Beginning Of Autumn

In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison starts out with a simple short passage written three times in different ways. He stresses the importance of punctuations through this passage because the text is harder to read with out the punctuations. Excerpts from this passage appear in the story as an indication of another chapter. I suppose it indicates the theme of each chapter because the first two times it appears its content has to do something the chapter deals with.

As I started reading the first chapter, I realized that the main character distances herself a little from her parents when she refers to them as “adults” not parents (10). She believes “Adults do not talk to us-they give us directions” (10). Even if she does not understand something, she does not feel free to talk to her parents. Her “mother’s anger humiliates me[her] (11). She shows little affection towards her parents because, from what she knows of, she hasn’t received any nice treatment from them. Instead she admires the “somebody with hands who does not want me [her] to die” who takes care of her while she’s asleep (12). However, it is most likely that the “somebody” is the mother who worries about her child (12). This reveals the main characters naïveté as a 9 years old child, because it is hard for her to understand why her parents act as they do despite their love for their children.

Another thing that grabbed my attention was the observations that the main character makes. She observes things in details whether it is useful or not. When she pukes on the bed, she describes it in detail and even asks herself “how…can it be so neat and nasty at the same time” (11)? She also “watch[es] their [peoples] faces, their [peoples] hands, their [peoples] feet” trying to understand what people say(15). She also has the drive to dismember the doll she got for Christmas. These observations reveal that she has interest in science and practical matter which is not very common for a 9 years old child.

So far, I am enjoying this book because it has some interesting statements that make me realize how some things that seem obvious could actually not be. For example, when she talks about how she does not want anything for Christmas and that no one really asks her what she wants I realized how we always assume little kids want either robots or dolls for Christmas. I also like how the storyline itself may become a little boring for it deals with the daily life of a rural kid, but Morrison’s writing makes it interesting and even captivating.

Marlow's Mind

“You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me. There is a taint of death, a flavor of mortality in lies, – which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world– what I want to forget” (Conrad 47).

“I don’t like work – no man does – but I like what is in the work, –the chance to find yourself” (Conrad 51).

These two quotes are my favorites from the book so far because it clearly demonstrates Marlow's personality.

In the first quote in which Marlow talks about how he abhors lies, he associates lie with death which he also sees as being horrid. I think this has to do with the fact that death and lies are both disadvantages of humans. He wants to "forget" (47) death because mortality makes him feel vulnerable. It is a limitation that is impossible to overcome. By relating lies with mortality, Marlow implies that lies create the same feeling to him.

The second quote deals with an obligation that we all have to face: work. His opinion is understandable because work itself brings a lot of stress and many things involved in work are stressful as well. But what's in work, the effort, the responsibility, and the accomplishment gives one pleasure and satisfaction.

These views that Marlow puts forth, are not only reflective of who he is but also true. I agree with him in some parts, especially about work, but I don't quite see lie as being comparable to death.

What Books Mean

In the beginning of the second chapter, Marlow finds a book "An Inquiry into some Points of Seamanship"(68). This book is not only an indication that there was a man in the land before their arrival but also a source of distraction from the harsh reality for Marlow. He "handled this amazing antiquity with the greatest possible tenderness" (68) because that distraction was like a reward after such hardship. Marlow states that the book was " not a very enthralling book; but ... you could see there a singleness of intention, an honest concern for the right way of going to work, which made these humble pages ... luminous with another than a professional light" (68). He sees the compassion that the author of the book had for the readers. This indicates Marlow's ability to see different sides of things that others may not be able to catch. He makes the book meaningful in a different way than it's supposed to be. This along with the "extravagant mystery" (69) of the ciphers from the Englishman serves as the main reason why Marlow gets so captivated by the book.

In this part of the book, Conrad's view on books, or literary works, is shown through Marlow's reaction to the book. According Conrad, a book provides one with rest or disconnection from the world. It also gives one a "delicious sensation of having come upon something unmistakably real" (68). The pleasure from reading a book certainly exceeds the pleasure one gets from the reality. Thus, a book is a distraction from reality that often times provides one with helpful and meaningfull lessons.

Descriptions

Conrad uses a lot of personification and to describe things in Heart of Darkness. He also uses a lot of contrast between black (dark) and white (light) in his descriptions. Using personification, Conrad gives more importance to what he is personifying. It also allows him to describe things more vividly because it involves action. Using the contrast between black and white, Conrad creates a representation of good and evil in things he describes.

When he describes a man he says “his hair in falling seemed to have stuck to his chin, and had prospered in the new locality, for his beard hung down to his waist” (51). Here, Conrad focuses on the man’s beard not the man himself. This way he indicates that the beard plays a big part in characterizing the man.

He uses the contrast between the darkness and light when he explains his feeling about going up the river. He uses the contrast between “the brilliance of sunshine” (60) and “the gloom of overshadowed distances” (60) to intensify the stillness and gloominess of the place. The word overshadowed has a negative connotation that also adds to the image

As seen in these two quotes, Conrad has his own way of making the reader pay attention to certain things in his descriptions. Through these techniques, Conrad is able to turn the reader's attention to the things he wants the readers to notice.