HOD #4

"The point was in his being a gifted creature, and that of all his gifts the one that stood out preeminently, that carried with it a sense of real presence, was his ability to talk, his words—the gift of expression, the bewildering, the illuminating, the most exalted and the most contemptible, the pulsating stream of light, or the deceitful flow from the heart of an impenetrable darkness" (Conrad 124).

At this point in the novel, Marlow and the natives are being attacked on their trek to the central station, where Kurtz is. Since they are being shot at and one man has already been hit, Marlow is assuming that Kurtz is dead as well. Marlow is disappointed at this fact (which we discover later is false) because he has been looking forward to meeting and talking with Kurtz ever since he set foot on the expedition into the heart of darkness. A bit obsessed with Kurtz, Marlow believes that Kurtz's words can illuminate even the darkest shadows from the middle of the forest, which he says are impenetrable.

HOD #3

"‘Hm’m. Just so,’ grunted the uncle. ‘Ah! my boy, trust to this—I say, trust to this.’ I saw him extend his short flipper of an arm for a gesture that took in the forest, the creek, the mud, the river—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. It was so startling that I leaped to my feet and looked back at the edge of the forest, as though I had expected an answer of some sort to that black display of confidence. You know the foolish notions that come to one sometimes. The high stillness confronted these two figures with its ominous patience, waiting for the passing away of a fantastic invasion" (Conrad 104-105).

At this point in the novel, Marlow and the other native are making their journey to Kurtz's station in the heart of the forest. When this quote is being said, Marlow is hiding in his boat when the Manager and his uncle are talking. I liked this particular quote because it seems as if Conrad wanted to personify the forest, making it seem like some sort of evil force and person. Here, it seems as if the uncle was calling to the evil hidden in the dark forest, calling it out to bring death to the station, and all the men. I also took away from the quote that it seems as if the forest does not want these white men coming in and taking its possessions, and wants them to leave.The part of the quote that says, "The high stillness confronted these two figures with its ominous patience, waiting for the passing away of a fantastic invasion" says that jungle remained still, as if it were waiting for the men to leave. It almost seems as if the jungle is aware of imperialism, and is trying to fight back in a way.

HOD #2

"The only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading-post where ivory was to be had, so that they could earn percentages. They intrigued and slandered and hated each other only on that account—but as to effectually lifting a little finger—oh, no. By heavens! there is something after all in the world allowing one man to steal a horse while another must not look at a halter. Steal a horse straight out. Very well. He has done it. Perhaps he can ride. But there is a way of looking at a halter that would provoke the most charitable of saints into a kick" (Conrad 93).

This section of the book is very much associated with the idea and act of imperialism. Here, Marlow talks about he facade of imperialism, and how fake the operation is. The only true desire of imperialists is to make money, and in this case, off of ivory, and the native people that live in this desolate area. Marlow says that the men plotted against each other to get ahead of everyone else, but did no work whatsoever. The part of the quote, "By heavens! there is something after all in the world allowing one man to steal a horse while another must not look at a halter. Steal a horse straight out. Very well. He has done it. Perhaps he can ride. But there is a way of looking at a halter that would provoke the most charitable of saints into a kick" is important because it highlights the true motives and ideas of imperialism to weaker nations. The metaphor says that there is something terrible about a world that lets one man steal a horse while another man isn’t allowed to even look at a horse’s halter. The metaphor is significant because it means that it is awful for people to take over another nation, when the citizens of the nation have no say and are of little worth.

HOD #1

"'True, by this time it was not a blank space any more. It had got filled since my boyhood with rivers and lakes and names. It has ceased to be a blank space full of delightful mystery--a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness" (Conrad 71).

Darkness is associated with many different objects throughout this particular section of Heart of Darkness. Light and darkness are oppposite, as they pertian to different things. Light can be considered to be white, and darkness can be considered to be black. In the quote above, the speaker describes his favorite place on the map- a blank space, being white. This blank space brings the boy happiness because he can imagine anything he wants to be there. When the narrator says that it had become a place of darkness, the reader can infer that the blank space has been filled, and that it is no longer a "delightful mystery."

1984 #13

In its entirety, I very much enjoyed Orwell's 1984. I thought this section was particularly interesting, because it stated with Winston in minilove and ended with him back in civilization. Toward the very end of the novel, Winston recognizes Julia and follows her, although Orwell never particularly mentions Julia's name at this time. After he follows her, the two talk about how they betrayed each other during their torture in the Ministry, and how each of them only cared about his or herself throughout the entire process. When Winston is at the Chestnut Tree Cafe after they talk, the book reads, "And then-- perhaps it was not happening, perhaps it was only a memory taking on the semblance of sound-- a voice was singing: 'Under the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me--'" (Orwell 293). In this particular case, love did not conquer all, but Big Brother does. This is because at the end of the novel, the Party still reigns supreme over all.

1984 #12

These two sections further discuss Winston's "progress" in the eyes of O'Brien. Orwell mentions Winston's fragile state due to him thinking badly of Big Brother. Winston is still having difficulty understanding the concept that nothing existed before the Party. O'Brien says to Winston, "In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy-- everything. Already we are breaking down the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution" (Orwell 267). After the entire process of Winston's mind being "wiped clean," he still has a firm belief that there was a world before. O'Brien is starting to get frustrated with the fact that he cannot get through to Winston on this one factor of becoming loyal to the Party.

1984 #11

This chapter of Orwell's 1984 ultimately deals with Winston's torture, the development of a cure for Winston, and doublethink. Winston has undergone endless hours of torture, only to awake to find O'Brien staring back at him. O'Brien tells Winston that he is mentally deranged, and that he has been held under close supervision to cure him. Since O'Brien is a member of the Inner Party, he is not pleased with the fact that Winston can remember the past, before the Party took over the government. Toward the end of Winston's torture, O'Brien says to him, "'What happens to you here is forever...We shall crush you down to the point from which there is no coming back...Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you...You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves'" (256). This quote shows us that it is possible for the Party to rid someone of their memories and thoughts, and to fill it with events and occurrences pertaining to the Party. O'Brien has posed as a friend and leader to Winston throughout the Brotherhood process, where in fact, he wanted to see if Winston was loyal to the Party, which he is not. The fact that Winston does not believe everything the Party says and does upsets O'Brien, which is why he is trying to "cure" Winston to make him sane.