Saturday, April 6, 2013

Heart of Darkness vs. Apocalypse Now

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Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now

Joseph Conrad once wrote, “the individual consciousness was destined to be in total contradiction to its physical and moral environment” (Conrad-187); the validity of his statement is reflected in the physiological and psychological changes that the characters in both his Heart of Darkness and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now undergo as they travel up their respective rivers, the Congo and the Nung. Each journey up the tropical river is symbolic of a voyage of discovery into the dark heart of man, and an encounter with his capacity for evil. In such a voyage the characters regress to their basic instincts as they assimilate themselves into an alien world with its primeval dangers. When the characters are unable to withstand the various temptations along this passage, they helplessly sell their souls to corruption. In both the book and the movie, the various events along each individual journey help illustrate not only the physical deterioration of the environment and the characters’ health but also the psychological degradation of the characters’ conscience and consciousness.

In both Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, the various dramatic shifts in the environment from the onset of the river journeys delineate an increasing barbarity and savagery as the characters penetrate deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. The directions of both journeys are formally established as a movement from “open and boundless to narrow and restricted spaces” (66), from the light of the sun into the darkness. This narrowing of space symbolically represents that these men are trapped within this valley, with no chance of escaping from the many horrors they face.

In addition to these numerous shifts in the ambiance, the events that occur along the respective river journeys also illustrate their advancing into the “heart of an impenetrable darkness” (50). Signs of physical fatigue play a role in both works, displaying this advancement. Although the physical aspects of the river journeys contribute in establishing the foundation for the entrance into the heart of darkness, the psychological journeys traveled by Marlow and Willard are more reflective of the “restorative return to the primitive sources of being” (1). Through spiritual voyages of self-discovery amid continual moral deterioration, the characters have evolved into new beings who reflect the uttermost cruelty of imperialistic domination. Unable to restrain his many desires in this land of temptations with “his own true self … his own inborn strength,” Marlow’s determination to survive has been undermined by his moral conflicts (60). Marlow at length decides to let his conscience float around as a negligible variable. Likewise, the pilgrims on board are also subjects of moral degeneration. As they involve themselves deeper and deeper into the vilest scramble for loot, they become mentally disfigured due to their loss of self-restraint. Similarly Willard and his crew face a certain moral confusion, mistiness, and a philosophical intangibility. Willard begins to realize his willingness to live in this prehistoric society. With a luminous lack of identity, he travels nearer to insanity and primitive barbarism. They crew of both companies prove unable to cope with the drudgery around them and lose themselves into the wilderness.




Apart from the falling sense of conscience, both crews also suffer from a slow deterioration of their consciousness as they proceed up their respective rivers. The characters’ conscious actions, feelings, and outlooks shift to the sub-conscious, perhaps even the unconscious, life within them. As their surroundings transform from the known concrete world into the unknown their consciousness follows, loosening itself amongst this imminent darkness.

Marlow, Willard, and their company, undertake a river journey which symbolizes an unraveling of the threads of civilization, an investigation leading toward beginnings and origins. In the end, they emerge as ‘new-sprung’ individuals from the experience. In Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Marlow’s great understanding is that existence itself has no moral heart; which is proved by his being unable to sustain the river experience with his moral perspective intact and unaltered. In the end, he is a changed man, vastly isolated and tremendously different from those abroad the Nellie. In like fashion, Willard in Coppola’s Apocalypse Now remains isolated by his newly acquired knowledge. He has been changed, humbled by his confrontation with the darkness inherent in Kurtz, in himself, in existence. Both river journeys, each by itself literal and symbolic, physical and psychological, reflect searches towards death and dissolution that lead into the “heart of darkness”. Each tropical river embodies the characters’ struggles with their conscience and consciousness, as well as their battles against the “fascination of abomination” (78).



