Entry №4. Should we read “Heart of Darkness”?
“Heart of Darkness” is a very deep and complex novel that raises some very controversial issues. Scholars and professors have divided into two ‘camps’ according to what they think about the novel. Some say that it should be forbidden from being read, and some think the opposite – that this novel has to be read, studied, and analyzed. I tend to agree with the second opinion. In this entry, I would like to express my point of view and support it by some of the critical essays written about this book.
First, this book should be read because of its language. Conrad uses very complex phrases and it makes you think about the meaning of every sentence. There are a lot of words, which do not tend to appear in many readings, therefore, one improves language skills when reading the novel. Also, it takes time to fully grasp on the meaning the author intended, therefore, the reader improves the ability to concentrate.
J. Hillis Miller argues that people definitely should read the novel, because it has a lot of various literary devices. Miller refers to it as a “tissue of figures and other rhetorical devices”(J.Hillis Miller «Should we read "Heart of Darkness?»» p. 465). He argues that there are four main devices which make the book very interesting and necessary to read. First of all, he says that there are more than one level in the story. The reader should be able to understand one level to get …show more content…
The main character, Marlow, “pomises to pass this light or illumination on to his hearers.” » (J.Hillis Miller «Should we read "Heart of Darkness?»» p. 472) He wants to enlight the native people who are in the state of darkness, however, it turns out that the «narrator passes this light on to us, the readers» (p. 472) Therefore, implying that before reading this book we, the readers, are in the state of darkness, whereas after reading we learn and become
“Heart of Darkness” is a very deep and complex novel that raises some very controversial issues. Scholars and professors have divided into two ‘camps’ according to what they think about the novel. Some say that it should be forbidden from being read, and some think the opposite – that this novel has to be read, studied, and analyzed. I tend to agree with the second opinion. In this entry, I would like to express my point of view and support it by some of the critical essays written about this book.
First, this book should be read because of its language. Conrad uses very complex phrases and it makes you think about the meaning of every sentence. There are a lot of words, which do not tend to appear in many readings, therefore, one improves language skills when reading the novel. Also, it takes time to fully grasp on the meaning the author intended, therefore, the reader improves the ability to concentrate.
J. Hillis Miller argues that people definitely should read the novel, because it has a lot of various literary devices. Miller refers to it as a “tissue of figures and other rhetorical devices”(J.Hillis Miller «Should we read "Heart of Darkness?»» p. 465). He argues that there are four main devices which make the book very interesting and necessary to read. First of all, he says that there are more than one level in the story. The reader should be able to understand one level to get …show more content…
The main character, Marlow, “pomises to pass this light or illumination on to his hearers.” » (J.Hillis Miller «Should we read "Heart of Darkness?»» p. 472) He wants to enlight the native people who are in the state of darkness, however, it turns out that the «narrator passes this light on to us, the readers» (p. 472) Therefore, implying that before reading this book we, the readers, are in the state of darkness, whereas after reading we learn and become