...Although there is a lack of light imagery in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, because of the frequent use of dark imagery to give an impending sense of despair, both light and dark imagery are still crucial to this novel. Light and dark imagery is an archetype that is used to give readers a better understanding of a story in some writer’s works. In the case of light vs. darkness, light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair. Light can also be associated with the color white, which can represent the following: “innocence”, “goodness”, and “morality,” (Archetypes). Darkness can be associated with the color black, allowing darkness to represent the following: “the unknown”, “death”, “the unconscious”, or “evil” (Archetypes). All of these things can also be linked to morality- the id, ego, and superego. The id can be classified as “the primitive and instinctive component of personality”; ego can be classified as the part of the personality that “develops in order to mediate between the unrealistic id and the external real world”, and superego can be classified as the part of the personality that incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from one's parents and others.” (McLeod). In Lord of the Flies, Many of the evil deeds in the story are committed at night, representing darkness. A perfect example of an evil deed that is committed at night would be the murder of Simon by all...
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...Heart of Darkness Essay Light and dark imagery is one element most commonly used in literature, and has held specific symbolic meanings for hundreds of years. Simply stated, light generally symbolizes good, while darkness symbolizes the complete opposite, evil. More specifically, Conrad uses detailed imagery of light and dark to show that white men can in fact be more savage than the natives. While the contrast of light and dark, white and black, and good and evil is a common theme in his novel, Conrad reverses the meanings of the two. In his story often the light is viewed as more menacing and evil than the darkness, and the white characters more spiteful than the black. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses light and dark imagery and the reversing of their regular meanings as a main focal point throughout the novel. Conrad establishes throughout this the theme that not everything is as it seems. Conrad uses light imagery as a symbol of civilization. Darkness is defined as the absence of light just like the black jungle is defined as the absence of white man’s civilization, a civilization full of corruption and evil. Conrad’s first description of Brussels is an example of this. “In a very few hours I arrived at a city that always made me think of a white sepulcher.” It is significant that Conrad describes the building as a white coffin, because the job there is sending men out to retrieve ivory, ultimately resulting in their death. This cycle of evil begins and ends in...
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...Sonny’s Blues Baldwin uses several references to darkness and light in his story, “Sonny’s Blues”. One of the first is when the narrator, Sonny’s brother, finds out about his arrest by reading the newspaper. On his subway ride home, he reads of Sonny’s arrest by the “swinging lights of the subway car” while “the darkness raged outside”. Baldwin uses this imagery of darkness to illustrate the narrator’s fear and depression concerning Sonny’s situation. The imagery of “swinging lights” may be a reference to the coming of understanding the narrator will have at the end of the story. Another imagery of darkness Baldwin uses is when the narrator is describing the students in his class. “All they really knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives… and the darkness of the movies….”.This was in reference to the environment that they found themselves growing up. A tough city full of crime and poverty. One other imagery of darkness is in the paragraph that begins, “This was the last time I ever saw my mother alive.” In this paragraph the narrator is describing a memory from childhood of when his mama was younger and there was a gathering of “church folks and relatives talking after the big Sunday dinner.” The suffering of African Americans is referred to by, “The darkness outside is what the old folks have been talking about. It’s what they’ve come from. It’s what they endure.” One can draw from this the gloom, despair, and hardships that have marked their lives. It is further...
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...Imagery is an effective tool used by writers to enhance the audience’s experience. This is no exception for the play “Macbeth”, in which Shakespeare spins a web of lies, deceit and treachery as the tragic hero, Macbeth, spurred on by vaulting ambition, overleaps, ultimately leading to his death. Throughout the play, recurrent imageries of clothing, blood and butchery as well as light and darkness are employed, propelling the play to its tragic end. The imagery of blood and butchery is employed when Macbeth is first introduced in the play, gives off the impression of a brave, courageous warrior, who was loyal to his King, and blood carried positive connotations of “valiancy” and other similar virtues, where “his blade smok’d with bloody execution”. However, it becomes clear that Macbeth has darker, more sinister intentions/wants beneath his warrior exterior: his desire to be King, which can be seen through his subscription to the Witches’ prophecy, foretelling that he will be King, and his frequent discussions with Lady Macbeth as they plot to usurp the throne from King Duncan. Blood then becomes a symbol of treachery, such as when Lady Macbeth calls upon the spirits to “make thick my blood” and to carry out the murder with no regrets, and in her plan to frame Duncan’s guards with his murder by “smear[ing] the sleepy grooms with blood”. The meaning of blood further descends into guilt, as we observe Lady Macbeth’s slow descend into madness and her suicide...