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Monday, March 11, 2013

hello

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Acceptance In my life, I have tired my hardest to make those around me accept me. I have attempted to make friends not by being myself , but by being who I believed they wanted me to be. It took me a long time to realize that just by being myself, my life much would be much easier and others ac Our knowledge of ancient science and technology is based entirely on what we have uncovered at archeological sites. When researchers first started finding things belonging to ancient peoples, they formed ideas about how those people lived and operated in their society. As more information came to Atomic Bomb in World War During World War II the United States government launched a $ billion project. This project, known as the Manhattan Project, was an effort to produce an atomic bomb. This project was taken on by a group atomic scientists from all over the world. Bonfire May Never Be the Same From the first Aggie Bonfire erected in 10, to the catastrophic collapse in 1, the tradition that Bonfire signified was “the burning desire to beat the hell out of T.U.” (University of Texas). Bonfire still upholds that tradition, but the scars from 1 are stil A Brief History of Clocks From Thales to Ptolemy The clock is one of the most influential discoveries in the history of western science. The division of time into regular, predictable units is fundamental to the operation of society. Even in ancient times, humanity recognized the necessity of an or ABUSIVE RELATOINSHIPS This subject bothers me a lot. Usually, when we think of abusive relationships, we think of man beating woman. Its not our fault because every time we watch or read something about the subject, its always men who are abusive. Ill bet you a very large amount of men








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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Guns

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Owning and/or using a gun can give a person a great sense of power, control, and a warm tingling feeling deep inside. To be able to take life, to destroy something in a second is the sense power that is felt when handling a gun. The idea of control goes with the sense of power. Who ever has the most power has the most control. Thinking about the long history of the gun and what it was, why it was made, how it was used, and what it is now, might give someone a tingling feeling inside themselves.

Power can come in different forms. The greatest power that a gun has is the power to destroy life. Guns can also be used to do less destructive things. Like to put a hole in an old rusty coffee can, to sound off a warning, and to incapacitate something, to name a few other uses. These powers can be used for good and can be abused as well. The police and the armed forces use guns and other weapons to defend themselves and to keep the peace. The other side, criminals, uses the guns power to get what they want. They get what they want by using the gun to instill fear in their victims, to control them.

With power, control is gained. Whoever has the power has the most control over a situation. Watching television and movies you can see how people use their guns to gain control. Like a movie with a bank robbery or seeing on the news that the three fugitives were captured by force yesterday. Chances are that the bank robbers used guns to take control of what was going on in the bank. As soon as that control was gained the bank tellers gave them what they wanted. As for the fugitives, the police officers had stormed the apartment that the fugitives were suspected to be in with their guns raised. To see their door kicked in, followed by yelling and guns aimed at them, the fugitives were stunned and the police had taken control of the situation.

For most gun owners having a gun has very little to do with power and control. The average gun owner has a gun for more practical reasons. Protection, hunting, and sport shooting are some examples of a more practical reason for owning a gun. Having a gun for protection can give the homeowners a feeling of safety. Hunting isn’t as practical as it was a hundred years ago, when hunting was your only way of eating, but now there’s grocery store everywhere and hunting isn’t that necessary. Although some people enjoy the taste of game meat. Hunting is no longer about hunting for food, but hunting for trophies. Trophies are a symbol of pride and accomplishment. Winning trophies is also the goal of sport shooting. Having competitions to see who has the greatest talent and skills with their gun. Contests of accuracy, speed, and distance are just some of the tests that competitors have to go through to earn the trophy that says that they’re the best.




Guns are usually associated killings and death. To be able to take life is the greatest power that a gun has. The idea of control goes with this sense of power. Who ever has the most power has the most control. Although the gun is always used to kill, there is more positive side to guns. Contests that prove who has the greatest talent and skills with a gun can also give someone a sense of power and control; to know that your the best and that no one can take that away from you. Owning and/or using a gun can give a person a great sense of power, control, and a warm tingling feeling deep inside.

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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Golding's use of symbolism

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In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses many types of symbolism. He uses examples such as the fire, the conch and hair growth. More specifically Golding states the condition of the conch, the state of the fire and the length of the boy’s hair to symbolize the savages that live within in the boys.

Golding uses the length of the boy’s hair to symbolize savageness in the boys. Initially, the longest hair grows on Jack, the most savage of the boys, and is first mentioned as he is on all fours smelling animal droppings. “His sandy hair, considerably longer than it had been when they dropped in, was lighter now; and his bare back was a mass of dark freckles and peeling sunburn” (Golding 48). Jack does not fight the growth of his hair and lets it could his mind. As the story progresses, his hair grows longer and Jack becomes more familiar with evil. Jack’s hair growth is mentioned when he is down on all fours, smelling fresh pig droppings, acting like an animal and a savage. Next, Ralph’s hair grows long, but he cannot bear being in his face and is always pushing it out of his eyes to remember things. “ Ralph pushed the idiot hair out of his eyes and looked at Piggy. ‘But the ….oh…the fire! Of course, the fire!’ “ (141). Jack does not like the hair as it is called “idiot hair”. When the hair gets in Ralph’s face, he forgets what he is going to say, but as soon as he pushes it out of the way he remembers. Ralph’s long hair is making him become a more uncivilized person, and allows evil to cloud his mind but he will continue to fight against it. Lastly, Piggy’s short hair lets him remain the civil person he is and think straight.

