known her whole life. What is Eveline’s lover’s name? What is the father’s feeling about Eveline being with her lover? Has the past ever restricted you from making a decision?

Well I am not sure what to think about this short story. I thought it was a good piece, but I don’t know if I liked or what exactly Joyce was doing at the end. Eveline to me, until the end, seemed like an intelligent girl and knew what she wanted. However, she like shuts off at the end and has no response to her lover, Frank. I guess this deals with the “paralysis” that you, Mrs. Pfan, were talking about. The epiphany that Joyce implements in each of these stories was present as well. Eveline remembers her mother’s last words and knows that she must leave her home and start a new life. However, the paralysis sets in and that is what keeps her from starting this new life with Frank.

Overall this story was very organized and had a good style. Joyce’s writings seem to have a pattern…weird.

Araby

This short story, Araby, is about a boy’s fascination with Mangan’s sister and his quest to live his fantasy. The theme is that childhood creates these fantasies and in the end we must deal with the fact that they are foolish and will end. What is the name of the event the boy goes to? How is the aunt involved in the boy’s life. Do you know of anyone who has been in the same situation as the boy.

I was intrigued by this story and again I kind of liked it. Amazing, I know. However, I do feel the syntax and pace of the story were not in sync. I think that Joyce tries to rush his stories. I’m not saying I couldn’t comprehend the story, it’s just that he doesn’t pause to let his audience become attached to his writing. On the other hand, his style and use of rhetoric really put the story together. I thought his epiphany at the end for the boy was a great place to end the story. It leaves the reader wanting more, but also puts a wrap on the story.

Joyce’s writing is very intellectual and exemplifies a lot of thought. His stories it seems will always pose a lesson to be learned. I look forward to reading more of his writings and discussing them.

Hard to find a Good Man

The theme of this short story is that you should live every moment to its fullest, because you never know when your life will end. This story is about a dysfunctional family and their life-ending trip on their way to Florida. What was the cat’s name? What did east Tennessee represent to the grandmother? Have you ever experienced a tragedy like the one in this story that changed your life?

This story honestly was weird and creepy. I never would have expected the ending nor the reactions of the characters at the end. The dialogue leading up to the suspenseful end was filled with imagery and good word choice. Syntactically they fit well. My feeling is that the story was well organized and didn’t have many flaws. However, I wasn’t a big fan of any of the characters. The children were brats. The mother was odd. The dad was a jerk, and the grandmother was a freak. Only the cat remains, so I guess I liked the cat. The hardest part for me to understand was the mother’s attitude at the end. She actually wanted to be killed. It was either that or she was so oblivious to what was happening that in panic she just wanted to be with her husband.

Aside from the oddities of the story, I felt it was a good read. Syntax, word choice, and imagery were all represented and represented well. The characters actions were very true to their style, and they all exemplified differences that worked for the story. Overall I liked the story and think others should read it too.