Philosophy and Literature - Book Report/Review Example

Philosophy and Literature Introduction The book i.e. Heart of Darkness is an adventure story that belongs to Africa and Europe. The journey to Belgian Congo is characterized by description of different scene in jungle. The journey in the forest also symbolizes darkness that is linked with heart and humanity soul. Moreover, the journey represents the existence of superstition and desire to gain something. Charlie Marlow is the main character of the book and represents the author. Marlow is involved in the journey, because he is in search of himself. The book majorly identifies the issues that are linked with imperialism. The adventure reveals the torture and cruelty faced by Marlow in his outer journey. Some of the other issues identified in the book include the relation between man and nature. Nature has been classified as a dark place and the absence of comfort and pleasure also has been highlighted through the journey. The book i.e. Metamorphosis is the story of a salesman travelling throughout the day, who works hard to meet his family needs. Gregor Samsa is the main character of the book had been identified to be transformed into insect as a result of which dependency on family has increased. The book also raises the issue of humanity because yet being a human, Gregor is more use to the life of an insect. The book does not reveal the cause of transformation, but indicates the fact that people are likely to change due to pressure that can be either emotional or psychological that has potential to develop recognition problem. Both the books i.e. Metamorphosis and Heart of Darkness are looking beneath the service and are related in some way or other. Work about looking beneath the surface Heart of Darkness reveals the existence of colonial enterprise and slavery encountered by Marlow in his journey of life. The book signifies as a dark place that is full of frightening activities. The book analyses the concept of civilization and presents the nature as a dark place. Marlow in his journey also introduces the life of slaves in Congo. Apart from the issues of slavery, the book also indicates the distinction that exists between black and white people mainly with respect to race. Marlow’s approach towards the African native has been presented in the book in contrast with the behavior of Kurtz’s attitude towards black African. The theme of the book signifies darkness stay beneath the surface even in case of the civilized individual that has appeared clearly as well as explored using the characters in the book. The adventure also aims at exploring new world and to search for new life as well as civilization. The adventure trip of Marlow to Congo River reveals interest towards exploration of the human mind. Marlow exploration into Africa signifies the relation between evil and good nature. The issue of race along with the fear experienced by white men in relation to black African has been presented. By the end of the journey, Marlow is able to recognize the existence of inhumanity among individual even in case of Kurtz. Moreover, the expression of what lies beneath surface indicates the existence of European colonialism that in turn indicates the presence of civilized forces that is engaged in supporting and helping the savages. The story line in Metamorphosis is based on psychological analysis that covers the transformation of an individual into insect that in turn results to conflict among self. Additionally, change in the role between son and father lie in beneath of surface. Metamorphosis raises the issue of humanity as Gregor was transformed into insect. As an individual, he faces role conflict due to change in character. The transformation indicates the struggle that Gregor is facing in his new form. It indicates that Gregor has maintained human consciousness despite being transformed into insect. The transformation indicates the fact that human intelligence is likely to develop suffering as well as unhappiness. In addition to this, the transformation into insect also signifies a metaphor that the individual is morally wrong as well as irresponsible as a son and an employee. The transformation also indicates that the people under pressure are likely to change. The change that Gregor faces reveals psychological pressure along with physical as well as emotional stress for the hardship of financial situation. The change continues even after transformation that affects psychological as well as behavior aspect of the entire family, as the family faced complexities in taking care of Gregor. Contextually, at the Gregor enjoyed the transformation, but in reality was seemed to be a burden for the entire family. Conclusion Heart of Darkness and Metamorphosis both focuses on the importance of individualism as well as human nature. Both the books signify different experiences of separation. The existence of human being is positively associated with society. The society places restriction on humans that in turn is likely to increase pressure and creates problems with respect to their existence. Therefore, human remains confined to certain areas of the world that in turn is likely to destroy humanity. 3. Introduction The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James is the story of a man who believes in his fate and thinks that something terrible is going to happen that would change his life. The man has been in search of himself throughout the story. The man considers that he has been chosen for particular extraordinary thing as compared to all other individuals. The difference between his actual position and what he considers himself has been presented in the story. His entire life has been spent in just waiting to find the truth behind his imagination. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett also signifies the sign of waiting and the wastage of time by two characters presented in the story. The two men in are eagerly waiting for a stranger named Godot. The sign of waiting by has been considered mandatory by the two individuals rather than just a choice. Waiting has been considered as a daily activity that in turn signifies wastage of time. Learning from works of waiting Both the books that include Waiting for Godot and The Beast in the Jungle are related to waiting. The main theme of The Beast in the Jungle is that Marcher spends most of his time in waiting for his fate to change his life. The story also indicates failure as Marcher only believes in his destiny and therefore, is not willing to perform any activity and lived in the world of fantasy. Destiny plays a major role in Marcher‘s life. Throughout the story, Marcher is expecting all his imaginable things to happen that in turn is expected to control his life. The expectation of Marcher has been drawn from his mind and he thinks that fate has control over his life. The beast signifies fear of life that is associated with the existence of dangers with respect to passion as well as other embarrassing experiences. Marcher also faces difficulties with respect to his identity. Marcher waits for his destiny to change. The increased dependence on fate has kept him away from all other people in his life. Marcher’s belief on fate was the reason for his inability to see or perform anything. Waiting for Godot also signifies the sign of waiting that in turn influence the life of individuals. The choice of waiting for Godot is considered as a part of their daily life. Both Vladimir and Estragon were aware of their situation as well as their ability. However, the existing situation and uncertainty with respect to surrounding avoids them to change their decisions to wait for the mysterious man. The situation faced by Vladimir and Estragon signifies uncertainty and both are unable to perform any act, because of the uncertain consequences associates with surroundings. The sign of waiting also reveals the wastage of time. Both Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for arrival of Godot, who never comes signifies waste of valuable time that would have been spent in performing other activities. Time has been considered cyclical as both Vladimir and Estragon are involved in same activity i.e. waiting. As Vladimir and Estragon are waiting and have no other activity to perform as a result of which they start to think of death. Death has been suggested as a way to escape from waiting. Additionally, the sufferings and pains of life are likely to be removed by death. Waiting has been represented as a test of time and their ability. In addition, waiting has raised the level of suffering, as they have nothing to perform and this finally leads to inability to utilize time effectively. Conclusion The Beast in the Jungle and Waiting for Godot both reveals the case of waiting. From both the stories, it can be analyzed that waiting directly affects the ability to perform any activity. Marcher believed in his destiny and thinks that his existence is for certain purpose. His imaginations were based on fate and he waited for changes in his life. The waiting for his fate to change is the major reason behind his inability to perform. On the other hand, waiting for Godot also signifies sign of waiting that in turn affects the happening of life. Vladimir and Estragon were waiting for an unknown person, who never arrived. The concept of waiting reveals the wastage of time that in turn has the potential to influence daily life of an individual. Read More