He was the only boy on the island whose hair never seemed

to grow. The rest were shock headed, but Piggy’s hair still




lay in wisps over his head as though boldness were his natural

state and this imperfect covering would soon go, like the velvet on a young stag’s antlers (64).

Piggy is the only one on the island whose hair has remained the same and maybe even receded. He is the only one who is very intelligent and does not allow the evil to take over his mind. Piggy understands that the beast is a mind game and still believes that the conch holds authority.

Golding uses the state that the conch is in to symbolize savageness.

First, when the boys found the conch, it was in perfect condition and had a deep, rich color to it.” In color the shell was a deep cream, touched here and there with fading pink. Between the point, worn away in to a little hole, and the pink lips of the mouth, lay eighteen inches of shell with a slight spiral twist and covered with a delicate, embossed pattern” (16). The conch was in good condition at the time when the boys behaved like civil human beings and not savage animals. When Ralph and Piggy found the conch they used to call for others. Many kids came to the sound of the conch and the group of boys decided to use it to call meetings. Secondly, when the conch’s vibrant colors began to fade, the boys separate and act uncivil. “ The group of boys looked at the white shell with affectionate respect. Piggy placed it in Ralph’s hand and the littluns, seeing the familiar symbol, started to come back” (141). Golding mentioned the bleached color of the conch at the some time the savage group of hunters state the fire. The boys are beginning to spread apart and hate each other. Because the conch is still useable, it still maintains some power of order, but only for the one who are not savage. Lastly, when the conch ceases to exist, there is no order among the boys, and they are all savages. “ The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (180). The conch exploded when Roger killed Piggy. All sense of order was lost and the conch no longer held order. Golding uses the conch to show savageness because its condition also states the amount of power it holds.

The condition of the fire is also used by Golding to symbolize savageness that lives in the boys. Initially, the reason the boys had for building a fire was so that they could be rescued and get off the island.

Almost at once a thin trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough. Jack knelt too and blew gently, so that the smoke drifted away, thickening, and a tiny flame appeared. The flame, nearly visible at first in that bright sunlight enveloped a small twig, grew, was enriched with color and reached up to branch, which exploded with a sharp crack. The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer (41).

When the flame first appeared, all of the boys were ecstatic. The only reason that the boys decided to build a fire in the first place was so that they could be rescued. At this point all of the boys are united, friends need each other’s help. Next, Ralph restricts where the fire is allowed to be. “ Now I say this and make it a rule, because I am chief. We won’t have fire anywhere but on the mountain. Ever” (81). Ralph restricts where the fires is allowed to be because other fires just waste time. The only important thing to him and the others civil ones is being rescued, but for the savages, killing pigs and eating is more important. The group had broken apart and the fire is only allowed on the mountain since they can barely keep it going. Lastly, the savages steal the only fire there is, lessening the chances of being rescued, “ ‘ They’ve got out fire.’ Rage shrilled in his voice. ‘ They stole it’” (16). The savages stole the fire and right after that, Piggy is killed and all hell breaks loose. When the savages stole the fire, they also stole any order left on the island. This loss of order results in Piggy’s death and the breaking of the conch.

William Golding uses the conch, fire and hair growth to symbolize the boy’s savageness. When the boy’s hair grows longer, the conch’s color fades and eventually breaks, and the fire’s condition, all symbolize the animal instincts that live in them.



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Friday, February 8, 2013

Gothic and Grotesque

We are ready to represent the best custom paper writing assistance that can cope with any task like Gothic and Grotesque even at the eleventh hour. The matter is that we posses the greatest base of expert writers. Our staff of freelance writers includes approximately 300 experienced writers are at your disposal all year round. They are striving to provide the best ever services to the most desperate students that have already lost the hope for academic success. We offer the range of the most widely required, however, not recommended for college use papers. It is advisable to use our examples like Gothic and Grotesque in learning at public-education level. Get prepared and be smart with our best essay samples cheap and fast! Get in touch and we will write excellent custom coursework or essay especially for you.



