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Essay on native american literature
Native american literature essays
Native american literature essays
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When an individual travels into unknown territory, their greatest chance of survival is in gaining an understanding of the land and the people that inhabit it. The natives are the people who understand the location and what simple missteps could lead to death. The natives live in a world different from the travelers, and the knowledge they carry is greater than anything brought from home. How a character adapts to the environment influences their survival and what they retain after returning home. In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and State of Wonder by Ann Patchett the main characters must adjust to being in an unknown location or face death. The narrators of State of Wonder and Heart of Darkness journey into unfamiliar territory, however …show more content…
They share a common interest in the wild, overgrown nature enveloping their voyage. This characterization transforms to fit their initial impression of the natives that inhabit the region. Their initial impression of natives relates them to the wild wilderness that surrounds them, and that they are not in any way similar to themselves. In State of Wonder Marina has been traveling in a jungle absent of people, when all at once a large group of natives appear in the night. After a period of solidarity, Marina remarks on the natives as being “truly the worst-case scenario” (Patchett 185). She knew they were eventually going to meet the Lakashi, but is still uncomfortable with the abrupt meeting. Marina would rather have an image of the Lakashi instead of actually have to face them. Through Easter, a boy from the region, she has learned of the dangers that surround the area and yet feels more discomfort from the sighting of the Lakashi. Her initial discomfort parallels Marlow’s reaction in Heart of Darkness upon having watched natives while traveling down river. Marlow’s first thorough acknowledgment of the natives is through a double negative. He describes the natives as “not inhuman,” which shows that these people are not animals but they are not necessarily the humans Marlow classifies himself as (Conrad 139). Both initial expressions are negative and provide an …show more content…
In State of Wonder, Marina has been in close quarters with the natives for quite some time and feels almost like a native herself. She has learned how to survive in the jungle and how to do her part in the project. She wears the same dress as the women, and even saves Mr. Fox from a deadly snakebite. Marina is completely acclimated to the jungle and the Lakashi people she begins to think that she “wasn’t sorry not to be going back on the boat” (Patchett 315). Marina is used to the people and how things are done with the Lakashi, and has become so used to living there that she does not want to return at all. By now, Marina has learned a great deal from the Lakashi about their customs and how to survive in the jungle whether from snakes or torrential rain. Whereas in Heart of Darkness, Marlow has had more encounters with the natives, he still separates them from himself. However, he does have a better understanding of their ‘savagery’ and why the natives act as they do. The jungle is still not safe for his crew, and one step out of line could end in their deaths, and yet Marlow still begins to understand more about their nature. He begins to recognize that “uncomplicated savagery was a positive relief” and that their actions were natural (Conrad 165). He still refers to the natives as savages, but has a greater understanding as to why they are
Wait until Dark was written by Frederick Knott, and contains two acts and three scenes in each act. This title gives an overview of what the story is about, Wait until Dark gives away that something is going to happen in the dark or at night. What is significant about this title is that a character by the name of Susy, makes Roat (a con man) suffer by turning off all the lights in the house and chasing him around. Susy is already blind, so she mastered using her other senses, but Roat has not. Therefore, he has to maneuver through the house quickly and carefully, without being caught by Susy. If I ever did get a chance to rename this play, I would name it THE DARK CHASE, because there are people chasing each other in the dark.
The natives who attack the steamboat as the pilgrims near the Inner Station are seen only as ‘naked breasts, arms, legs, glaring eyes.’ The effect is to cause the reader to never picture the natives as fully human.” By emphasizing the barbaric nature of the natives, Marlow shows how inconsiderate humans can be toward other humans. We look down on people who are different than us, simply because they are distinguished from us. He regards them and describes them as if they are lower life forms than him, which simply isn’t true. But the important question is why does Marlow (and all of The Company) think that these natives are simply animals? It’s because the Company holds power that the natives do not have. This goes back to the original thesis of this paper: without God serving as a strong figure in our lives, we look to
Conrad’s character Marlow describes the natives as having “a wild vitality” and their “faces like grotesque masks.” These remarks demonstrate his fear and reinforces the distinction between himself and the natives.
