Ministry of Darkness

Throughout the tale told within Albert Camus’s The Stranger, there is a reoccurring theme of darkness versus illumination within every chapter. The motif is indicative of Meursault’s character as a person. The ways that dark and light respectively affect Meursault speak for his personality where the words do not explicitly say them. The theme of contrasting light and dark being as prevalent as it is entails that the motif was meant to be noticed -- and is occasionally difficult for a reader to…

While upon first glance her corpus seems to be filled with elementary age written material- one word titles such as “Poppies”, “Ponds”, and “Daisies”, and seemingly undersized poems- Mary Oliver’s sharp observation of the natural world and all it’s inhabitants allows her to transcend and creatively tackle some of the toughest topics to pen, such as death and the meaning of life, in a way that allows readers of every age to grapple with and discern her conclusions. Many of her poems captured in…

Paul Bogard strongly believes that natural darkness should be preserved. In order to prove the need for natural darkness, Bogard divides his argument into three main topics, saying that natural darkness is beneficial to humans, essential to humans, and essential to ecosystems. According to Bogard, natural darkness can be a positive help to humans. One of the ways it can accomplish this is by giving enjoyment to onlookers. To supplant this, Bogard gives a personal example of how he enjoyed…

encompassing darkness. It was cold, rough and scary. In hush whispered terms brother spoke of a different world, a faraway place, where the darkness couldn’t reach us. Back then I thought it was just a fairytale. I never believed I would someday be a part of that world, that glorious, radiant, dangerous world. My brothers went first. They said they couldn’t take a second longer in this darkness. They said they were going to try to find the far away place. I thought…

the dark, missing a part of her family. However, the light found within the darkness serves as hope for finding family, portraying that in life, there is an inherent balance…

to find salvation. Everyone will travel this path, but in order to see the light at the bottom of their black sack, they must open their hearts to God and turn to Him. Christ said, “’I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’”(John…

life to strive for something different, but he selects the shade instead, a representation of his abandonment of life itself. The deaf man brings himself to the bar and the light every night, but eventually he always leaves, walking off into the darkness, putting the light and hope behind him. The old waiter also attempts to cure the flaws in his life as well as provide salvation for those who need it through the lights of the bar, proclaiming that “the light is very good,” and that light is all…

explains exactly why light pollution has spread. "We are diurnal creatures, with eyes adapted to living in the sun's light” (Klinkenborg pg.478). He explains that humans have filled the night with light, so we have an easier time adapting to the darkness. However, with this comes consequences with our actions. Klinkenborg is effective when persuading the audience that light pollution is a problem. Therefore, there need to be actions taken through sympathetic examples of animals that are affected…

in darkness, as well as a severe increase in of artificial light, at night. He begins by telling the reader of the world of darkness he used to know. He goes over how darkness is beneficial, even necessary, to earth’s ecology. After going over the wats darkness is helpful, he explains the balance of bright day and dark night that the world has, until recently, always known, and how we’re disrupting that natural balance. He then provides examples of ways to save energy, money, and the darkness.…

As it is seen in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, the darkness that the old man and the older waiter feel can be expressed as an evilness that surrounds them. The darkness in the old man has led him to almost committing suicide. The older waiter however senses the darkness in the bar that he is in which is why he prefers the clean cafe as he has tried to explain to the young waiter on how the old man felt. In Isolation…