Gothic and Grotesque

Nothing is creepier than a gripping horror story, however today’s horror genre is filled with axe-wielding maniacs wanting to literally paint the town red. Two stories that probably would not come to mind when thinking of good “wholesome” horror are Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.” Although neither of these works is classified as being in the horror genre, upon deeper analysis one will see that both of these works include elements one might classify as gothic, surreal, supernatural or grotesque. These works are not equal, however, as they both have more of one aspect than the other. Conrad’s work has a little bit of all four aspects, with many examples focussing on the surreal and supernatural themes. In contrast, Kafka’s work is less gothic, focussing more on the grotesque, surreal, and supernatural.

Before delving too deep into the works, it should be explained what is meant by the terms gothic, grotesque, surreal and supernatural. Gothic is a style of story that was popular between the 1800’s and the 100’s, often involving dark, dreary settings and evil plots. Edgar Allen Poe was a great gothic writer, whose chilling thriller stories had much to do with death and dying. Grotesque is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of Current English as meaning, “repulsively distorted” which is definitely the case in both of these authors’ characters. Surreal is a term used to describe things that are not quite real, or that may be too real to some. Like trying to look at a dim star straight on in the night sky; if you stare straight at it, it seems as if it is not even there, but by looking just a little off to the side, it seems to appear just outside your point of focus. Finally, supernatural is defined by Oxford as meaning, “manifesting phenomena not explicable by natural or physical laws.” This certainly holds true; turning into a giant bug is definitely not a natural phenomenon, unless you are a smaller bug to begin with.

Now that the definitions of the criteria have been made, it is time to look at the stories, starting with Conrad’s work. One can definitely detect a gothic flavour in “Heart of Darkness.” Its dark, dreary setting sets the gothic mood right away, giving a depressing, mildly horrific atmosphere. An example of this is the narrator’s description of the sunset at the very beginning of the story




And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low, and from

glowing white changed to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if

about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of that gloom

brooding over a crowd of men. (Short Fiction, 5)

Death and gloom unquestionably give the sunset a gothic spice. Even the title gives the feeling of a gothic tale. In Anthony Fothergil’s Open Guide to Literature Heart of Darkness he says “The title confronts us with a language which won’t, as it were, stand still” (). He goes on to ask the question Is it the centre of darkness, or the heart, which is dark that Conrad is referring to? (). Either way, the title gives one a premonition of gloom and evilness.

As well as being gothic, the title is also rather surreal. To leave the meaning open ended to the reader gives one the sense that the story reflects what they are thinking or feeling. This puts the story into the kind of un-reality that the surreal theme thrives in. Other surreal aspects of the story are many of the symbols regarding the underworld. Once again Fothergil voices his opinion on this subject, saying, “…it is a journey through the underworld for purposes of instruction as well as entertainment” (1). As well, Fothergil compares Kurtz to a “Shade” from classic mythology, which is an underworld inhabitant, unable to find peace, who feels the need to tell mortals their sad stories (4). This he definitely does, right up until the end with his last words “The horror! The horror!” (Short Fiction, 1). Surrealism is a big aspect in these examples; symbols of people and events with a deeper, darker meaning that touches the reader in profound ways. Perhaps everyone feels that they are making their own trek through the underworld, in their own little way.

Many of the symbols surrounding the character of Kurtz could also be seen as surreal. For example, there is the description that Marlow gives about attempted rescue of Kurtz “I had to beat this Shadow � this wandering and tormented thing…” (Authoritative Text, 67). Marlow is superimposing the image of an uneasy, miserable spirit over Kurtz, but perhaps that is who Kurtz really is, and his humanity is all superimposed. Which is the reality? As well, when Marlow speaks of the impact that Kurtz has had on him, he says, “Confound the man! He had kicked the very earth to pieces” (Authoritative Text, 67). A very surreal image is conjured out of that statement Kurtz had shattered Marlow’s beliefs, shattered his “earth.”

Another example of surrealism comes from the book entitled Heart of Darkness An Authoritative Text, Background and Sources, Essays in Criticism, edited by Robert Kimbrough. Marlow is speaking of the two women in black he sees, sitting in chairs knitting. Upon seeing one of them, and the look in her eyes he says, “Not many of those she looked at ever say her again � not half, by a long way” (11). This thought seems to say that the woman had some sort of power to curse those she looked at to death. Then again, it might just be that the people she looks at just never seem to come that way again. Two “realities” here, but which one is real and which is “surreal”?

