Darkness Literature Reviews Samples For Students

Discussion

My primary reaction to this story was that it is a timeless narrative. While the specific context of the colonial era and the technology of travel by steamship certainly places this within a tight time frame, the themes at work will never grow old. The notion that unlimited and unchecked power leads to unimaginable corruption is as old as King Herod and as recent as the era of apartheid in South Africa. The idea that, ultimately, people will do evil, if left to their own devices, is as old as Cain and Abel and as new as the young man who ...

Joseph Conrad and William Faulkner are two of the most prominent writers of the modern literary era. In fact in an event held in the year 1957 at the Virginia University, Faulkner openly stated that his works were influenced by Conrad’s writing style. Faulkner have rated ‘ A Heart of Darkness’ as one of his favorite books, and reportedly when he travelled through Kent he remarked to his mother about the serenity of the place, and commented that ‘ no wonder Conrad writes such fine books from here’. Such was the admiration he carried for Conrad. Both of them wrote ...

The Heart of Darkness reflects the paradoxes of imperialism in the late 19th century.

Imperialism is the act of developing a country in infrastructures and basic growth by the superior countries in order to exploit the minor countries. In Africa, during colonization the superior countries developed African countries in growth and improved literacy level while reaping the benefits from the native countries.
In the Heart of Darkness, the author demonstrates imperialism to be costly and ridiculous in conquests of Africa. It is contrary to the expectation of the Africa since the profit was not proportional to the Africans. The end did not justify the means but there was a team that misquoted saying that ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne is sometimes remembered for his landmark text The Scarlet Letter, but he was also a master of the short story. “Young Goodman Brown” is a short story set in the Puritan hamlet of Salem, approximately during the era in which the Salem Witch Trials were occurring (Eberwin 23). The text is an allegorical discussion of human nature, and examines the deepest nature of the human heart: Hawthorne gazes deeply into the human soul in this text, and finds human nature, as a whole, lacking integrity and goodness. “Young Goodman Brown” is a tale that sees the darkest ...

Part 1 – Explication:

O: Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
I: Mark here means “See” or “Look at”. In this line, the poet brings attention of the reader to an insignificant flea. He relates the small size of the flea to the thing that his beloved has denied him, without knowing that the thing she has denied to him is very little.

O: It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee,

And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.
I: He tells that the flea sucked, after sucking his blood, is now sucking hers. He is strangely ...

Paradise Lost is a long standing work that has been credited with illustrating the many aspects of the human condition. This essay will explore Milton’s work in order to develop a better understanding of the layers of philosophy that have been responsible for generations of debate. This review will begin with an analysis of the how I believe the human condition has been reflected in this work and then move to illustrate the irony that is inherent in the reading. In the end, this literature review will demonstrate the full range of the reflected human condition as well as the ...

What is the meaning of life? This question has pre-occupied human existence for ages. This quest for meaning is reflected in scientific expeditions, art, and in most religious gatherings. In “O Me! O Life!” Walt Whitman mocks this human pre-occupation with finding meaning. The fear of not knowing what life is and of being dissatisfied with one’s contribution cripples the spirit of life. Not only does he see human folly in people around him but also in himself. Life has become a “recurring” and “endless” lamentation on sorrow, sorrow that is induced by constant self-flagellation. This paper seeks to ...

Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley was first published in 1818 . It was updated and published again in 1831. It is the story of a genius who tried to create life and suffered as he had brought to life evil in the world.
It is a typical gothic novel that gained popularity during the 1800s. The period was referred to as the age of enlightenment or the age of reason. It was the time when many great philosophers arose. The period came after the Renaissance and the Reformation. There was greater freedom for philosophers to write about anything ...

Robert Frost depicts the life and landscape of New England in his poetry and uses traditional verse forms and metrics. At the same time, Frost is more than a country poet. He develops universal themes through dark thinking, and psychological portraits. His works are filled with uncertainty and irony. In poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” "Acquainted with the Night," “Desert Places,” Frost presents solitary lyrical heroes wandering in natural scenery. Their meeting or observation of the nature, another human being or an object arouses understanding of their link to others or isolation from the world. The poems research ...

Analysis of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”

Within the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin, there are many aspects of society that are portrayed. The story, written in 1973, represents the corruption within society. This classic short story makes the reader question what it really requires for a perfect world to exist, and if this feat is even possible. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin pushes readers out of their comfort zone by probing the ethical make up society through questioning the idea of Utopia and the moral decisions of society.

Within “The Ones Who ...

Both “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night” by Dylan Thomas and “Autobiography in Late Middle Age” by Zulfikar Ghose discuss getting older. The difference is Dylan Thomas is writing the poem to his dying father while Zulfikar Ghose writes to anonymous young people. The tone of Thomas’s work is much darker than the tone of Ghose’s work. Thomas treats growing older and death as a tragedy while Ghose celebrates life. Ghose’s work has a comedic tone. The message of both poems is the same: Fight against old age and death.

Thomas seems to be angry at ...

"Young Goodman Brown" - Symbolism

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown," the titular character is a pious, faithful man in Salem, Massachusetts who leaves his wife to run a mysterious errand out in the forest.. Along the way, he encounters many different people and situations along the way, eventually resulting in a horrific dream that shows the fallibility of humankind and the ineffectiveness of Christianity. Hawthorne tells the tale of a naive, faithful young man who begins his fall from grace and acknowledging the presence of evil in the world, especially in other people. The story is rife with symbolism, and ...

MENDING WALL

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,

That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,

And spills the upper boulders in the sun;

And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

The work of hunters is another thing:

I have come after them and made repair

Where they have left not one stone on a stone,

But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,

To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,

No one has seen them made or heard them made,

But at spring mending-time we find them there.

I let my neighbour know beyond the hill;

...