Heart Of Poisionwood Bible
BY: Mikia , Samantha , Shaquita, and Takoya
BY: Mikia Sanders, Samantha Nicholson, Shaquita Calhoun, and Takoya Drake
Mikia Sanders Essay
“All men are created equal…” One of the most famous phrases from our well righted Constitution. What is the true meaning of equal? Do we demonstrate the capacity of “equal”? Well, If all men are created equal why does one man feel the need to belittle or show cruelty to another man? Does it make man feel more of a “man”? In the “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad, he demonstrates to us the acts of man’s inhumanity to man where he sees just how unjust and mischievous a man can be in the Congo of Africa. Racism being one of biggest inhumane issues, is mentioned throughout the novel which helps add to the theme of man’s inhumanity to man.
Why is racism such a big example of man’s inhumanity to man? Well, it’s based on control and power of a dominate skin color(white) over a subordinate(native) considering them as group of people rather than an individual like themselves. “.. and it was not dissipated by somebody on board assuring me earnestly there was a camp of natives--he called them enemies!--hidden out of sight somewhere”(chapter1). This example shows how the europeans wanted to dominate them by referring to them as their enemies.
Power is something everyone wishes to have and love the feeling of having. Especially when it comes down to a man having power. “Therefore he whacked the old nigger mercilessly, while a big crowd of his people watched him, thunderstruck, till some man-- I was told the chiefs son-- in desperation at hearing the old chap yell..”(Chapter 1). This statement showed that the white man wanted to everyone to see that he had power over the black man, he wanted to let everyone see that he makes the decisions.
Something very popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was calling one race outside of their name or their caller with an insulting term. This inhumane feature was common and coherent to whites to say about the africans.”Land in a swamp, the utter savagery, had closed round him-- all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest... “(Chapter 1). They were labelling the Africans as “savages” which shows this is what they see them as in their eyes. “The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us-- who could tell?.... we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled…” (Chapter 2). In this statement they named the africans “prehistoric” something like animals believing they were more developed and civilized than the africans. Saying they “glided” past them like they were better than them.
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness very welled reflected racism and imperialism on how times were back then. What is was like through the white man eyes. His theme of man’s inhumanity to man was demonstrated greatly and showed just how cruel one man can be to another because they feel they have the upper hand. He detailed us on what goes on in the darkness, or in other words things we never knew or don’t see there, in the heart of the jungle in Congo, Africa.
Takoya Drake Essay
In The Poisonwood Bible the book introduces a family that goes throughs trials and tribulations with hidden secrets as well as deaths but as they go through all these changes we see one specific character change tremendously and that is Orleanna Price the mother of the price family throughout the book we see how she is miserable but taking on different obstacles as their family travels to africa. Orleanna changes drastically many times when it comes down to their family living as a whole, death and marriage.
For example the way Orleanna expresses herself when she talks about what she is imagining, then goes into the secret she keep from her family most importantly her daughter and husband Ruth May. Orleanna did not want to break up her family but she knew the time was coming soon they were a good family together but to tell the truth, she was certainly miserable and had secrets of her own that no one knew about, not even her girls especially her favorite Ruth May. Ruth May was her favorite because she had an affair with another man other than her husband Nathan and Ruth May reminded Orleanna of her secret lover which was why she was Orleanna favorite daughter. On the other hand, when it really came down to Orleanna living with her family, she was miserable, tired and wanted to be free she did not like the way lived honestly but she stuck around because she was married and did not want to break the family up as they were all living together but she still chose to deal with family living conditions and feeling depressed about it all.
Shaquita Calhoun Essay
Mythic would be a very wonderful word for Marlow's journey. This not only describes him spiritually, but mentally and emotionally as well. Marlow’s journey is self discovery. Marlow begins to tell the story of Kurtz which made it confusing yet, understandable. He identifies the the difference being that Marlow doesn’t give in to the darkness like Kurtz. While trying to discover who Kurtz was and where he had came from truthfully, he was also trying to find himself. The person that he felt was different from everyone that he had ever seen or known. Unlike most books Marlow figures out who kurtz is and also himself throughout the book.
At times throughout the book He gets close enough to the edge to peer into the darkness, but does not fall into it. The process of learning about oneself is similar to the way in which the reader learns about Kurtz. Marlow is more focused on things rather than finding the hidden meaning and truth. As described in the book Marlow has emaciated appearance , sunken cheeks, and a yellow complexion which makes him look stressed and very weird. His physical journey seemed more like his mental journey because it is if it went into a circle. For example he started from london, to brussels, then to the coast of africa, and so on. Until he ended up back in Brussels taking the same route.
