Looking Beneath the Surface and Waiting - Book Report/Review Example

Looking beneath the Surface and Waiting Plenty of issues are depicted through the imagery of literature. Thus many things and feelings may be experienced simply through reading. Appealing to variety of characters and place creates magnificent and rich opportunity to find out new and reveal hidden within. This assignment intends to make an attempt to shed light on the issues as looking beneath the surface and waiting. Looking beneath the surface issue is discovered through Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. They both propose the perspectives on looking beneath the surface in one way or another. Issue of waiting is depicted and explored through The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James and Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. The issue of waiting will be appealed to the question of human beings having a specific place in the world. Heart of Darkness depicts the story when the main character, Marlow, tells three men on the British ship Nellie the story from his own experiences, recalling when he had faced the need to escort another man, Kurtz. Marlow came to Africa as an agent of Belgian ivory trading firm, the Company. He apparently saves Kurtz from native aborigines, for whom he had become god and also the prisoner. Te story depicts surprising and terrifying events and customs by native Africans, yet power struggle within the Company is depicted, but major tension causes the experience by brutality Kurtz has seen. In the wake of "protecting" Kurtz from the local African individuals, Marlow observes with sickening apprehension as Kurtz succumbs to insanity, sickness, lastly, death. At last, Marlow chooses to bolster Kurtz instead of his organization, which is potentially ethically questionable and without a doubt a terrible profession move. Marlow experiences boundless wastefulness and mercilessness in the Companys stations. The local tenants of the district have been constrained into the Companys administration, and they experience the ill effects of workaholic behavior and sick treatment on account of the Companys specialists. The brutality and dinginess of supreme venture stands out strongly from the detached and magnificent wilderness that encompasses the white mans settlements, making them give off an impression of being minor islands in the midst of an inconceivable dimness. The novel closes with Marlows blame ridden visit to Kurtzs life partner to give back the mans private letters. She is still in grieving, despite the fact that it has been over a year since Kurtzs demise, and she adulates him as a paragon of excellence and accomplishment. She asks what his last words were, however Marlow cant force himself to smash her illusions with reality, as his last words were “Horror! Horror!” (Conrad, 1969). Rather, he advises her that Kurtzs last word was her name. Exploring the heart of the darkness appeared to be a kind of whisper of dreadful truth – thus revealing hidden aspects that are not seen on the surface. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka proposes another way of discovery of what is hidden within the surface. The story begins with the simple thing, Gregor Samsa, the main character, who is a traveling salesman, finds himself one morning becoming a giant disgusting insect-like creature. He checks out his room, which seems typical, and chooses to backpedal to rest to disregard what has happened. He endeavors to move over, just to find that he cant because of his new body—he is stuck on his hard, raised back. He tries to scratch a tingle on his stomach, yet when he touches himself with one of his numerous new legs, he is sickened. He thinks about how terrible life as a voyaging salesperson is and how he would stop if his guardians and sister did not depend such a great amount on his salary. He swings to the clock and sees that he has overslept and missed his train to work. Manager from his work comes to his apparment to find out why Gregor has not shown up. Neither his family nor the manger can comprehend what Gregor says, as his voice has changed, and they think that something may be truly bad with him. Gregor tries to open the door with his mouth, since he has no hands. He wants to apologize for his being late. When manager sees him, he is frightened and runs away. Gregor tries to get up to speed with the escaping manager, yet his dad drives him once more into the room with a stick and a newspaper, as a cockroach. Gregor harms himself. He is exausted and falls asleep. Kafka provides neither presuppositions, nor explanations why this had happened. He simply depicts the way Samsa has now to deal with it and to adopt to this his new state – that evidently causes some inconveniences for his close people. At the beginning his sister cares after him, while his parents abandoned him shortly. As he was the only serious breadwinner, his family lacks money. They have to let other people to live in for money – who really annoy Gregors family. They forget about him, he dies from the rotten apple that stuck among his body connection – that apple his father threw at him (Kafka, 1982). This story depicts also real attitude. The ties among people are usually checked through dreadful events. They show what is hidden within the surface. Henry James short story, "The Beast in the Jungle," starts amid a lunch meeting gathering at a somewhat lavish private house in London in October. John Marcher, the hero, is reacquainted with May Bartram, a lady he knew ten years before, who recalls his odd mystery: Marcher is seized with the conviction that his life is to be characterized by some calamitous or staggering occasion, lying in sit tight for him like exactly a "beast in the jungle." May chooses to purchase a house in London with the cash she acquired from an extraordinary aunt, and to go through her days with Marcher, inquisitively anticipating what destiny has in store for him. Marcher is a sad prideful person, who accepts that he is blocked from wedding so he doesnt subject his wife to his "marvelous destiny". Marcher may show up so unconventional and improbable in his fixation that his destiny could appear to be superfluous and unconvincing. He takes May to the theater and welcomes her to a periodic supper, yet does not permit her to become closer. As he sits still by and permits the prime of his life to pass, he brings May down too, until the end result where he discovers that the colossal setback of his life was to discard it, and to disregard the adoration for a decent lady, based upon his outrageous feeling of premonition (James, 1903). This depicts the sad and dreadful mistake that waiting instead of facing and exploring reality may to missing all the better years and loosing the true happiness due to odd thoughts and erroneous worldview. Waiting for Godot is a performance in two acts. Act I starts on a road by a tree. It is evening. Estragon, an old man, is perched on a low hill attempting to take off his boot. Vladimir, another old man, goes along with him. They start to talk. They have obviously known one another for a considerable length of time. Once maybe respectable, they are currently destitute, incapacitated, and frequently self-destructive. They ponder so everyone can hear why they didnt kill themselves years back; they think about how possible it is of doing it today. They are waiting for somebody they call "Godot". While they hold up, they impart discussion, nourishment, and recollections. Two other elderly men, Pozzo and Lucky, appear on the scene. It is clear that Pozzo appears to be the master, while Lucky is the slave. Upon order, the slave starts dancing and verbally processes for the entertainment of the others, until he is coercively hushed. After Lucky and Pozzo leave, a kid arrives. He tells Estragon and Vladimir that Godot wont be there today, yet will be there tomorrow. He leaves, and they keep on holding up. The second act is very nearly the same as the first. The tree has grown leaves, Estragon and Vladimir talk while they wait for Godot, and Pozzo and Lucky arrive once more. This time, Pozzo is helpless and blind, and Lucky is ow mute. After some communication, Pozzo and Lucky leave, and the kid arrives. He has the same message as anytime recently. Godot will be there tomorrow. Estragon and Vladimir are left to hold up as some time recently (Beckett, 1954). This is another, very ironic and cynic depiction of the way premonitions and empty expectancies steal peoples lives. It is a satire that shows the way people tend to wait simply and to impose own responsibility on other people. Years may pass till people would realize the mistake of doing noting while they could do many. Finding and creating own place in the world is absolutely connected with taking the responsibility for own life, choices and actions. Waiting is a multifaceted issue, yet it has very negative aspect – which is connected with passive attitude and doing nothing by own efforts. Like somebody or something almighty would do anyway. The issue of discovering what is hidden beneath the surface is very actual – now and always. People tend to hide the real nature and attitude – while facing extraordinary events and stimuli they show their real contents. References Beckett, S. (1954). Waiting for Godot. Conrad, J. (1969). Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer. James, H. (1903). The beast in the jungle. Kafka, F. (1982). The metamorphosis. Read More