Another theme represented by the old women is the theme of the supernatural. As stated above, one might take Marlow’s statement to mean the woman had some form of power to do harm. Also concerning the two women, he says to himself, “I thought of these two guarding the door of Darkness” (Authoritative Text, 11), which definitely brings one to think in terms of the supernatural; an image of two women, clad in black, guarding the entrance to all that is evil. As well, Marlow’s description of the dying natives definitely has a supernatural flavour, as he says, “I had stepped into the gloomy circle of some Inferno” (Authoritative Text, 17). This is a powerful image of the supernatural; the fires of Hell.

Although the scene with the dying natives can be called supernatural, one can also see how it could be classified as being grotesque. Marlow tells the reader how “Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment and despair…they were dying slowly…lying confusedly in the greenish gloom” (Authoritative Text, 17). What could be more grotesque than a painful, lonely, meaningless death? Death is the end of something beautiful; life. It is especially disgusting when there is no point to it, and it is done in pain.

Now that Conrad’s work has been analyzed, it is time to consider the work of Kurtz. First off, “The Metamorphosis” can definitely be classified as being grotesque. Even the concept of the story exemplifies this trait through the transformation of the main character into a gigantic bug, which is one of the most disgusting things that could happen to any human being. He is transformed into that which he would have stepped on without a second thought. His life has turned from something bearable into something abominable. What becomes of him at the end of the story is perhaps the most grotesque of it all; he becomes nothing more than an unloved dead bug. “[The charwoman pushed] Gregor’s corpse a long way to one side with her broomstick. Mrs. Samsa made a movement as if to stop her, but checked herself. ‘Well,’ said Mr. Samsa, ‘now thanks be to God’” (51). It is obvious that the family was relieved at the death of their horrifically metamorphosized son.

There are other critics who share the idea of “The Metamorphosis” being grotesque. Gunther Anders gives a great critique of the horror of many of Kafka’s stories when he says, “What makes the reading of [Kafka’s] stories such a gruesome experience is his manner of treating the grotesque as everyday normality” (1). This is evident in the first paragraphs of the story, as Gregor wakes up. He realizes he has turned into a very large insect, however he is more concerned with trivial, everyday happenings such as being late for work that with what has happened to him. The same attitude is shared by his family, but to a lesser degree. Instead of trying to find out the cause of the change, they merely keep Gregor locked in his room; out of sight, out of mind it seems.

Surrealism in “The Metamorphosis” is a very important aspect of the story. Perhaps Johannes Pfieffer best says it in his essay entitled “The Metamorphosis.” Pfieffer says that

“This balanced composition has a certain correspondence in the exactness

with which the room is imagined and in an kind of ‘magic realism,’

whereby objects are presented with such a compact wealth of detail that

they are constantly turned into something unreal or more than real” (5).

This statement virtually includes the meaning of the word surreal. The story is too fantastic to be taken literally; all Kafka’s symbols and descriptions are hints of something deeper, something more profound.

For example, look at the moving of furniture from Gregor’s room. At first Gregor is happy to have more room to walk about the walls and ceiling, until he realizes what is really happening on a deeper level. By taking out his furniture, they are denying him his humanity. In their eyes, he is an insect and nothing more now, and Gregor cannot bear that. “Did he really want his warm room…to be turned into a naked den in which he would certainly be able to crawl unhampered in all directions but at the price of …his human background?” (515).

Finally, what is Kafka’s story if it is not supernatural? The metamorphosizing of a man into an insect is definitely not any natural act. What makes Gregor’s metamorphosis all the more strange is that the author does not go into any detail as to how the change took place. Kafka simply tells the reader what has happened, and expects that it be accepted. Even the family does nothing to find the cause of Gregor’s change; they simply accept it, and attempt to deal with his paranormal transformation.

From the above examples, it is clear to see that there are many horrific themes in each story. Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” has themes and examples that overlap, such as the title itself which can be seen as being both gothic and surreal, and the scene of the dying natives, which can be read as both supernatural and grotesque. Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” does not have so much of a gothic flavour as it does supernatural, grotesque and surreal. The whole concept of the tale has all three of those aspects included in it; a man transformed into a bug. What could be more grotesque, supernatural, or surreal than that? In closing, one can see how chainsaw buzzing madmen will never compare to the subtle horrors of these two great artists.

Works Cited

Anders, Gunther. Studies in Modern European Literature and Thought Franz Kafka. Bowes

and Bowes Ltd. London, 160. 1.

Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Short Fiction An Introductory Anthology. Ed. Gerald

Lynch, David Rampton. Harcourt Canada Toronto, 1. 5-1.

Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness” An Authoritative Text, Background and Sources, Essays

in Criticism. Ed. Robert Kimbrough.

Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Open Guide to Literature. Ed. Anthony Fothergil. Open

University Press Milton Keynes, 18.

Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis.” Short Fiction An Introductory Anthology. Ed. Gerald

Lynch, David Rampton. Harcourt Canada Toronto, 1. 44-5.

Pfeiffer, Johannes. “The Metamorphosis.” Kafka A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Ronald

Gray. Prentice Hall Inc Engelwood Cliffs NJ, 16.

Mind that the sample papers like Gothic and Grotesque presented are to be used for review only. In order to warn you and eliminate any plagiarism writing intentions, it is highly recommended not to use the essays in class. In cases you experience difficulties with essay writing in class and for in class use, order original papers with our expert writers. Cheap custom papers can be written from scratch for each customer that entrusts his or her academic success to our writing team. Order your unique assignment from the best custom writing services cheap and fast!

Monday, January 28, 2013

In Waht ways does "Of Mice and Men" show how individuals can be hampered by the society in which they live?

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In what ways does Of Mice and Men show how individuals can be hampered by the society in which they live?

The illustrious author John Ernst Steinbeck wrote the small novel or novella, “Of Mice and Men”. Steinbeck was born on February 7, 10 in Salinas, California. His story of Of Mice and Men portrayed a sort of microcosm which runs parallel with the American Society in the 10s. This idea also shows how the different characters on the ranch represent different cultures and groups in American society. Steinbeck writes about how these different characters manage their lives on the ranch, and how life wasnt easy there. Following the collapse of the New York Wall Street stock market in 1, America entered a prolonged period of economic depression. Work was very hard to find, as many workers migrated out of the big cities and into the countryside to find work like George and Lennie. From this the characters’ lives are restricted and many of them feel trapped by the situation in which they live. Some, however, restrict their own selves rather than being restricted by the pressures put on them by their society, resulting in their own limitations.

The two main characters in the story are named George and Lennie. They are “migrant workers”, travelling from ranch to ranch to find work. As times were hard they were lucky to find work. As their lives had always been rootless it created a dream that both George and Lennie held onto as a sort of relief from the life that they lived from day to day. This idea of a dream remains as a sort of constant throughout the novella. This theme also consists of certain features such as the freedom from having to work for someone else all the time (being their own boss). Another feature is being able to enjoy the fruits of their own effort as George says,

“We’d know what come of our plantin’”




Also living somewhere where they belong because it is theirs,

“we’d have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunkhouse”.

George seems continuously driven by these dreams showing us how desperate he is to gain an easier life to live. However, Steinbeck stresses how difficult it is for George and people like him to acquire this. Money is very scarce for people to get their hands on but when they do it is easy to part with. The society that George and Lennie mix with does not make it any easier for them to achieve this dream.

Lennie, the other main character, is a man with a mental disorder that restricts his life even further. He is a fully grown man with what seems like superhuman strength, maybe because of his size, but he has the intelligence of a small child. Steinbeck compares Lennie’s strength and clumsiness to a bear-like creature,

“drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse”.

“… and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws …”

Another aspect of Lennie’s fraught life is that he has to rely on George in order to live. Even when life is hard enough already it is a lot worse for Lennie, as he lacks the capacity to organise himself for survival. Because of Lennie’s “handicap” he is a victim of social prejudice to some extent, mainly because people do not understand what drives him or the innocence of his motives. George may have felt a little embarrassed about Lennie by having to care for him all the time and this may have been the reason George did not take Lennie into town with the rest of the ranch workers one evening. It could have been that Lennie might have become agitated and therefore started causing trouble and George would not want Lennie to become hurt.

In the end George kills him as he cannot bear to see the sight of him shot down like an animal by Curley or the alternative that could have happened, which Slim portrays for him,

“An s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good, George”.

Lennie is very unfortunate by the fact that the story is mainly based around his inevitable death. But George knew what he was doing and the fact that he did what was best for Lennie, blocks the horror of his death. He then focuses on his own sympathy for Lennie and therefore allowed him to “sacrifice his own peace of mind to save him from further suffering”.

Candy is another character like Lennie in the way that he is isolated and lonely. Candy is old, disabled and after an accident four years before, deprived of his right hand. At that time he had the lowliest job on the ranch as a swamper but he knew that sooner or later he would be “canned” or get sacked because he is too old and useless,

I won’t have no place to go an’ I can’t get no more jobs”.

