The Experience of Alienation and Existential Crisis

1915 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Culture Shock: an Inevitable Experience

The unique features of a local environment always give special characteristics to its inhabitants. The living environment has a large influence on people. For example, customs, traditions and cultural changes in their environment due to the psychological and ideological. With the development of society, people are not limited to living in their own home, for various reasons, will go a different place to live or work. However, strange and adapt to a new environment for the first time will become more evident, and even feel alienated and existential crisis. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih and As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner are three novels, which deal in one way or another with the experience of alienation and existential crisis. The main character Kurtz in Heart of Darkness representing the mystery of the Congo insolubility of magic, he thought he had achieved the ideal in place and has conquered the wilderness, but the fact is that his mind was occupied by the wilderness. In Season of Migration to the North, Mustafa is a highly intelligent and solipsistic worldview person, but because of his learning experience, making him died in the cracks of different cultures, and ultimately committed suicide because he cannot find a way to exist. Addie was influenced by her father in childhood, aspires a sense of existence and feel alone, finally die with hopelessness from the bottom of her heart. All these three characters experience alienation and existential crisis, but the way they handle it is different.
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the main character Kurtz is a hero in the eyes of Europeans, who had been a musician, poets, painters and reporters. He came to Congo 's main p...

... middle of paper ...

...h, alone with him, that no one can understand him. Addie lives in her father's influence, the loneliness accompanied her. She wants to be concerned for others but does not know how to do it, with a very extreme way to prove her existence, but in the end she still does not get out of the shadows. The influence of culture on people is huge, it can let a person feel full and rich, but also can let a person antipathetic, sense of loneliness, alienation and existential crisis.

Works Cited

Salih, Tayeb. Season of migration to the north. New York: Michael Kesend Publishing, Ltd. 1989. Print.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. London: Penguin classics, 2007. Print.
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying: The Corrected Text. New York: Vintage, 1990. Print.
"Alienation and Lonliness in Heart of Darkness." Prezi.com. Ed. Danielle Staudte. N.p., 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty

    411 Words  | 1 Pages

    This extract emphasises the lonely, outworld feeling that would have been felt living in such settings. This puts into perspective the feeling that will be felt during the coarse of the plot development.

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    Almost everybody feels a sense of alienation or isolation at some point in their life. Maybe it was when you were a young kid at a playground in school, being left out of activities. Or maybe this feeling is being experienced by an adult who is having economical or social issues. Whatever the source is for these feelings, it is not a pleasant one, and one we tend to try and avoid as much as possible in life. In the two stories I’ll be discussing, “ The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, there are two characters who experience feelings of alienation, isolation and oppression quite heavily. The effects of alienation and oppression are hindering to women’s independence and well-being. This is seen in the situations of two women we are going to be focusing on for this paper. Alienation and oppression can hinder the well-being and happiness of the individual experiencing it. It can also have long lasting psychological effects and cultural effects as you’ll see in this research paper.

    Read More

  • Loneliness in Of Mice of Men by John Stienbeck

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lonleiness is a big theme in the book, most of the characters experience it in some way shape or form; and all of them have a way of channeling it. nevertheless, the only people whose lives really change change during the novel are the ones who make an effort to fight their struggle. Those who do nothing about it, stay lonely. Like in real life, if you dont fight a problem, it’ll never go away. The old Greek saying "God helps those who helps themselves" describes the esence of the novel very well because it displays the fact that maybe the only thing keeping us lonely is ourselves.

    Read More

  • Exploration of Alienation

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    “It has to go”, cried his sister. “That’s the only answer, Father. You just have to try to get rid of the idea that it’s Gregor. Believing it for so long, that is our real misfortune. But how can it be Gregor? If it were Gregor, he would have realized long ago that it isn’t possible for human beings to live with such a creature, and would have gone away of his own free will” (Kafka 52). The relationship between family member’s in Kafka’s Metamorphosis is an interesting theme addressed, and somewhat distressing subject. Why is it so hard to accept that this monstrous bug is Gregor? Is it so bad for him to want to stay and be near his family- the only thing he’s ever had and known? For the sister to even come out and say these words seems somewhat selfish. Why can’t it be turned around to a viewpoint through which we have a family loving their son, unconditionally, regardless of what state he’s in? The word love is definitely one which is not seen in close companionship with the Gregor family. And we can see that this lack of affection carries on to be one of the driving forces behind the theme of alienation in the novel.

    Read More

  • Heart of Darkness and Wide Sargasso Sea: Depiction and Effect Due to Colonization

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad points to the hypocrisy and horrors associated with colonialism. The half-English, half-French Kurtz is the main vehicle used to convey his theme of European colonialism, as “all [of] Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz” (Conrad 164). It was Kurtz who goes to Africa for the "sake of loot, and thus becomes a great literary symbol for the decadence of colonialism" (Zins 63). With his help, Marlow dissects the reasoning behind colonialism, eventually seeing its evil nature.

