Heart of Darkness: the Villains Journey...I mean Hero...I think...???

This time I will take my blog in steps according to the list provided to me by our fabulous AP Lit Teacher on the The Hero's Journey to the Center of the Earth, starring Brendan Fraser, into the Heart of Darkness, starring dude by the name of Marlow.
I. Departure: 
     A. The Call to Adventure
          Marlow's aunt pulls some strings and gets him a job with "The Company" in Africa. One may consider this adventure, or consider it a career of the colonial era. His life does change i'd daresay. This compares him with heroes.
     B. Refusal of the Call
          Marlow does not refuse the call. He takes it as soon as it rings at him. This is one thing that contrasts him with heroes.
     C. Supernatural Aid
          Once Marlow has accepted his job he does not receive supernatural aid. Why should he if he is not in the need of any help? He is perfectly fine as he is. The examinations he took say the same. This is another thing that contrasts him with heroes.
     D. The Crossing of the First Threshold
          Once he gets on the steamer from his aunts place and sets out on his journey to Africa he begins crossing the threshold of the world he knows, to the world that no one knows. He begins to cross over to the dark side of the force unknown side of the world. He enters the wild. Maybe he will meet Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle). This compares him with heroes.
     E. The Belly of the Whale
          Once he is dropped of at his first stop Marlow realizes how where he is at is so different from home. So much so that once he see's someone that reminds him of home, he takes his time staring with his mouth wide open at the most beautiful being he has ever seen with clean clothing, cuffs, and collars. Then he notices the African slaves again. It finally settles in him that he will not be going home for a while. A long while. This compares him with heroes.
II. Initiation
     A. The Road of Trials
          Marlow begins his journey. He travels with a caravan to a station where he finds out his ship has been wrecked. Then he travels on after he fixes his ship to Kurtz, the greatest man eva'. On the way to Kurtz, Marlow encounters things that seem to slow him down. Mainly natives that attack them, but a blow of the ships horn by Marlow saved the day. This is another way he compares to heroes.
     B. Meeting with the Goddess
          For Marlow I believe that there is no goddess that he meets. The point of his "adventure" was to meet Kurtz and see the man behind the mystery. In this way he compares with heroes.
     C. Woman as the Temptress
          I believe that Marlow did not have temptations. He was a very weird man, but then again he is also narrating the story so we cant trust his words 100%. The only thing that seems to tempt him is the thought of Kurtz and mystery of the man. He is tempted by his legacy, thoughts, words, etc. This is what compares him with heroes.
     D. Atonement with the Father
          This is when Marlow finally meets with Kurtz. This part of the "journey" lasts until the death of Kurtz on the steamship. Throughout the time Marlow and Kurtz spend a lot of time together. Marlow receives that which he has been wanting since he first heard of Kurtz. Then Kurtz dies, "Mistah Kurtz - He dead." This compares him with heroes.
     E. Apotheosis
          One can say that Kurtz's death is deified by his legacy (except in the eyes of the Manager), but then again one can also say that only someone who understood Kurtz, like Marlow, could deify him. This compares him with heroes.
     F. The Ultimate Boon
          Marlow is entrusted by Kurtz all his thought, belongings, and works. This includes his pamphlets, letters, and a picture of his "Intended" fiancee. This compares him with heroes.
III. Return
     A. Refusal of the Return
          Marlow does not refuse to return. He gets ill and does his best to get home as fast as he can. This contrasts him with heroes.
     B. The Magic Flight
          This part is when Marlow though severely ill, does his best to return home. In the end he finally makes it home with all the things entrusted to him by Kurtz.This compares him with heroes.
     C. Rescue from Without
          Once he is home, Marlow's aunt brings him back to tip top shape. Then Marlow begins to spread Kurtz's word in the ways he see's fit. Though sometimes it takes a bit of convincing to get the things from him. This compares him with heroes slightly as well.
     D. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
          When he is home, Marlow slowly begins to despise the people and their egotistic lives. This compares him with heroes slightly, but in a bit of an oddly negative way.
     E. The Master of the Two Worlds
          Marlow seems to skip this part. As mentioned above, he begins to despise the people slightly. Besides that he just rolls with the times, if that's a way of saying it. This both compares and contrasts him with heroes.
     F. Freedom to Live
          One can assume that Marlow has acheived the "freedom to live" since he is in fact telling a story of his past. This compares him with heroes.

So we can conclude that Marlow's story does follow the steps of "The Hero's Journey." However, since this is a story of a colonial time period, it does stray on several points. One must delve into the story to figure out comparisons that link to "The Hero's Journey." Even though Marlow may not be a hero, Joseph Conrad writes along the lines of a "Hero's Journey."

Heart of Darkness...Significant Lines

One line I think is significant is one said by Marlow the ship's captain, in Heart of Darkness,  Joseph Conrad.

"And this also," said Marlow suddenly,  " has been one of the dark places of the earth." (Pg. 3, or 67 - Depending on edition)


 This line by Marlow seems to be foreshadowing future events. It also includes the symbol of this story, that is darkness. The darkness seems to predict the unknown. The title of the book also speaks of the "heart" of that darkness. This could imply the depths of the unknown, or the mysteries. It could also imply the true nature of darkness itself as one's heart also represents one's nature.
If I were to use a metaphor to describe darkness as it is used in the story then I would refer to how darkness could also mean emptiness, and how at the break of dawn the sun devours that emptiness and takes over the sky. This could also refer to British colonization and colonialism. Where the darkness or night are the natives, who are empty as the night, and the sun represents the British colonizers who are seen to be strong and powerful as the sun, who subdue the "sky" and "night" or "darkness" to their will and take it over. This is my interpretation of darkness and the significance of this line as the introduction to darkness in relation to the setting and as a symbol.