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...Heart of Darkness Criticism Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a novella that despite its short length constructs a tale that is as dense and complex as the undergrowth of the jungle through which the main character travels. The tale, which begins as a frame narrative on the Thames in London, chronicles Charlie Marlow’s descent from Belgium into the heart of Africa in search of Kurtz, the infamous chief of the inner station. As Marlow travels through Africa, we are treated to a wildly different view of Africa then we typically see in popular culture, with the book portraying the harsh realities of Colonialism while also creating an atmosphere of dread and horror. This atmosphere is incredibly critical to the way in which we view the story, which has been criticized both as a racist text and as the first truly critical account of Imperialism. The journey culminates at the inner station where Marlow meets the legendary Kurtz, a character so complex that critics are still analyzing his purpose in the story. Heart of Darkness, is certainly one of the most polarizing novels of the last few centuries, with critical essays singing its praises and damning its aesthetics being almost equal in sheer volume. The watershed of criticisms towards Conrad’s visionary novella burst with Chinua Achebe’s scathing write up of the story, with its famous defaming of Conrad as a “bloody racist” (Achebe 343), that ends with the suggestion that it be banned from student book lists. Achebe’s essay...
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...completely pure either. The vibrant imagery in this hymn casts Night as a fearsome conqueror with benevolent intentions. Night’s presence comes with a sense of peril and panic, as her talents strike fear into the hearts of men and women. The hymn labels itself as “a song of praise to a conqueror” in order to portray how the culture understood Night’s power (8). Like any great conqueror in war, Night is invincible, but her power is terrifying. One of the most notable assets of Night is her darkness, which is described as “palpable, black, and painted” (7). This imagery does not limit darkness to existing merely as the absence of light. The speaker refers to darkness as...
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...message that either pulls together a major theme in the chapter leading up to the sentence, or is a harbinger of the coming chapters. Beginning with the final word in chapter one, “darkness” (21), and concluding with the novel’s final word, “past” (180), Fitzgerald uses simple closing words to represent a deeper, continuous meaning that pervades the book. By doing this, Fitzgerald is able to outline major themes in the novel, including facial expressions, honesty, and balance. Most clearly and powerfully, however, the outline of lightness through positive imagery and darkness through negative imagery is presented in the final lines of each chapter. By grouping the chapters by hopefulness shown in their respective final lines, a trend is apparent. In chapters one through three, the final lines provide a dark, sullen preview for the chapters to come, while chapter four provides a transition into the final lines of chapters five and six, which signify a brief sense of giddiness that begins to darken. Finally, the last lines of chapters seven through nine mark the development and completion of the violent “holocaust” (162). Supplying a preview at the end of chapter one as to the violence to occur later in the novel, Nick says he is “alone again in the unquiet darkness” (21). By stating the word “darkness” at the end of the first chapter, Fitzgerald can ultimately emphasize the fact that eventually, the plot will take a cold, deep, serious turn for the worse. Moreover, it shows...
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...Casey Lanier Mrs. Harmon AP English Literature 17th September, 2014 Heart of Darkness is a well-known book, full of irony and violence. But the main part of the book is about Marlow and his surroundings. Joseph Conrad reveals Marlow’s characteristics when he changes Marlow’s environment from civilized to barbaric, through the use of imagery, symbols, and the intensity of his diction. Language and the diction of language is one of the most idealistic topics. Since Marlow is narrating most of the entire story, it’s styled to sound like a drawn out monologue. It’s stop and go with his story, while he remembers different topics and materials of his adventure. The long paragraphs are spoken, and read, without a pause for a breath to be taken. This causes the text itself to feel like its creating a difficult, and even imprisoning scenery. Marlow also throws in a lot of repetition, which causes a dark and frightening atmosphere. “Trees, Trees, millions of trees, massive, immense, running up high; and at their foot, hugging the bank against the stream, crept the little begrimed steamboat, like a sluggish beetle crawling on the floor of a lofty portico. It made you feel very small, very lost...” (12) Makes the jungle feel claustrophobic and overbearing of the humans that are traveling through. The humans are like the beetles since their size variation is so different from the trees. He makes you feel that as you go through the jungle, you’re not in harmony with it. And at any point...
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...theme.To interpret their views many different styles are used,with a big one being literary devices,through The use of literary devices the author can provide a more powerful insight of their theme.Diction is one of the ways the author can use to express their message by their choice of words which establishes imagery into their writing.In Beowulf the author utilizes diction to emphasize the imagery and to convey the meaning behind the text. The quote “A powerful...
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...A motif plays important role in manipulating the sentiments of main characters, and progress the evolution of their relationship. In William Shakespeare Macbeth, darkness, blood, supernatural and animals imagery occurred to indicate the evil deeds and development of the relations of the characters. Macbeth kills the king Duncan, the morning is dark after the night of King Duncan murder and Lady Macbeth’s hands full of blood which show their relation to the evil side of the world. Furthermore, Macbeth hallucinating a dagger and supernatural abilities of the witches and animals attacking each other which also indicate the evil side in the events that has occurs. Motif is used in the play to manipulate the characters emotions and indicate their...