    Read More

  • The Catcher In The Rye Literary Analysis

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of all, the book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity through the setting. In

    Read More

  • James Joyce's Dubliners

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    The emotions throughout the society are shared with the individuals throughout their confusing times, and by their shared experiences. The times spent together of the characters brought the individuals closer together through the dark negative times, and through the light positive situations of society. The confusing part of peoples lives are brought together and are shown throughout the status of society. The stories of the “Encounter,” “Eveline,” and “The Dead” come together with similar experiences of situations of light and dark. The society bring the individuals closer together by shared times.

    Read More

  • Isolation In The Painted Door

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    Isolation often creates dismay resulting in an individual facing internal conflicts with themselves. Ann experiences and endures unbearable loneliness to the point where she needs to do almost anything to

    Read More

  • On The Genealogy Of Moralism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nietzsche cringes before the civilization of Europe and seeks a man unencumbered by moral principles, principles that he believes form from the stifling existence of being surrounded by weaker beings. Nietzsche’s cry for a superhero is realized in the quest of Marlow in Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness. Marlow travels up the Congo River in Central Africa, driven by curiosity that morphs into raving monomania to find the premier Belgian ivory trader, Kurtz, a man seemingly distinguished from the hollow men of the Company, a man to make Nietzsche proud. But the average reader is not proud, as through Heart of Darkness Conrad displays for him the horror that lurks within his own soul through the flow of the story ever inward from the mouth of the Congo, to the Belgian ivory stations, to the innermost darkness, Kurtz himself. Conrad’s narration is as smooth as a stream with a barely perceptible current bearing readers along with his story in blissful contentment, only to be jostled suddenly by waves of uncomfortable fact, then let down into lethargy and sweet beautiful language again.

    Read More

  • Elements Of Alienation

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the modern period a common topic used amongst the arts was alienation. The notion of feeling distant from others or an activity to which one should be part of or be involved in was reflected in many pieces during the modern period. Two pieces that were fascinating to me, because of the way they utilized alienation as a part of their visual and literary arts, were “The Scream,” by Edvard Munch and “The Metamorphosis,” by Franz Kafka. Munch and Kafka both used forms of formal elements to get the emotional crisis they felt through to the viewer.

    Read More

  • Comparative Analysis of A Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    The theme of alienation has been depicted by two different characters in a resembling series of events. The two protagonists were alienated by their peers, inflicting negative consequences they must undergo. Both characters are finally pushed to alienating themselves rather than being alienated. In conclusion, the struggles both characters undergo are practically identical to one another. They have experienced alienation in such similar ways that you must ask yourself: are all those who suffer from alienation alike in more ways than one?

    Read More

  • Pychoanalysis And Feminism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    When read at face value, Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, is a portrayal of white, imperial, oppression of the African natives of the Congo. However, when we view the writing through the lenses of psychoanalysis and feminism, a story focused on one character, Marlow, emerges. Each theory presents a new way of interpreting and understanding the character development and imagery within the story. Psychoanalysis provides a look into the mind and dreamlike setting of Marlow. Feminism examines the binary gender roles of the characters, Marlow and Kurtz. Both theories examine how these two characters are in some way the same person.

    Read More

  • Comparing Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Heart of Darkness , which follows closely the actual events of Conrad's Congo journey, tells of the narrator's fascination by a mysterious white man, Kurtz, who, by his eloquence and hypnotic personality, dominates the brutal tribesmen around him. Full of contempt for the greedy traders who exploit the natives, the narrator cannot deny the power of this figure of evil who calls forth from him something approaching reluctant loyalty."[1]

    Read More

  • The Significant Role of Women in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    1985 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the 1900s novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the protagonist often encounters women at landmarks of his life. Charlie Marlow is a sailor and imperialist who sets out along the Congo River to “civilize” the “savages.” The novella begins with a crew on the Thames waiting for the tides to change. During their wait, a character named Marlow tells of his exploits on the African continent. In his recounted travels, Marlow meets other imperialists such as Mr. Kurtz, a man who is obsessed with the pursuit of ivory and riches. Like Mr. Kurtz, Marlow embarks across the African continent in hopes of earning both money and respect. One early critic of the novel, Edward Garnett, wrote in his review that “[Heart of Darkness] is simply a piece of art…the artist is intent on presenting his sensations in that sequence and arrangements whereby the meaning or meaninglessness of the white man in uncivilized Africa can be felt in its really significant aspects,” (Garnett). What Garnett fails to observe is that Heart of Darkness is not only an observation of “the white man,” but the white woman as well.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Madness In Heart Of Darkness

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, showcases a steady decline of one 's sanity, through the voyage that the main character, Marlow, takes through the Congo River; this is shown by the french ship firing into the jungle, Kurtz’s letters, and the stops at the three stations: the outer, center, and inner.

    Read More

More about The Experience of Alienation and Existential Crisis

Open Document