Ministry of Darkness

Stephen Gardiner, an English bishop, and politician during the English Reformation period, wisely pointed out “What people want, above all, is order”. Mark Twain's adventurous novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, follows a young boy named Huck on his journey down the Mississippi River. Huck, an immature troublemaker feels more at home on the river while riding a raft with an escaped slave, Jim. The book follows their actions down the river and when they go on to land chaos ensues. Thus,…

would either use or sell to other countries. As seen in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, however, the costs of colonization are typically much more that the benefits. The turn of the century marked a change in the way that people thought and acted, and Conrad attempted to show this change in his novel. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the late 1890s’ social, historical, and cultural values…

idea that light just meant enlightenment isn’t really present in the book, but Conrad emphasizes that light is the nativity given to us by those who perform colonization, the people who are left in the mother countries, simply to try and mask the darkness they possess. Marlow allows readers to see the slow mental realizations he has and also the ignorance he still poses as a European. He speaks about Romans as conquerors, who succumbed to the conquest of the earth, “which mostly means taking it…

Things Fall Apart follows the tale of a wealthy and respectable man in Umuofia by the name of Okonkwo, who faces traumatic experiences that ultimately lead to his imminent death. With Okonkwo’s tragic story comes the inevitable colonization of the native tribes of Lower Niger. A clear lens to look through is the Marxist lens, which explains that economic and political conditions determine social conditions. Karl Marx’s theorem transposes itself in Umuofia as the colonists brought their…

In the short story “The Boat”, Alistair Macleod describes the conflicting relationship between a mother and a father based on their different attitudes about their children’s futures. The story is told through the perspective of the son in the family, looking back on his childhood in the 1930’s in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The narrator begins the story with the first trip he took with his dad on their boat. It was a 32 by 9 foot “Cape Island boat” designed for small inshore fisherman. Coming…

stories have depicted this friction. In his novella Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad employs an egocentric theme to justify the actions of both Marlow and Kurtz and to illustrate Britain's Imperialistic views. As the novel progresses, Marlow becomes increasingly obsessed with Kurtz, a man he has never met. However, in the beginning of the story, Marlow was not interested in this highly praised man. According to the Jago text’s Heart of Darkness, Marlow says, “I had plenty of time for…

1. Two Time Periods, Two Influences The first thing to remember is that reactions to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness from one period to another are not entirely the same, especially concerning the theme of racism in the novella. Indeed, it has generated a long debate. Chinua Achebe who condemned Conrad’s work and Caryl Phillips, who defended it, are the best example in that case. In other words, their conclusions are contradictory. With this in mind, it is important to explore their different…

Wonder what the reactions people would have against the discrimination. In this essay, it will show the differences and similarities between the characters from the movie, and story. The 4 characters, Sephy/Paro, and Callum/Devdas from each movie, and story have a lot of differences and similarities at the same time. There are a lot of similarities and differences between Sephy, and Paro. For example, this is shown in the play when Sephy says, "Could you deliver this letter to Callum McGregor?…

The political- thrillers Blood Diamond and The Constant Gardener tell two different stories, however both movies deal with the representation of Africa in a Hollywood style. The character development, editing and themes are used to further enhance this Hollywood portrayal. Ralph Fiennes plays the role of Justin Quayle in The Constant Gardener. Justin, a minor English diplomat, seems to be a meek, unpassionate, passive gentleman; however this image of him is changed as he becomes provoked into…

In his critical work, Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o posits that language is the conveyor of culture within a society. Having made the personal, artistic socio-political decision to only write in his native African language, Wa Thiong’o theorizes that the enculturation of English on African citizens is symbolic of the state of neo-imperialism, and that the ‘peasantry’ or ‘proletariat’ class is the keeper of traditional values. It is for…