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...In the Play MacBeth, Shakespeare uses many imagery to articulate the theme of darkness in which is discussed throughout the play. Darkness evolves throughout the play that in turn leads the murder of many people. The first imagery of darkness are the three nameless witches. The witches represents the occult, the dark arts and generally known for wreaking havocs and their darkness is a part of MacBeth’s downfall. In act one scene one, the three witches appears in a dark scene that involves three elements; “thunder, lightning, and rain”, (1.1.2) this was also when the battle in happening. They plans to meet Macbeth and they do, later in act one, scene three. They tell of three prophecies, one of which is that MacBeth will become king. In Act 1, Scene 3 Macbeth states, “Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor...My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical.” (1.1.132 - 138) When he starts to believe the prophecy, he starts to give into the dark words of the Witches. This darkness grow within him, and due to his ambition, he will be blinded by his action, just like the sailor in the story he will never return to who he once was....
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...Greene creates imaginative impact in his works and interprets the tradition or culture of the society. Greene’s short story “The Destructors” characterizes the gang’s indifference to sentiments, culture, tradition, emotions and beauty (Kolin). Greene explains the society of deprived hope and innocence. Greene uses the destruction of culture and tradition which leads to the characters to fall under the world of shadow and the dark imagery depicts loss of innocence. Greene’s participation in World War 2 enabled him to use that experience in “The Destructors” and explain how World War 2 transformed the character’s life. His imagery of darkness creates an indifference in the society. The society takes place in a world of shadow after World War 2 where there is no strong held commitments which makes the characters under no control (Kolin). The short story “The Destructors” creates an aware of undisciplined society that leads to evil intentions, loss of hope, and betrayal. After the demolishment of the house in “The Destructors”, the gang grows darker and sets an unscrupulous example in the town. In the story, the adolescent’s innocence is replaced by violent thoughts, evil intentions, selfishness, cynicism, and recalcitrant...
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...Symbolism, Chaos and Disorder Symbolism is the use of symbols to indicate or represent a concept or idea. Symbols are used in literature to give things a meaning beyond their literal one, and as a way for readers to see further than what is stated in text. This allows them to come to their own conclusions and it contributes to the theme and mood of the text to make it more effective. In Macbeth, nature symbolism is used to reflect the events in society through the weather atmosphere, and animals. Light and darkness imagery is used in correlation with chaos as well; night and darkness being used to cloak evil, and light and dark used to suggest the occurrence of evil events . Sleeplessness, another symbol, is also used to show how the chaos causes the characters in Macbeth to fall apart, from how they caused sleeplessness for themselves to how it drives them to self destruct. In William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, symbols are constantly used to illustrate growing chaos, evil and destruction which suggests that Scotland is on a path to its downfall. First of all, the motif of nature and disruption in the natural world is used to suggest that something unsettling has or will happen. For one, animals are used to illustrate the chaos occurring after Duncan's death. In the scene...
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...language and imagery the poem tells a story of beauty within such a dark and flooded scene. The use of imagery is powerful, Noyes sets the scene from the first line, ‘Now, in the twilight, after rain’, this instantly portrays an image of an evening time where there has been a downpour. The use of sibilance adds to the effect of the weather, both in the title and the content, ‘Shining Streets’, ‘skies’, ‘sooty’ and ‘solid’. When reading the poem the sound of rain can be heard through these words. In addition to this, onomatopoeia also adds to the effect with the word ‘splash’ in the seventh stanza. There are different types of language used within the poem, the rhyme scheme used is easy to follow and uses an ‘a, a, b, b, c, c, d, d’ couplet sequence. Further to this, each of the lines consist of eight syllables and each of the stanzas consist of four lines. This style is kept consistent throughout, making the reading of it easy to follow. Continuing with style of language, Noyes uses archaic language, which suggests this has not been written in the recent years, ‘portly pride’, ‘O love’. It could be established that Noyes has kept the style consistent to mirror the descriptions and to keep the poem flowing. Subjective language is used, especially in the last stanza where an opinion is portrayed, ‘And who would sail for Greece or Rome, When such a highway leads him home?’. The reader could be persuaded to look at their own home towns and see the magnificent imagery, rather than...
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...father and son only have each other to depend on. Although the father is seen as the stronger one in this situation, Papa needs the boy’s presence in order to reassure himself that he is not alone. “When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him” (1). The imagery of the dark and cold woods contrasts with the feeling of a calming child’s presence to demonstrate how the boy is a source of hope in the midst of despair. Diction such as “Nights beyond darkness and days more gray each one than what had gone before” is...
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