The Role of Communication

The role of communication is more complex than it seems.  It was beginning to become more problematic over the years, coming out with new technologies seems like an ideal thing at the time.  Electronics have added to this issue, it is supposed to make communication easier at our finger tips, but it just creates miscommunication and conflict.  Michael Newman shows a great example of the idea of not communicating properly in the film Click directed by Frank Coraci.  Michael learns how important his family is to him only because he had a long, unreal.  Thank goodness Michael had that nightmare because it really showed him exactly how important family is in the role of everyone’s life.  Anyone fortunate enough to have a family should always take advantage of having it in their life.  Too many people especially now, add to the negative role of communication, versus the positive role of it.  This relates to Hills Like White Elephants written by Ernest Hemingway.  The man and his girlfriend cannot truly communicate with each other, they speak to each other but neither listens to comprehends what one another is saying.  Communication can be decieving most of the time, you think that what you’re saying is being heard when it is not at all.  However long it may take, we need to begin to idolize what we have learned are the small things in life.  If everyone looked at things in a positive way, the world would give us a positive outcome.

Koren, Steve, Click, USA 2006
Hemingway, Ernest, Hills Like White Elephants, 1927

Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness

In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1990), Marlow tells a bizarre tale of his encounter with Kurtz, a white man turned to satanic practices deep in the Congo. A strong connection between the two men leads Marlow to go against his personal values in order to protect Kurtz’s reputation. To entirely understand his pact with Kurtz, you must follow Marlow on his journey into the heart of Africa, starting from its beginning in London. The “Nellie”, the vessel Marlow goes through his journey on, seems to be like ones trail in life. Everyone goes through ups and downs, good and evil; although, nobody seems to notice why we have to continue to see the negative side of everything. “However, as you see, I did not go to join Kurtz there and then. I did not. I remained to dream the nightmare out to the end, and to show my loyalty to Kurtz once more.” Heart of Darkness (Conrad, 1990) Conrad is once again hinting how is a honourable and worthy peer. Marlow is seeing the dark side and is understanding it at last, but is still dealing with it. Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness illustrates his idea with the use of several symbols. White Europeans are used as symbols of mistake, and objects other symbols are barriers to inner truth. Black is the foil of white; it represents the inner truth beneath the white surface of reality. White people and objects represent the exterior reality that deeper hidden truth presents in darkness of the congo. Conrad’s theme is plain and simply good verses evil, and whether we see both or not.  Eventually, we see that the characters become unable to distinguish between good and evil. Conrad illustrates this moral uncertainty with light and darkness imagery and symbolism that often blends together, yet is filled with an overall inevitably evil shade.  Conrad gets this message across to the reader by puttin Marlow in certain situations and confrontations while exploring in the congo.  “I thought his memory was like the other memories of the dead that accumulate in every man’s life-a vague impress on the brain of shadows that had fallen on it in their swift and final passage; but before the high and ponderous door, between the tall houses of a street as still and decorous as a well-kept alley in a cemetery, I had vision of him on the stretcher,opening his mouth voraciously, as if to devour all the earth with all its mankind.” Heart of Darkness (Conrad, 1990) Marlow is beginning to experience the thoughts of reality now, and this is exactly what Conrad is getting across to us.  In relation to the film Blood Diamond (Edward Zwick, 2006) it allows the audience to visualize what reality would look like if our society weren’t so sightless to realism.  Blood Diamond (Edward Zwick, 2006) shows a country torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebel forces, leading up to Solomon Vandy, a Mende fisherman, being captured by the Revolutionary United Front.  This leaves the audience questioning our society and themselves as individuals.  Why might our world be so cruel?  No one could tell you then, and no one seems to know the answer today.  The horror and brutality of our world is outstanding, unreasonable and horrifying.  Hopefully every one else who read the powerful novella, Heart of Darkness (Conrad, 1990) gets the message through to them that Joseph Conrad was writing about.  Our world needs to find a conclusion to world hunger, slavery, and unfairness of all sorts right away before it’s too late.

Conrad, Joseph.  Heart of Darkness.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 1998.  Print.

Zwick, Edward (2006). Blood Diamond. USA Initial Entertainment Group.

My thoughts on Heart of Darkness part two

A characters first entrance into a novel explains their temperament.  In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, there is a consistent theme of prowling evil followed by the superior.  Conrad reveals infernal and positive nature through his characters entrances.  Conrad shows evil through imagery, language, and actions.  This novella still leads me to suspicion and utter misperception.  I can honestly say enjoy the struggle although, it can get tedious at times, but that is expected in this distinct book.  Once I got deeper into Heart of Darkness, I had realized there are light sides and dark sides, a delicate balance between the two, and the joining of those who are good with those who are evil.  These events take my mind back to the film, Blood Diamond, directed by Edward Zwick.  When Solomon Vandy had bright future plans, until his dreams are shattered when the rebels invade his village and kidnap him to work in the diamond mines.  Solomon now has no hope in helping his son, Dia, do what he provoked him to.  Solomon now has no hope in seeing his family, and no hope in finding any diamonds for anyone apart from the rebels.  He feels as if his life should be over.  This also relates to the government controlling us today.  They corrupt and are continuing to corrupt us with their ways, publicity, and media.  We need to start taking stands and together, as a society, go against them.  Make them realize that they are not the vital ones, we are.  There are so many more of us, than there are of them.  If we would only become more educated, we’d be in more chance of a brighter, better, greener future.

Conrad, Joseph, Heart of Darkness, New York: Oxford University press 1990

Zwick, E. (2006). Blood Diamond [Film]. United States:Warner Brothers Pictures

So far, I have a certain animosity towards this novella.  I plan on being more fastidious while reading this perverse book.  I hope that this assists me in my comprehension skills.  As of now, I am not looking forward to reading the rest of this book, as I do not think it will get easier to read because the level of comperhension is going to remain difficult.