According to Seamus Deane, Translations is a play about the tragedy
of English Imperialism. How far would you agree with this statement
in relation to both Translations and Heart of Darkness?
INTRO
Although the location, language and structure of Brian Friel's
Translations differs unmistakably from that of Joseph Conrad's Heart
of Darkness, the topic of colonisation remains central to both. While
the supposed sophistication of 'civilised' colonists is deconstructed
in Conrad's novella to reveal man's common 'darkness', Friel's play
deals with the ways in which the consciousness of an entire culture is
fractured by the transcription of one landscape (Gaelic, classical and
traditional) for another (Anglo-Saxon, progressive and Imperialistic).
Friel uses the apparently passive plotting of an Ordnance Survey map
to emphasise the loss of indigenous Irish tradition, social history
and heritage felt by the natives of County Donegal in Ireland. The
translation of the place-names automatically eliminates the secrets
buried within the original name; it distorts rather than restores the
ontological nature of the place-name. Friel uses Owen to expose the
Imperialist outlook on 'standardisation' during his battle with
Yolland over "Tobair Vree": He begins a long discourse on how Tobair
Vree came to acquire its name, identifying a well that once existed
nearby and has long since dried up, with "Vree" an erosion of the
Irish "Brian". He then asks Yolland: "do we keep piety with a man long
dead, long forgotten, his name eroded beyond recognition, whose
trivial little story nobody in the parish remembers?" Even as he
attempts to demonstrate the invalidity of 'Tobair Vree' as rightful
place-name through its seemingly...
... middle of paper ...
...ng the illusions of colonisation to merely
"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from
those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than
ourselves" by means of "forgotten and brutal instincts".
In summation, while Friel's Translations successfully reveals to the
audience that the enforced supremacy of an Imperialist agenda forever
alters, in this case literally, the landscape, Conrad too summarises
the disillusionment of Imperialism through the death of Kurtz. He
entered the jungle with the ideals and altruistic intention of
civilising the indigenous peoples, but his last words "The horror! The
horror!" express his realisation of the true, tragic nature of
Imperialism: "to tear treasure out of the bowels of the land", "with
no more moral purpose at the back it than there is in burglars
breaking into a safe."
Gonorill. Regan. Cordelia. Those names should ring a bell if you have ever read or seen “The Tragedy of King Lear.” The plot behind this play revolves around King Lear’s relationships with each of these three characters; his daughters. King Lear has a different relationship with each of them. Gonorill, Regan and Cordelia all have very distinct personalities. In this play, King Lear decided it was time to give up and divide his kingdom amongst Gonorill, Regan and Cordelia. He determined who got what based off of their love for him. Each daughter was asked to express their love for their father but, only Gonorill and Regan end up with portions of King Lear’s kingdom.
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.
The diaries Conrad kept during his journey through the Congo gives detailed descriptions of the monotonous African landscape. Conrad wrote that the landscape of the African coast looked the same every single day.[1] This is reflected in Marlow’s narration of the jungle where shapes and forms cannot be made out clearly. The monotonous landscape differed from what Conrad had expected of this exotic location. When he was still a young kid, he had once boasted that he would someday journey to the heart of Africa. However, the actual journey was not at all what he expected it to be. Conrad was shocked at the men in the African colony. He was repulsed by the European colonizers because of the horrible treatment of the natives as well as the unlawful aggressive pursuit of loot. Conrad witnessed atrocities committed by the European colonizers, which helped to form his opinions on the colonization of Africa. In the novel, Conrad uses sarcasm to display his displeasure towards the European colonizers’ treatment of the natives. The Europeans in the book are called pilgrims and the natives are called cannibals, however the pilgrims are the ones who are much more willing to use force to resolve their problems.
It is often said that when considering a work of great literature, the title of such work can be just as important as the context of the story. Authors time and again wait until they have completed the context of their work to give it a title as to make sure this chosen title is the best possible representation of their work. Stated equally as often is that the significance of some of these titles is easy to recognize while in other titles, the significance is only developed gradually. The latter is the case for Joseph Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness. The author implements the literary devices of contrast, repetition and point of view to successfully convey the meaning and symbolism of his title.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a well-known play by William Shakespeare known for its violence. The story starts as one of a loyal and significant hero of Scotland. Yet, Macbeth's character changes continuously throughout the play. Influential desires for power made him settle on evil choices that made for him only cynicism, guilt, and fury. At the end of the play, he was no longer noteworthy and, instead, a tyrant at the cause of being overcome decisively during the course of the play.
In the play The Tragedy of Mariam by Elizabeth Cary, we see how society functions under Herod’s tyrannical rule. The character of Herod displays tyrannical traits of controlling his society and having hubris. For example, Herod’s disappearance gives Pheroras a token to marry his lover Graphina, Constabarus the chance to set Babas’ sons free, and Mariam the chance to live since no one is there to kill her. However, this freedom is countered by the fears that these characters manifest. Tyranny seeps into the public conscience, so that even when the physical tyrant is absent, the people’s ingrained fears and obedience limit their freedom.