As he is lonely he has become more attached to his dog that is also old and disabled. This dog begins to stink out the bunkhouse, which annoys the other men. There is also an inevitable end to the dog. Candy is also haunted by letting another man kill his dog. However the dog’s fate acts as a sort of metaphor for the rules in American society at that time. The dog was a fine sheep dog but now it is old and disabled and therefore expendable. The death of Candy’s dog is also a prefiguration of Lennie’s death, as both dog and Lennie have to be put down.

As a result of Candy’s misery and insecurity in life he is very willing to give up this life and contribute to George and Lennie’s dream. Candy just wants to get away from his downtrodden existence and start a new life somewhere else. He also agrees with George and Lennie’s idea of their own place and living off their own work. Candy’s desperation for this dream shows how meaningless his life is and what he has achieved in that time.

Crooks is probably the worst off victim of social degradation. He was the image of racism in American society in the 10s. He has the job of a stable buck; the word buck means Negro, and his name comes from the way his back was disfigured by a horse. So physically both Crooks and Candy were disabled with probably the lowliest jobs on the ranch. Steinbeck underlines that Crooks’ life was very difficult and that he suffered a lot more than anyone in the story. His lifelong pain apart from his deformity was the fact that he was a “nigger”.

Crooks has a bitter knowledge of how his life has been hampered by racial prejudice and by the way people assume his inadequacy. Apart from his earlier life he seemed to have become more socialised with the people on the ranch. For example he pitches horseshoes with the others and is described as a “nice fella” by Candy. Crooks is still frowned upon therefore he is not allowed to set foot into the bunkhouse although he may be invited in. Although people were allowed freely into his room as he was too low to have to ask asked permission, most people would rather stay away from him, as they would not want to be caught socialising with an inferior person. Unfortunately he encounters Curley’s wife whilst talking to Lennie which resulted in him cowering from the violent threats he subsequently received from Curley’s wife which were mainly racial and social status threats.

“I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny”

The power of the threat is evident in Crook’s reaction to it, as he “had reduced himself to nothing”. Crooks has a sort of lifelong experience of the sort of damage that can occur both mentally and physically as a result of racial prejudice.

“My ol’ man didn’t like that. I never till long later why he didn’t that. I know now.”

He had his own small room attached to the side of the stable where he is isolated from the rest of the ranch workers. Steinbeck also portrays the fact that he was considered as an animal as he was virtually sleeping next to them.

This racial prejudice shows how serious it can actually turn out to be through age. Crooks talks about how his childhood was a little happier than his adult life and that he could play with black and white children and have a lot of fun. But as they grew up the children would become more self-aware and would acquire the attitudes of the “ranch hands” and think nothing more of him than a nigger. Also not allowing him not to play cards in the bunkhouse,

“They say I stink”.

This could be another parallel with Candy’s dog. Steinbeck shows Lennie’s mental age very clearly as Lennie does not know that Crooks is considered very low and that he should not mix with him. He is a sort of example of how children are not aware of racism.

As a consequence Crooks is lonely as there is no one like him on the ranch, not even another black person, that he could possibly talk to and share the torments of his life.

“A guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick”.

Along with Candy he knows that life and his future is bleak. Even when Candy reassures him of his own room, Crooks responds with a sarcastic comment that tells us his view of life,

“And a manure pile under the window. Sure it’s swell”.

The heap of manure shows how insignificant Crooks is to the rest of the ranch and that he cannot mix with the other men just because he is black.

Crooks’ vision of a dream is not so different from the others. Of course he would have liked to share in the profits of George’s, Lennie’s and Candy’s dream. However after remembering the position that he was in he quickly gave up the idea as being impossible. Crooks may have had a brief encounter with the dream of becoming “normal”. For example Crooks might have wanted to become a part of an equal and sleep in the bunk house play cards with the other men and not be unwanted anymore.

The last character who plays an important role is a woman, Curley’s wife. In the 10s the women of America were expected to lead domestic based lives, such as doing the housecleaning, as well as serving the interests of their husbands and families. Being the only woman on the ranch life is lonely for her just like Crooks. So she tries to mix with the workers on the ranch, where she gets a little further than Crooks. The men interpret her attempts to try and ease the loneliness as unfaithful flirtatiousness. She has also been named,

“Tart” and “These here jail baits”.

Curley’s wife also dresses up to make Curley happy but everything that she wears or puts on is red; the colour of danger and seductiveness.