Native Americans have always been interpreted as “savage beast”. We are told the stories of the Europeans coming to America and their encounter with the Native by teachers, movies, and history books. When looking at the art of people “interpreting” the Native American the idea is still quite similar. Horatio Greenough work, Rescue, shows the common idea seen by most.
In Heart of Darkness, cultural identity and the dominance of the European, white male is constructed and asserted through the constructions of the "other", that is the African natives and females, largely through language and setting. Thus, while claims of Conrad's forwardness in producing a text that critiques colonialism may be valid, Heart of Darkness is ultimately a product of it's time and therefore confirms the contextual notions of difference.
While forging into the unknown forests along the Congo River, Marlow notes that the farther they go, the more sinister everything seems. He comments that nature itself, “‘…seemed to beckon with a dishonouring flourish before the sunlit face of the land a treacherous appeal to the lurking death, to the hidden evil, to the profound darkness of its heart’” (Conrad 65). This passage hints that there are perhaps deeper, more malicious evils hiding within the jungle. The sunlight does not even seem to penetrate the incomprehensible dark, and Marlow feels the anxiousness of the unknown creeping upon him. As the Company continues on the river, they face a fog that disorients them for days. Marlow narrates the journey: “‘The rest of the world was nowhere, as far as our eyes and ears were concerned. Just nowhere. Gone, disappeared; swept off without leaving a whisper or a shadow behind’” (81). Through all the abnormal and frightening sounds that pervade the endlessly dense mist, Marlow senses they are approaching something that does not wish to be uncovered because the world disappears in the face of it. Demonstrating this concept, he says a few pages later, “‘The woods were unmoved, like a mask—heavy, like the closed door of a prison...’” (118). The so-called mask of the jungle hides what Marlow wants to find most: the elusive Mr. Kurtz, who later shows that the natural darkness in which he lives
In Heart of Darkness Marlow takes us on a journey into the heart of darkest Africa, at a time when explorers and treasure seekers were venturing up the Congo River in search of the riches of ivory. What separates Marlow’s tale from a mere adventure story, however, are the uncomfortable truths about civilization and humanity that Marlow uncovers during his voyage. One of the inescapable truths he runs up against concerns the basic limitations of the human species. While humans may become so utterly confident in our civilization’s prowess, and sometimes even believe we can act like gods, the truth is that we are still human and are bound by the basic human limitations that are inherent to our world and species. Although in a rush of confidence we humans may believe ourselves to be immortal, omnipotent, and omniscient, Marlow realizes the reality is that humans are limited by death, have weaknesses, and sometimes must contend with knowing less than the absolute truth. It is Marlow’s contending with human limitation and weakness that provides a major focus for Heart of Darkness.
In the saying of “Character is what you are in the dark” by Dwight Lyman Moody, can meaning many different things. One being, “you are most yourself when no one is watching”, another one also being, “dark and troubled times bring out a person's true nature”, and “your true nature is on the inside”. This quote can or cannot apply to the play of “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare.
In The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, a seaman named Marlow examines European imperialism before his very eyes and how it is affecting the natives in the area they are imperializing, which is the Belgian Congo. Conrad conveys to the reader that multiple people have multiple views on the natives and their habitat. On the other hand, Conrad also displays how the natives have different feelings for the Europeans that are intruding on their land. Through Marlow’s eyes, we see a very prospective view as he speaks of how he does not favor the treatment of the natives yet he does nothing to stop it. However, we are also able to see the viewpoints of others. Conrad shows us that the Europeans do not have feelings for the natives and their main motive is to gain more ivory.
Films are necessary in our time period because the human eye can articulate the message intended through sight allowing visual imagination to occur. In the book, world 2 by Max Brooks, he creates a character by the name Roy Elliot who was a former movie director. Roy Elliot manages to make a movie titled “Victory at Avalon: The Battle of the Five Colleges” and some how it goes viral. Similarly, Frank Capra’s film, “Why we Fight” expresses a sense of understanding the meaning of wars. Films do not inevitably portray truth because they display what the film director views as important and beneficial for people to know.