At the end of an awful, long day one might wonder what went wrong – was the universe against them? Was it a mistake on their part? What have they lost as a result? Such a scenario can be exemplified in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. First, outside forces influence Macbeth into making decisions he would not ordinarily make. Second, Macbeth’s transition from a revered leader to a detested king can be symbolized by the absence of nobility loyalty, and peace. Third, Macbeth’s overwhelming pride and thirst for power leads him to commit a series of crimes. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare highlights the role of a Tragic Hero signifying that not staying true to ones core values will ultimately lead to their downfall.
Shakespeare’s tragedy, King Lear, portrays many important misconceptions which result in a long sequence of tragic events. The foundation of the story revolves around two characters, King Lear and Gloucester, and concentrates on their common flaw, the inability to read truth in other characters. For example, the king condemns his own daughter after he clearly misreads the truth behind her “dower,”(1.1.107) or honesty. Later, Gloucester passes judgment on his son Edgar based on a letter in which he “shall not need spectacles”(1.2.35) to read. While these two characters continue to misread people’s words, advisors around them repeatedly give hints to their misinterpretations, which pave the road for possible reconciliation. The realization of their mistakes, however, occurs after tragedy is inevitable.
Scene i: Play opens on eerie, macabre note in "an open place," where we see the three witches, the "weird sisters." In a dozen lines, they announce their evil nature by saying "Fair is foul,and foul is fair/Hover through the fog and the filthy air," and their intention to meet with Macbeth once the "hurly-burly" of a battle between the forces loyal to the King Duncan (led by Macbeth) and a rebels army (led by the current Thane of Cawdor) comes to an end. (Jump to the text of Act I, Scene i)
King Lear, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic tale of filial conflict, personal transformation, and loss. The story revolves around the King who foolishly alienates his only truly devoted daughter and realizes too late the true nature of his other two daughters. A major subplot involves the illegitimate son of Gloucester, Edmund, who plans to discredit his brother Edgar and betray their father. With these and other major characters in the play, Shakespeare clearly asserts that human nature is either entirely good, or entirely evil. Some characters experience a transformative phase, where, by some trial or ordeal, their nature is profoundly changed. We shall examine Shakespeare's stand on human nature in King Lear by looking at specific characters in the play, Cordelia who is wholly good, Edmund who is wholly evil, and Lear whose nature is transformed by the realization of his folly and his descent into madness.
"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]
“ The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” (Conrad 65) So stated Marlow as though this was his justification for ravaging the Congo in his search for ivory. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness shows the disparity between the European ideal of civilization and the reality of it as is evidenced by the domination, torture, exploitation and dehumanization of the African population. Heart of Darkness is indicative of the evil and greed in humanity as personified by Kurtz and Marlow.
One might think of a tragedy being a terrible and destructible event in one’s life that causes great pain and may contain great loss. One particular play written by William Shakespeare – one of the most well known poets in history, happens to be a tragedy-filled story. Othello, the Moor of Venice, set during the captivating renaissance era portrays a character named Othello who reveals characteristics of a tragic hero. The brilliant philosopher Aristotle from the fourth century B.C. developed his own definition and idea of what a tragic hero is. Eric Engle, author of “Aristotle, Law and Justice: The Tragic Hero,” said, Due to Aristotle’s influence, his tragic flaw has distorted western thought ever since its conception” (Engle). “The enquiry of whether Othello is a true tragic hero is debatable. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero was a protagonist who is socially superior to others, but then has a downfall due to a “tragic flaw,” typically caused by the character’s solitary weakness. Due to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, Othello possesses the qualities from his definition that fulfill the role of being a tragic hero.
Macbeth has had a numerous amount of tragedies of throughout his life: killing duncan, realizing his family line will not continue, then killing banqou but not his son, the feeling that his life is meaningless, and eventually fighting with macduff to an inevitable death. It is left to our interperetation to decide whether Macbeth is the antagonist or protagonist. While he does make some morally questionable decisions throughout his life, Macbeth does these things because in his mind they are what is needed to be done. His wife definitely has a lot to do with his mentality. Lady Macbeth will manipulate anyone to get the power she thinks she deserves. She used her husband, Macbeth, eventually dragging them both to their demise so she could be seen as a woman of high power.
There are many of great writers of our past but the one that stands out the most would have to be William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare wrote plays and other literary pieces in the late 15 hundreds and early 16 hundreds that we still read and study today. Some of his well known pieces he wrote were Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar. He wrote a wide variety of pieces being from poetry, tragedies, and even comedies. Even though William Shakespeare's writing wasn't as popular at the time, today his work is very popular and many people worldwide still look at it today. At the time William Shakespeare might not have realized what he was doing and just wrote these pieces because that was what he liked to do but what he did was impact our society into what it is today. By doing all of the amazing things William Shakespeare did in his lifetime he helped impact our society by changing our English language, inspire a very famous murder that changed the U.S. history, tell us stories, influenced other writers, and change the theatre world.