Inner Depths of The Dwarf
"Human beings need flattery; otherwise they do not fulfill their purpose, not even in their own eyes." These are the words of the bold and heartless main character of Par Lagerkvist’s novel, The Dwarf. The keen insights of this twenty-six inch tall man, described throughout the book, are both shocking and thought provoking. Told from the point of view of the dwarf, the book entails numerous expressions of hatred towards humans and towards the dwarf’s own "detestable" race. The dwarf also displays his disgust for the Princess intermittently throughout the novel. Living as the servant and confidante to a Prince during the time when the Black Death was wiping out Europe, the dwarf experiences many instances in which he must commit wicked crimes for the Prince. He does so willingly, considering his lack of conscience. Ultimately, these crimes force him into eternal imprisonment in the dungeon under the fortress, where he can only write daily recordings of his empty life during the hours when the sun shines through the cracks, and hope to be called upon again by the Prince.
From the beginning, the dwarf condemns human beings as "a pack of ingratiating cows" who value nobility and beauty and who babble about virtue, honor and chivalry. He believes humans are "shrouded in mystery," but he exclaims, "nothing ever comes up from my inner depths," nothing is mysterious about him. Despite these feelings, he is loyal to and respective of his lord, the Prince. He expresses his gratitude for the graciousness of his masters, and he remains allegiant, though he is erraticly appalled by their actions. Yet, the main feelings of disgust come from his view of his race and of himself. "It is my fa...
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... and therefore, longs to kill everything. Why should these disgusting creatures who call themselves men exist? He claims that it is human culture to fight and that "All human culture is but an attempt at something unattainable, something which far transcends the powers of realization. There it stands, mutilated, tragic as a torso. Is not the human spirit itself a torso?" These shocking insights demand thought from the reader on the subject of human culture and the human spirit. The dwarf's pensiveness is extremely effective in relaying the meaning of the work as a whole. His belligerent, negative attitude portrays the sense of despairing and savagery, which makes the novel so intense and interesting. This attitude is responsible for noticing the cloudy view that humans have of the world, but "Human beings like to see themselves reflected in clouded mirrors."
... of hope for rescue and the destruction of their ties to former human society; and the Lord of the Flies, used to represent mankind’s “essential illness”: inherent human evil. Ultimately, Golding’s symbols, simple in appearance yet burdened with the weight of human savagery, violence, and inner darkness, do more than frighten. As these symbols are ingrained into our minds, so, too, is responsibility: the responsibility of recognition, understanding, and action. If we do not take heed of the messages behind Golding’s symbols, then our ignorance may be more than unwise—it may be fatal. For if we do not soon take steps to confront our inner evil face-to-face, we may eventually find ourselves trapped in Golding’s harrowing depiction of human society: one bound only by rules far too fragile that, when broken, lead only to chaos, self-destruction, and total savagery.
In Night, he informs his reader of many examples on how a myriad of good people turn into brutes. They see horrific actions, therefore, they cannot help by becoming a brute. They experience their innocent family members being burned alive, innocent people dieing from starvation due to a minuscule proportion of food, and innocent people going to take a shower and not coming out because truly, it is a gas chamber and all f...
Through vivid yet subtle symbols, the author weaves a complex web with which to showcase the narrator's oppressive upbringing. Two literary
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
Civilization struggling for power against savagery was shown throughout Lord of the Flies. These opposite mindsets are shown battling while determining who had the right to speak during assemblies, when the group hunted pigs, throughout the struggle over Piggy’s glasses, and finally with Simon’s death. These polar opposites are shown throughout these examples and reveal the desperation of clinging to civilization while savagery took over the actions of the some of the boys in Lord of the Flies.