In his novel Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad portrays the role of a woman to be the source that the man relies on when he can no longer bear the harsh realities of the world, and utilizes the idealistic world she creates to obtain a small sliver of hope for the future. He uses the character Kurtz, a European captain who is searching for ivory in the heart of the Congo in Africa, to display how a man will need a woman and her world in order to keep his sanity. When entering the world of the woman, the man will be able to find comfort because he is able to take a break from the real world and find solace in the world of the woman, using her as an audience to display his emotions to. The solace that the man finds in the woman is a way to keep his sanity because the truths that one discovers may leave one with pain and emotions that can drive him mad, while a woman's separate world may cause one to become blind from the actualities of society, the temporary blindness will help not only a man but also the woman to continue to have high hopes and ambitions in order to save themselves from falling into the wrath of reality and succumbing to the darkness that may cause one to fall victim to savagery due to embracing too much pain that comes from the reality.
Nimona, a book that takes place in a world of medieval times with magic and technology, introduces us to characters with their rules and principles that they support or break. The main characters with rules that amplify the story line are the Director, Goldenloin, and Blackheart. The Director’s rule of removing anything that threatens her power is reinforced, possibly causing her downfall, Goldenloin’s rule of doing what's best for the people is shown to be reinforced, helping the people out even if it means losing his life, and Blackheart’s rule, similar to Goldenloin’s of never killing any humans progressively vanishes throughout the book when he overlooks his sidekick possibly causing some deaths, afterword in the middle of fights, and when he puts the importance of his sidekick over the citizens.
Upon meeting Kurtz’s wife, Marlow decides to lie to her, attempting to protect her from the darkness. As Kurtz’s fiancé begs for Marlow to repeat Kurtz’s last words, Marlow lies: “The heavens do not fall for such a trifle. Would they have fallen, I wonder, if I had rendered Kurtz that justice which was his due…but I couldn’t. I could not tell her. It would have been too dark—too dark altogether…” (Conrad 72). Marlow lies to Kurtz’s fiancé in an attempt to protect her from the darkness. After witnessing the darkness of imperialism, Marlow realizes heaven does not fall for the darkness of mankind, so it will not fall for a lie. Upon this realization, Marlow becomes aware of the darkness not only in the jungle, but also back home. As Marlow completes his story, his lie to Kurtz’s fiancé causes Marlow to realize the unavoidable darkness for humanity. After completing his story, Marlow looks up, only to understand how unavoidable darkness really is: “The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky—seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness” (Conrad 72). As a result of telling his story, Marlow realizes the darkness of mankind is not only a result of imperialism, but also a result of existence. Lying to Kurtz’s fiancé completes Marlow’s realization of
Every human being is born into a race and a culture. These are what separate one person from another. Is it possible to fit into a place where you don't belong? Your culture and race does not make you who you are, but they do play an important role in molding you. They can limit our beliefs in ourselves and which tasks we find important to learn how to do. With all of these afflictions, we do seam to be on a train with a one way track. Our lives appear as if they are set before us, just waiting for our shoes to fit the roles described therein. Natives have there roles which are separate and different from the foreigners, but how far do they differ?
By the time Marlow and Kurtz meet, Marlow is already well aware of the similarities they share. Both are imperialists, and while Marlow detests the treatment of the natives by his employers (Belgian colonists), he also makes apparent his abhorrence toward the Africans. On the other hand, Kurtz abandons the pretense of helping the natives achieve civilization, as displayed by the Europeans. Instead, he adopts their customs and becomes their leader in the never-ending quest for ivory. "He began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, 'must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of the supernatural beings- we approach them with the might as of a deity' (Longman, 2000, p. 2226). Marlow also admired Kurtz' resourcefulness and survival skills, especially his perseverence through jungle fever. "The wilderness had patted him on the head....it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation. He was its spoiled and pampered favorite." (Longman, 2000, p. 2225).