She is not happy with Curley, we can tell this by the way she acts towards him and by the personality of Curley, a self-centred man who is immaturely aggressive. Curley treats her as a fashion item and an “attractive piece of property”. Steinbeck does not give Curley’s wife a name, showing the insignificance of a woman in a man’s world of a ranch.

This desperation to try and socialise with other people is what drives her to seek out Lennie. By now she knows Lennie’s limitations and although he does not understand most of the things she is saying to him, she tells him more about herself than to any other character. She ironically echoes the words of Crooks about how she is lonely and the need of companionship. She then goes on to describe her dream of how she could have become a movie star and how she was let down by the man she met at the Riverside Dance Palace and by her mother whom she did not trust. This triggered off the impulse to marry Curley to get away from the boredom of her existence at home.

This irony led up to the death of Lennie. By killing Curley’s wife Lennie had unravelled not only her dream of a better life but also the dream that he shared with George and Candy. So after his death Candy asks about the dream but George points out the inevitability of his future life,

“I’ll work my month an’ I’ll take my fifty bucks an’ I’ll stay all night in some lousy cat-house. Or I’ll set in some pool-room till ever’body goes home. An’ then I’ll come back an’ work another month an’ I’ll have fifty bucks more”.

So Candy and George both face their fate and their future lives in this downtrodden existence.

This novella is based around the social criticism of American Society in the 10s and contains many themes, each of them relating to the different “classes”, of people who are hampered by their society. As a result the whole story implies the failures in society not only because of their personalities but also because of the society in which they live.

The story also presents very well the picture of human life. Dreams are always there and it is very unlikely that dreams are fulfilled easily. George, for example, would have been better off after Lennie’s death. George would have found it easier to manage his own life. The fact that Lennie was a “payload” is that George had to care for him and therefore was not able to achieve his dream. George thinks that Lennie was a sort of restraint holding him back. George and Lennie seemed to have thought about this dream a lot and maybe since they had set out from home. It shows how desperate a man or woman can become in a society like this.

Curley’s wife may seem a selfish character but some may sympathise with her. She is naïve, lonely and frustrated as well as unhappy by the fact that she did not achieve what she could have been capable of. Steinbeck’s presentation of her implies that she exaggerates her ability. She needs to dream as an escape from an unfulfilling, loveless existence.

Overall Steinbeck has presented the character’s lives very well and how they have developed as the story progressed. He especially delivered the message of how individuals are hampered by the society and the surroundings and how it has affected their lives and dreams. He does this by showing George’s restraints with Lennie and how everyone has a dream which is not easy to achieve. With these two main facts Steinbeck puts together a marvellous piece of writing showing how the life on the ranch represents the life in American Society in the 10s.



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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Exams

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Why should we have to do exams? I seriously feel that exams are a complete waste of time.

There is far too much time spent on exams! For one thing, how much time does it take just to get them ready for the students to do, probably hours and hours out of our teachers’ lives. It is also really hard on the students, they dread the day of exams because of all that studying. Why would anyone want to waste so much time on studying. The same material they have already learned and been tested on throughout the semester; to me it is useless. I bet you that if we did not have to do exams, more people would be passing.

Take public school , for an example. It was good because no-one ever failed. In public school you never had to do any exams, it was perfect! The last day of public school was always the most fun. You got your report card, it was easy riding. I think that’s the way it should be. I also feel that there should be a vote across Canada to see if others feel the same way as I do. I think that would be a good way to do things.

Just think how much easer it would be! You could go home and never have to think about those awful exams. At the end of the year if you had an average of fifty percent and there were no exams you would know that you passed and you could go home and tell your parents the good news. But if you go into the exam with a fifty percent and you didn’t know if you were going to pass or not , you’re scared that if you don’t pass, you will go home and tell your mom the bad news and you will get in a fight about how important school is. So it would most definitely be easier on everybody if there were no exams!




So in conclusion I have pointed out every reason why I do not think exams should exist, so I hope you have listened, and I hope you’ll agree with some of the things I had to say.



Mind that the sample papers like Exams presented are to be used for review only. In order to warn you and eliminate any plagiarism writing intentions, it is highly recommended not to use the essays in class. In cases you experience difficulties with essay writing in class and for in class use, order original papers with our expert writers. Cheap custom papers can be written from scratch for each customer that entrusts his or her academic success to our writing team. Order your unique assignment from the best custom writing services cheap and fast!