Heart of Darkness - Part I

Marlow is telling his story about his adventures in the Congo while aboard the Nellie on the Thames River. He uses the word "gloom" many times, such as "mournful gloom" and "brooding gloom" to represent darkness. Freslaven is the first example of what darkness can do and he is an example of deterioration resulting from darkness.
An example of black and white symbolism is the maps. The blank, or white, maps are good because they're unexplored. Eventually those blank spaces have been filled in and are black and dark because of colonization, which he is a part of. However, while other people are in it for reasons such as money, Conrad is in it for the adventure. He compares the river to a snake and says, "The snake had charmed me." A snake could devour a bird just like Africa could devour him.
He visits the doctor before his trip to the Congo, where his interaction with the doctor seems unusual. The doctor measures his skull and asks if there has been any madness in his family. Marlow asks the doctor if he will measure his skull when he gets back and the doctor says no because he doesn't think he'll see him again. He says goodbye by saying adieu, which is goodbye forever.
There are many moments where Conrad makes racist comments. For example, he writes, "Black rags were wound round their loins and the short ends behind waggled to and fro like tails. I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope, each had an iron collar on his neck and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking." He describes them like animals, but they are not his enemy.
In the second section, there are more examples of racism such as, "The pilgrims could be seen in knots gesticulating, discussing. Several still had their staves in their hands. I verily believe they took these sticks to bed with them."

Poetry Response - My Fear

In this poem, Raab personifies fear. It reminds me of the little person sitting on your shoulder whispering things in your ear. He, being fear, follows and keeps track of people like the annoying voice telling you things that won't leave you alone. The person narrating this poem wants Mr. Fear to give him something small that can fit in his pocket and fall through so that it doesn't bother or stick to him and is easily ignored. He also wishes that fear gives him a small brown bat or crickets because there are things he is familiar with and are easy to handle. We can all relate to this poem because all of us have small fears, such as getting a bad grade on a test, to big fears like having a meteor fall from the sky and land on you. We can't avoid having fears, but some of them we can ignore and deal with better than others.

Eveline

Eveline is about a woman who is supposed to move away to live with a man who loves her but changes her mind.

Level One: Which one of her brothers died?
Level Two: Why did she change her mind about going?
Level Three: What decision do you think you would have made if you were in a similar situation?

Eveline changes her mind about going because even though leaving is in her best interest, it's a big change. Her situation at home isn't desirable, but it's familiar to her which keeps her stuck in it. There are a lot of situations similar to hers, some of which I've experienced. You know something needs to change but it's difficult and you don't want to because it's familiar. Even though you don't like the situation, the fact it's what you know makes it somewhat comfortable.
I'd like to say that I would have made what most people would consider the right decision by leaving. It's easy for me to say that I would have left, but if the decision was left completely up to me, it's quite possible I'd choose to stay in my current situation. I don't really like change that much, and I would need someone to push me to make the decision that's best. If someone did that, such as my parents, I would probably leave. The theme of this story is change and how difficult it can be even if it benefits a person.

Araby

Araby is about a boy who is in love with a girl who lives across the street. He has an imaginary conversation with her and decides to go to a bazaar to bring her back something.

Level One: Where does the boy live?
Level Two: What does the boy realize at the bazaar?
Level Three: Do you think the boy was foolish or deeply in love?

The boy realizes that he can't accomplish his goal to make the girl happy and like him. Everything starts to shut down and close and he becomes aware that what he was doing wasn't real. He couldn't find anything to give her. He says, "I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger." By calling himself a creature, it shows he wasn't thinking in a sane way. He was driven by vanity by thinking that he could win the love of the girl and it changed him in a negative way.
I think that he was deeply in love which caused him to act foolishly. He was impatient with his uncle for the money he wanted, but the girl did not actually ask him to go to the bazaar for her. Instead of playing in street with his friends, he watched girl from a window. His thoughts were completely consumed about how he could win the love of the girl. The theme is the story is that love can cause people to act differently or do foolish things.

A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find is about an annoying grandmother who goes on vacation with her family.

Level One: Where was the first place they stopped on their way to Florida?
Level Two: How did the family get into the predicament that got them killed?
Level Three: Do you feel bad for what happened to the grandmother?

The grandmother thinks she remembers and mansion down the dirt road and manipulates the family into going. She could have actually remembered that there was a secret passage or lied to draw the kids in. When they drive down the road, they run into the misfits. Because of the grandmother's conniving personality, they are put in this situation.
I don't really feel bad for what happened to the grandmother because she was so annoying. I thought the last few things the misfits said at the end of the story were true. But I do feel bad for the family because they suffered as a result of her. They tried to ignore everything she was saying, but she eventually got to them through the kids.

The Rocking-Horse Winner

The Rocking-Horse Winner is about a boy who is told that luck equals money, which causes him to use his rocking-horse to bet on horse races to earn money.

Level One: Who informed Paul about horse racing?
Level Two: What is the significance of the rocking-horse?
Level Three: Is money necessary to be happy?

Everyone in the house heard the house saying that they needed money. Even though the entire family could feel it, they never spoke about it. Paul is influenced by that and decides he needs to make money so he uses a childhood toy to choose which horses to bet on to get the money that he thought was really important.
The theme of the story is that money does not always lead to happiness. I don't think that money is needed to be happy. There are people who have no money or lots of money who are happy and people in both situations who are unhappy. In some cases, I think that too much money screws people up. For example, someone who wins the lottery focuses completely on the money they have won and not what they had before and what was important. In the beginning, Paul didn't care about money and he it seems he was better then than in the end.