Whenever placed in a morally compromising position, he detaches from the situation by viewing the victims as less than human. Forced to carry the corpses of crushed infants out of the cattle cars, he refers to the innocent victims as chickens. Referring to other dead bodies as mounds of meat, also helps him escape his current reality. By removing the human aspect, the narrator is better equipped to handle horror of his assigned task. Without this detachment, he would shut down, overcome by disgust and descend into madness. His fellow prisoners, particularly the Greeks, take on animal traits as well. He criticizes the way they scramble for food, comparing them to insects and pigs. This detachment from reality allows him to forget momentarily that the food he hoards for his own survival could keep others alive as well. Many Americans practice a similar form of detachment in their avoidance of refugees. Afraid that they or their loved ones could be in danger if refugees are allowed to stay in the United States, they do what they feel is necessary to survive. In an attempt to overcome the perceived threat, they detach themselves. The need to survive takes overtakes their brains and citizens turn a blind eye to the suffering of others. Frightened, they perpetuate the idea that American lives are worth more than those overseas. Rather than seeing everyone as part of the human race, they see people either American or not. They view refugees as beneath them and concern themselves only with the needs of their
When men are faced with difficult situations, it can cause a sense of uproar of man’s savagery. The boys are trapped in an island and have no adult control. Golding’s use of element of style exemplifies the transformation of the boys becoming civilized to complete savages. Men can connect with their inner savagery when they are feel challenged . The boys are trapped in an island there is no order, every man for himself.Golding’s use of foreshadowing, symbolism and imagery show man’s innate savagery by exemplifying
The portrayal by Apess of the rampant racism that existed in America in his time is accurate and clear. He understood that the nature of racism is found both in the regular citizen as well in the ruling classes or politicians. As an example, during the time Apess wrote his essay, it interracial marriage was illegal in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He mentions this as a direct infringement of the rights of the individual by both the state and society. It is Apess’ argument that the white man doesn’t even consider other races, especially the Native Indian or the Blacks, as qualified to have rights in the first place. The dehumanization of the Indian by the white man allows the latter to oppress and murder the former, to take his land, and to
of whether or not mankind is good or evil, illustrating the characters’ understandings of human
Man is indefinitely tied down to civilization and society, because without it, mankind will turn to savagery. William Golding succeeds in explaining this by using the boys as symbols of all mankind and showing how the kids eventually turned to savagery when they lost their attempt to maintain a
The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.
This leads to the fact that a beast really does exist within all human beings, but is only expressed when human instinct for survival becomes the main objective. At first the boys aren?t able to kill, but as survival instinct starts taking over, the reader?s are able to se the true character?s play out, and lives are compromised. ?You feel as if you?re not hunting, but- being hunted, as if something?s behind you all the time in the jungle,? (pg.53) proves that it?s every man for himself and people will do anything to survive. An example of this in the novel was when Robert became the ?pig,? and was wounded even though it wasn?t intentional, but the situation became worse when Piggy?s death happened as a result of all civilization lost and evil taken over.
Gans’ essay, “The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All”, is extremely important in the analysis of the frontline documentary. Gans has a bit of a different approach on poverty and the poor. For example, he says, “Today, poverty is more maligned than the political machine ever was; yet it, too, is a persistent social phenomenon.” Basically, he argues that the poor are a very important part in society. He goes on to explain different functions of poverty. First, he states that the existence of poverty ensures that society’s dirty work will be done. Society in some ways forces the poor to do these jobs because they almost always don’t have the choice, and they make them do these at low wages. This was one of the hard things that the two families were facing. They both had to be satisfied with low wage dirty work jobs to get by. No matter how hard they tried to find better jobs, they just couldn’t push through. Another benefit that the poor have to offer the world is that poverty creates jobs for a number of occupations that protect the rest of society from them. Without the poor, the police force would be minuscule. Also, the poor buy goods others do not want. This helps the economy immensely because these products would eventually just be thrown out if the poor didn’t purchase them. The poor are also culturally recognized in history. For example, most Americans listen to the blues, which originated from the southern poor. And on top of that, they
The two unnamed characters of the story prove that human dignity, decency and common sense can be more powerful than violence and the path of cowardness which leads to cannibalism. Their strong bond symbolizes the best features and qualities that a human being can exhibit.
Beyond the shield of civilization and into the depths of a primitive, untamed frontier lies the true face of the human soul. It is in the midst of this savagery and unrelenting danger that mankind confronts the brooding nature of his inner self.