Should We Read "Heart of Darkness"

• Answering this question is difficult because in order to analyze its worthiness, you have to first read it in depth
• Heart of Darkness should be read as literature rather than historical or autobiographical fiction, because of its narrative style and the recurring themes (personification of darkness, ironic tone, apocalypse)
• Misinterpreted as a seamen's yarn
• Should be read as an "exemplary revelation of the ideology of capitalist imperialism, including its racism and sexism"

Illusion

I chose the word 'illusion' because, first of all, it sounds like what it means.  Secondly, illusions have always fascinated me.  I am interested in psychology and the human brain, so fooling someone using optical and auditory tricks is the perfect way to further understand their brain.  For example, observe the following illustration:

Squares A and B are actually the same shade of gray.  The illusion results from your brain's interpretation of the picture, which gives us insight into how it functions.

The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle

    The Story of the wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle begins with one of King Arthur's hunts in the evil Inglewood Forest.  He is confronted by a mysterious knight, who poses him the challenge: return in one year to this exact spot with the answer to the question: what is it that women most desire?  If Arthur fails to give a satisfactory answer, the knight will behead him.  Arthur accepts the challenge.  He is later wandering in the same forest looking for an answer to the question when he meets an old hag, Dame Ragnelle, who tells him she will give him the answer on one condition: she must be married to Sir Gawain.  The hag reveals to arthur that what women most desire is the ability to make their own decisions.  Arthur returns to the knight to fulfill his challenge.  Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle are married, and the lady's curse of hideousness is partly broken.  She transforms into the most beautiful woman Gawain has ever seen.  She says he can choose between her being beautiful during the day, or at night.  Sir Gawain tells her that she may choose, and this breaks the spell completely.  And they live happily every after...

Wealtheow's New Life

My entire life has been turned on its head.  Ever since I was a child, I have been living in the warm embrace of my family and clan.  But as I have learned during my few years in midgard, war changes many things.  Including people.  Hrothgar is a gentle man—caring, loving, respectful, and above all, immeasurably dedicated to the well being of his people.  But once he straps on his breastplate and gauntlets, he becomes Hrothgar King of the Danes and Lord over the great Heorot and the people of the realm.  The time of gift giving is over.  The drums of war thunder once again.  But the roar of Hrothgar’s mighty army drowns out even those.  This is the way of men and the gods.  The only explanation for this phenomenon is the phenomenon itself.  It has always been this way, and always will be.  The only way to exist in this land is to play the game.  We are all chess pieces on the board of war.  I can move forward, backward, sideways, and diagonally—the most powerful in the contest—yet I feel as if I have the least power of them all.

            I began my new life in Hrothgar’s kingdom quiet and afraid.  But I soon grew used to the customs and habits the clanspeople.  Although I, of course, miss the camaraderie and friendship of the family I had grown up with, it is for the best.  Sometimes one has to give up her dreams for the best of those she loves.  I am a sacrifice to our way of life, and a necessary offering to preserve the safety of my family and people.  I willingly take on this position.  Honor above all else is what matters in the end of time.  When the armies of all lands meet one last time for the final battle of Ragnarok—when all men are brought to their knees at the point of Odin’s spear—that is the time when all that one does in her life comes to fruition.  I may now live a hollow husk of an existence, as I smile through my teeth and fill the goblets of brutish men, but when my time in midgard finally comes to a close, I will once again be in the warm embrace of my family.  Sometimes I wish that savage demon had torn me limb from limb.

Anglo-Saxon History Summary

Anglo-Saxon History Summary

-Roman occupation (410 C.E.)

-Germanic Tribes invade Britanny:

  -Angles (modern Germany)

  -Saxons (modern Germany)

  -Jutes (modern Denmark)

    - some occupied roman settlements (walls)
    - many small settlements, often made in forest clearings
    - often small communities centered around a large hall
    - homes were one room, with a hearth at the center
    - primarily farmers, with some skilled workers (blacksmiths, woodworkers, jewelers, etc.)
    - originally worshiped pagan gods (Odin, Thor, Frige)
    - missionaries sent to convert to christianity (597 C.E.)

-Norman invasion (1066 C.E.)

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Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo_saxon
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/anglo_saxons/

Frankenstein and a Critique of Imperialism Summary

—Mary Shelley believes that social engineering should not be based on pure, theoretical, or scientific reason
—"Incidental" imperialist sentiment (such as that shown by Henry Clerval)
—Kant's three-part conception of the human subject
    - Victor = natural philosophy
    - Henry = practical reason
    - Elizabeth = aesthetic judgement

This essay gave me a few new insights on Mary Shelley's underlying arguments in the novel.  While the title implies that the essay deals with the imperialist context of Frankenstein, it mostly discusses the treatment of feminism in the novel.  One thing that is rather insightful is the metaphorical connection of the three characters Victor, Henry, and Elizabeth to natural philosophy, practical reason, and aesthetic judgement,

Mary Shelley’s Attitude Toward Victor’s Work

    Mary Shelley portrays Victor’s demeanor throughout his experiment as one of ambition and ignorance.  In addition, Shelley impresses on the reader through Victor’s retrospective point of view that the earlier Victor was toying with powers he could not hope to control: he was playing God.  Early on, Victor describes himself surpassing the bounds of life and death in order to “pour a torrent of light into our dark world.”  This statement is analogous to the familiar “let there be light”.  Victor goes on to state that “a new species would bless me as its creator and source; many excellent natures would owe their being to me.”  Furthermore, Victor sees himself as a potential “father” to these creatures—a biblical role played by God, seeing his human creations as children.  Through the use of biblical and religious literary analogy, Mary Shelley has effectively designated young Victor as one hoping to become a God among men.  But she will soon dispel the possibility of such a situation, and further suggest one’s ambition will bring much despair and sorrow.

    Throughout the remaining passage, Mary Shelley describes the horror of the latter Victor towards his former self.  She implies something deeply unnatural and unholy about his work, using phrases such as “Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave, or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?”  The mere thought of disturbing a gravesite brings emotions of unholy filthiness to the later Victor (and clearly Mary Shelley as well).  Attempting to create irony in Victor’s actions, Shelley asks the reader why one would torture living things in order to animate “lifeless clay”—why not simply be happy with what is already alive?  Mary Shelley has a bias against Victor’s work, and more than likely opposes it, along with other issues of her time, on the basis that any human attempting to “play God” will eventually regret their decision, and be filled only with terror and misery.