EDWARD!!!...NO TWILIGHT FANS!!!! Edward Rochester belongs to BIG BERTHA!!!!

     The title says it all. Simply, Rochester enters the story and takes the reigns of it. The story is told from his point of view. I believe this is a good thing because we get to understand events from someone who is educated and seemingly sane. The story starts off with him right after his marriage with Antoinette. He is describing everything in detail. As time passes he notices that he is noticing more and more about his new wife, that he did not notice before marriage. Awkward is this not? Why did he marry her then? Well of course because of the business his father and her father carried, but besides that, what was his reason?

     Rochester is still young, and just out of college he is, as a matter of fact. He is in his prime. What to young men in their prime desire? Two things pop into my head. These are wealth, and women. He of course wanted both. So thus he without paying much attention, married Antoinette. He engaged himself as a pleasurable option for marriage without giving a second thought to love.

    There are two things that I believe are important. The instances where fire is used as a motif. Such as when the candle fire takes moths and beetles to their deaths. The second thing is a statement by Rochester. He says beautiful things have short lives. This might be foreshadowing something because he is constantly raving about Antoinette's physical features (wink wink). Then they have a good time...(I shall not take this subject any further as I am sure several of my classmates will.)

     The last thing that I noticed while reading is how similar Antoinette and Rochester are. They both change moods as the day shifts, and they both are undeniably lustful, of course...Edward gets all the chicks, and he notes this fact himself too. The fact that he doesn't feel love, but only lust. Antoinette seems be stuck in what seems to be a romance novel (irony?). She lives a sad life, finds a man to love, that gives her what she wants, respects her, is kind to her, and now she is living a life she never thought she would have. A happy one, well...during the day at-least. As for what goes on at night, someone else will mention that for sure. 

     Rochester has found a new pass time, drinking. He finds out about Antoinette's lunatic mother and more and more realizes Antoinette's ability to do just that. In fact, in her anger she took some scissors and cut up the bed sheets. Scary right? Or is that just irony again? Rochester thinks he has gotten tricked into the marriage and that he was being played by his brother, father, and Richard Mason. 

     One last thing that the two have in common is that their lives unconventionally, to fairly no fault of their own, really really suck. Bad stuff just keeps happening to them. Like really? When will it stop? When the house burns down again?...oh wait, it does, and she dies. Like the conversations they have at night. 

    Rochester is being harassed by Antoinette's cousin, Danielle, so he goes to see him, finally. Danielle tells him a bunch of stuff regarding Antoinette's mother, and her condition and a bunch of stuff about Antoinette and continues to threaten Rochester. Then he kicks him out. Rochester goes home to talk to Antoinette. The have a little conversation at night. And the scene fades out. Like a good show ending right before the good part to build suspense. Dun Dun Dun!!!!!

Wide Sargasso Sea Part 1

     The story begins with Antoinette and her mother basically. It is told from first person so we see and comprehend events as she does. However, she is but a child, so it might not be that good to completely believe everything she says. She has lived most of her child hood in fear, and in silence. After the death of her father, everything kind of went down hill. The setting and the time period just turned out to be against her. Since she was a *CREOLE*, and former slave owners, she and her family were hated by the West-Indians. Antoinette grew up with few people in her life, and didn't know anyone else, as they would not associate with her, besides the people that lived in her manor. Most of them her mother disliked. Christophine usually took care of her.
     I believe her story is fairly close to that of Jane Eyre. They both lived crappy lives. They both were over looked for their brothers. Antoinette was overlooked for her little brother Pierre by her mother. Jane was overlooked by her aunt because of her cousin John. The stories begin to merge once Antoinette's mother starts dancing again and finds Mr. Mason. He eventually married Annette, her mother, and thus Antoinette became Antoinette Cosway Mason. Mr Mason had a son in his first marriage who became Antoinette's brother. He plays a significant role in Jane Eyre.
     There was a major event that occurred in Antoinette life. One night, a whole bunch of the West Indians attacked their home. They set the house on fire. Pierre burned to death in his crib. They were soon able to get away but her mother could not handle it. She broke down at the death of her son. She blamed Mason for not heeding her warnings to move elsewhere. That it wasn't safe for them in that town. She went psycho slowly and slowly. The house set on fire here may be connected to the fire at Thornfield Manor in Jane Eyre. As it was a fire that took her mother's last bits of sanity, a fire took the life of Bertha (Antoinette) in Jane Eyre. Fire seems to be a big part if this book as well.
     Afterwards she went to live with her Aunt Cora. When she went to visit her mother, her mother attacked her crazily. Soon thereafter Antoinette was sent to a Nun-school. There she learned about God and how to live the life of a Nun basically. While she was there her mother passed away, but her step-father continued to visit and bring her gifts. He tells her that a couple of his English friends might be visiting the next summer, and one might even stay. I think this foreshadows Michael Fassbender's ent.....I mean Rochester's entry into the story. Her life seemed to be getting better. Oh yeah, except for those crazy dreams she keeps having.

I'm just wondering when she goes from being Antoinette to "Big scary Bertha the Big Bad Wolf!!!!!"

Wikipedia Definitions:
1.) Marginalization: exclusion from meaningful participation in society. Being condemned by fate to live in 2 societies and in two, not merely different but antagonistic cultures.

2.) Post-Colonialism: A specifically post-modern intellectual discourse that consists of reactions to, and analysis of, the cultural legacy of colonialism. (Oppressor- Subject relationships)