Unaccustomed Earth post 2

Unaccustomed Earth  is very different from books I have read in the past. While I have read other short stories, I have never read anything quite like the stories Lahiri writes. Most stories I have read have been stories like Rip Van Winkle and To Build a Fire. Both these stories cover monumental events like falling asleep for 100 years or braving the Alaskan Wilderness in -70 degree temperatures. This is not the case for most of the stories in Unaccustomed Earth. These stories capture normal events like a visit from a relative, a wedding, or the course of a marriage. Lahiri is able to take these events and turn them into stories that capture the reader’s attention. However, not all of the stories in the book are these basic events. Some of the stories include deaths of loved ones or dealing with addiction; life altering events. While these sort of events are less of a challenge to make interesting, Lahiri does an excellent job at ensuring they will be nothing other than page turners. Her ability to bring the characters off the page and include such minute details give the reader the ability to really understand the story. Unaccustomed Earth is very unique in the topics of the stories and the thought and imagery in each of them.

Unaccustomed Earth post 1: themes

Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri, is a series of short stories each of which follows a Bengali man or woman through many walks of life. The stories range from visits from a parent to getting over past loves to dealing with the deaths of loved ones. A few consistent themes run  through the stories. The two most prevalent themes are adapting to life after the death of a loved one and coming to face one's personal issues. In the first story, Ruma and her father are adapting to life without her mother. Ruma's father has gotten over the passing of his wife and moved on to loving another woman, but Ruma is still filled with grief and pain over her mother’s death and she believes her father is too. This theme of healing from the passing of a loved one is also seen in the last 3-part story of Hema and Kaushik. In this story, Kaushik loses his mother to breast cancer at the age of sixteen. Devastated by this event, Kaushik shuts out his new stepmother and stepsisters in the second part of the story when they try to fill the void left by his mother, and isolates himself from his old life.The other theme that appears again and again in Unaccustomed Earth is coming to face one's problems. This theme is most obvious in the fourth story about Sudha and her alcoholic brother, Rahul. In the story, Rahul develops a serious drinking problem once he goes off to Cornell for college. It gets to the point where he drops out of school and has a few encounters with the law. Eventually, he runs away from home and stops communicating with his family for about a year. The next time Sudha hears from him, she learns he has turned his life around and has gone through rehab. This idea of coming to face one's flaws is a large theme in Unaccustomed Earth. 

Heart of Darkness 3

Heart of Darkness is set at the turn of the 20th century during the Imperial age. During this era, Europeans believed that the white Christian man was superior to every other race.  Europeans believed that it was their duty to civilize and bring culture to Africans and others  by forcing their European and Christian ideology upon the colonized. In Heart of Darkness, one can see that Africans are treated much differently and in some cases they are treated hardly as humans. The natives are seen as savages by the Europeans because they are different and these differences create fear and intolerance. When Marlow first arrives in the Congo, he takes note of how a group of "criminals", largely Africans guilty of nothing, are being treated as slaves. Later, when Marlow and his crew are traveling up the river, he notices how the Europeans on his boat are terrified of the natives who are working on the boat. This kind of fear and closed mindedness is what causes the discrimination, both in the novel and in recent history. In the past century the world has witnessed astonishing changes for women, African Americans, and many other groups. However, there are many social injustices that continue to prevail today. Prejudice still exists towards those who have a different sexual orientation  and those who adhere to different religious beliefs. Hopefully the world will continue to see the positive trend that has led to more personal freedoms for those who have been unjustly persecuted.

Heart of Darkness post 2: the title

Further symbolism is found in the title of the book -- Heart of Darkness. One thing the title is symbolic of is the Congo itself. When the novel takes place, the jungle is a large, undiscovered, undeveloped and mysterious region of the world.. The jungle is full of native tribes referred to as "savages". The title could also be symbolic in describing these savages. Heart of Darkness could be referring to the primitive nature of these natives. For examples, one could look at how the tribes are violent and cannibalistic. However, the most striking and meaningful way in which Heart of Darkness is symbolic is the meaning it carries of the white, European man. The title eludes to the greed and savagery of civilized men. The best example of greed in the book is Mr. Kurtz. He starts out as an average man who enters the jungle in search of ivory. On his quest to get as much ivory as possible, he becomes a savage who takes to sticking heads on posts outside of his cottage. Heart of Darkness is symbolic of the savagery of civilized men in the way they treat Africans during colonization and how brutal business is. For example, one of the station managers thinks it is best to hang a competitor encroaching on their land and to warn of others searching for ivory. There is little different from this and a natives placing heads on stakes to ward off others. The name Heart of Darkness refers to both the savage side of the natives in the jungle and the ruthlessness of colonization. The title of the book is symbolic of many things and captures many of the key themes thoughout Heart of Darkness.

Heart of Darkness 1

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a classic novel that captures the story of imperialization during the late 19th  and early 20th century. This book has several unique elements, such as the way the story is told, the central theme of imperialization in West Africa, and the literary devices the author uses in the novel. To begin, this story is told as a first person narrative by a man named Marlow, who is a river boat captain in the Congo. What makes this book unique is the way Conrad tells Marlow's story. The book is written with Marlow as the orator, telling his boat mates about his journey. This device creates an perspective to the book  as the majority of the novel is a monologue. To the reader, this can be  confusing as this unique style of writing presents a different and unusual perception of the evolving story. Another unique element of this novel is  the topic it encompasses. The age of imperialism in Western Africa could be viewed as a dry and complex  topic to read about. However, Conrad is able to capture the subject  in a manner that keeps the reader’s rapt attention throughout the book. He does this by employing the oration by Marlow, the constant use of thought-provoking imagery, and hiding complex symbolism throughout the story. Imagery is a very prominent literary device Conrad interjects beautifully throughout the story line.  He describes the Congo like a stunning portrait that captures everything about the river, the jungle, the native people, and the life as a boat captain. He goes as far as to describe how the flies swarm corpses. This kind of imagery brings the book into a whole new light that manages to capture the reader’s attention. Another unique aspect of Heart of Darkness is the symbolism Conrad uses throughout the book. The two most obvious examples are  ivory and Mr. Kurtz himself. The ivory and its effect on Mr. Kurtz shows how greed grows on a man. Where the ivory represents an easy profit and greed, Mr. Kurtz embodies the effect of greed on a man's soul. This colorful and powerful theme of greed and its relationship to man enriches the storyline.The extensive multilayered symbolism in this short novel is astonishing and adds to the unique qualities of  Heart of Darkness.