On his physical journey he experienced many things that helped and also harmed him mentally and spiritually. For example leaving his mother was a big mental issue for him. Spiritually things felt as if though he was in the same place every single time he traveled. Why? Because everyone seemed dark and mean towards him. In his case,everyone was the enemy at one time. He said “This also has been one of the dark places of the earth”. This makes the journey seem as if it is nothing, but darkness and envy everywhere he had went somewhere.
In his mind it was like he was a child all over again. Mentally unstable in all the wrong places, especially for a man traveling. He had a passion for maps and he could lose himself in the blank spaces, which gradually turned into dark ones. “Taking on the earth is not a pretty thing”. This is what Marlow had said when he was actually mentally stable in some way. This is shocking and also unpredictable coming from someone like him. Ending his journey may have been the best thing to ever happen to him. Because if he had went a little further he may have went crazy to the point where he couldn’t make it.The quote “The Horror, The Horror” explains that perfectly.
After coming to realize that the darkness was in everyone and after finding out who was who, he calmed down physically as well as mentally and spiritually. The Europeans are the good ones to him and the Africans are the bad. He also figured out the even a noble man like Kurtz had a little bit of darkness in him. Everything in Marlowe's world is dark and will forever be dark in his mind, but at least he figured out majority of what he wanted to.Heart of Darkness essay by Samantha Nicholson
Our actions, not our thoughts, are what define if we are a “good” person or corrupt. It is no question of if man is good or evil but which side they decide to act on. The Heart of Darkness gives us a picture of the inner trials that every individual deals with and the questions they ask themselves. Although not exactly alike, Marlow faces circumstances and obstacles on his journey that are similar to what people face on a daily basis. Throughout his journey Marlow has learned your first idea of something or someone may not always be the truth, all humans have evil within them, and sometimes it is better to leave someone in the fog rather than open their eyes to how the world truly is.
Many people are good at masking who they really are and are able to trick others into believing they are someone they are not. In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Colonel Kurtz was so good at this his own wife was oblivious to his real character. Referred to as “The Intended” she is a beautiful woman who while Kurtz was away, becoming the cruel man he truly is, she stayed home and held onto her idea of who she believed he was. He was able to hide the fact that he used barbaric methods not only to defeat his enemy but to send to fear and convince tons of people to follow him. Since Marlow got to know the real Kurts when he went to visit his wife to give his condolences, realizing she had him pictured as a kind, loving man who only wanted to help the Congolese, he decided to lie to her; telling her his last words were her name. Justifying his decision to lie to her by saying telling her the truth would be “too dark”.
If you look deep enough into every person you will always find evil intentions live in all of us. “And this also,” said Marlow suddenly, “has been one of the dark places of the earth.” he says referring to England before beginning his stories. Marlow entered the Congo believing that they were bringing society and the better good to the people who lived there but after meeting Kurtz he soon realized that the Congolese are not the only ones who are “evil”. After seeing so much death, from the slaves laying under a tree dying to the shrunken heads on Kurtz posts outside his home his eyes are opened to the tortures that live inside of every individual. Every human possesses selfish, prideful, and evil desires. Marlow becomes so freaked out from his trip that he begins to identify with the “savages”. Marlow not only travels to the heart of Africa but into his own heart and finds darkness in the Congo, mankind, and even within himself. This experience makes him realize that he is like the Colonel but is different because he does not give into his souls evil desires. Learning more about himself he gets right to the edge of his hearts darkness but chooses not to give into it.
It is always good to tell the truth but sometimes it can cause pain. Marlow learned that it can be better to leave someone in the fog rather than break their heart over the truth. After Kurtz dies while they are waiting to repair the steamboat he says to the Intended “The last word he pronounced was- your name.” He tells Kurtz’s fiance this because he does not see it necessary to ruin the way she sees him when she is mourning his death. Once he has returned to western society feeling out of place Marlow cannot hide his contempt for normal people who have not been to the Congo and seen evil firsthand. It bothers him that they are so oblivious to the way humans really are and it is not just the Africans who are evil but the people they pass on the street all have the potential to become cruel murders given the opportunity. His experience has changed him so much that he sees the everyday troubles as petty.
Marlow’s eyes are opened on his trip and he learns that first impressions can be deceiving, everyone is tempted to be evil some just don’t act on it, and sometimes the truth is better left unsaid. The amplified experiences he faces change the way he perceives everything thereafter. It is obvious that darkness resides in every individual's heart. We are the heart of darkness.