Heart of Darkness: Entry 2

The main character, Marlow, has just signed an employment contract with the Company.  He recalls a memory of the man in his position before him, Fresleven, who engaged in a quarrel with natives in the Congo over hens.  After he struck the tribe chief, the chief's son stabbed Fresleven to death.  Because of their superstition, the natives deserted the area, leaving the imperialist's bones behind.  Nothing afterwards was ever heard about the hens. 

After he signs his contract, Marlow is taken to be inspected by a doctor who measures his skull.  The doctor remarks that he unfortunately doesn't get to see the men who come back from Africa, but that it doesn't matter; "the changes take places inside," apparently meaning there are some major changes that take place in one's mind after the experience that Marlow is about to embark upon.

As he is about to depart, Marlow's aunt gives him her hopes that he will play a big role in civilizing the tribal people of the Congo.  Marlow basically blows off her comment, knowing that his business is not about benefiting humanity, but instead about plundering humanity for riches.  This bit of slight foreshadowing again emphasizes the book's central theme of the downsides of imperialism. 

I am currently reading a "manifesto" (I quite disturbing one, if you ask me) called "You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows,"  written by the likes of Bill Ayers and the other radicals of the 60s terrorist group, Weather Underground.  I was informed of its existence by Glenn Beck, who encouraged his viewers to read it, just to know the mindsets of some of the more influencial people in power right now.  There central theme (besides establishing world socialism) is that the U.S. is not only imperialistic towards other 3rd world countries, but that the U.S. is also imperialistic and oppressive towards the African Americans living within our borders.  While I disagree and believe strongly that this was a propaganda tactic used to advocate a silly socialism, I find many similarities between that and Heart of Darkness.

Below are people from the African Congo

Heart of Darkness: Entry 1

I have begun reading Joseph Conrad's (Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) book Heart of Darkness, a story of boat captain Marlow's crew as they sail through the rivers of the African Congo in search of ivory and the mysterious figure, Kurtz.  The plot is deeply allegorical, and the relationships established between the civilized English sailors and the natives of the Congo outline Conrad's objections against imperialism and his pessimistic view of human nature.  When once asked about human nature and human endeavors, Conrad replied thus:

"The mysteries of a universe made of drops of fire and clods of mud do not concern us in the least.  The fate of humanity condemned ultimately to perish from cold is not worth troubling about.  If you take it to heart it becomes an unendurable tragedy.  If you believe in improvement you must weep, for the attained perfection must end in cold, darkness and silence.  In a dispassionate view the ardour for reform, improvement for virture, and knowledge, and even for beauty is only a vain sticking up for appearances as though one were anxious about the cut of one's clothes in a community of blind men. (Collected Letters, vol. 2, pp.16-17)."

This "Camusesque" absurdism is to be expected when reading Conrad's works. 

Here is a quote from Ch.1 that I have come across that tells of Marlow's views on imperialism, or world conquest:

"They [ancient Roman armies] were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others...It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind...The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away form those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much...what redeems it is the idea only. (Conrad 41)." 

For information about imperialism in the Congo, visit the following website:

http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob111.html

My New Country of Study: Poland

Switching from Sweden, it looks like I'm now going to be researching Poland and its literature for my project.  Below is some current news from Poland, the Polish flag and a picture of Poland, a link, and the first book I'm planning on reading.

CURRENT POLISH NEWS:

• The Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, was killed along with important political and military leaders on April 10 of this year.  The Russian aircraft that was transporting them crashed while trying to land in dense fog.
• A cross standing 13' high outside the presidential palace to commemorate the president has ignited controversy between the religious and nonreligious. 
• Youths from Poland recently were pushed back by police after throwing eggs at homosexuals during a gay parade.

SPECS ON POLAND:

• Capitol: Warsaw
• Population: 38.5 million
• About the size of New Mexico
• Independence gained in 1918

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/poland/index.html

I will either begin by reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad or another book by Sienkiewicz

Current Events in Sweden

The country I plan to do for our project is Sweden. The following is a list of major news in Sweden as of August 15, 2010:

• Social Democrats in Sweden, apparently very similar to those in the U.S., are currently firing attacks on Moderate party tax cuts
• Roads are currently closed and flooded in southern Sweden (including Malmo) following torrential downpours.
• Facing blames of treason here in the U.S., Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is applying for a Swedish publishing license to protect his controversial footage of U.S. military activity in the Middle East
• As demand rises for Swedish automobile companies Saab and Volvo, the two corporations are increasing supply, fueling the national economy. 
• The country recently passed a federal law prohibiting prostitution, but signs are showing that, like the formal U.S. prohibition of alcohol, there may not be too much improvement.

http://www.thelocal.se/

(The current U.S. ambassador to Sweden is Matthew Barzun)

I plan to read Vilhelm Moberg's The Emigrants as my first novel for the country of Sweden.

About Me

My name is Will Hayes, and I am a pretty interesting 17 year old. I go to Greer Middle College Charter High School and enjoy a couple different hobbies, including: playing piano, bass, and guitar by ear, reading philsophy, and basketball. I have read a couple of different philosophical works: Daniel Dennett's Consciousness Explained, Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, Henri Bergson's Creative Evolution, Plato's Timaeus and Critias, Albert Camus' The Plague, Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra (still reading), C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, and Soren Kierkegaard's The Sickness Unto Death.  I really do not know why philosophy piques my interest, but it really does open your mind to a completely new framework of thought and a new outlook on life.  When I first began reading philosophy, my favorite subjects were logic and metaphysics, then I transitioned to evolutionary philosophy, and now I am beginning moral philosophy.  Although I am mainly disposed to Western thinking, I have a friend who claims he is a Zen Buddhist.  I, on the other hand, typically side with Christian beliefs...but I am interested in reading Eastern works in World Lit so I can become more educated about the other half of the world. 

As far as music, I have been playing piano by ear since I was 4 (I used to pretend I was playing on the hearth of our fireplace). A couple years ago I picked up the bass guitar and have loved it ever since, along with electric guitar.  My most favorite bands are Boston and Rush, but I love just about all 70s-80s music. 

I recently gained a huge interest in the philosophical problems and theories of consciousness, and it has made me think about a future job in the field of neuroscience/neurophilosophy. 

I am a huge Clemson fan, the kind that beats up house furniture when we loose a heartbreaking game.  I hope to go to 1 or 2 games this year. 

I got my license earlier this summer on my second try, and I am currently memorizing the Lil' Rebel menu in order to get a drive thru position there.