Heavy Versus Light Reading: The Decipherment of Literary and Non-Literary Texts
In attempting to discriminate between the nature of a "literary" text and a "non-literary" text, a metaphor from Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being comes to mind. Especially in considering this same novel in contrast with a novel such as Danielle Steele's Vanished, the idea of lightness versus heaviness presents itself, and with it, a new way of approaching the decipherment of any high/low dichotomy of "literariness". When the "literary" text is imagined as "heavy" and the "non-literary" as "light", an interesting illumination is cast upon the scene, and parallels emerge alongside ideas originally presented in the writings of A. Easthope and Wolfgang Iser.
In the novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Kundera (in writing a "weighty" novel himself), presents a distinction between the light and the heavy. The lightness of human existence resides in the idea of a life being lived only once - decisions being made only once. The singularity of such an existence seems to render it "unbearably light", or insignificant. An existence which is eternally repeated has, on the contrary, more "weight" to it in its substantive inexhaustibility. There is a seemingly infinite array of different possible choices to be made - multiple paths which could be followed. This "plural" brand of existence seems to carry more significance in its "heaviness".
Easthope, in Literary into Cultural Studies, suggests that a high cultural ("literary") text such as Heart of Darkness (or The Unbearable Lightness of Being) possesses certain characteristics whose antitheses are found in a popular ("non-literary") text such as Tarzan (or a novel like Vanished)....
... middle of paper ...
...eaning. Repetition of this kind of heavy reading of a light, insubstantial text, is no more than the repetition of a particular existence - the same life and the same death each time. A reader has one choice to make in experiencing the "non-literary" work: to either read it once (to experience the set lifetime once), or to read it multiple times (to become reincarnated into the same body and destiny time after time). This could very well be the reason that a text which is considered to be "literary" is indeed thought of as better or more fulfilling than a "non-literary" text. It is the "literary" text with all of its afore-mentioned characteristics which makes possible the "reincarnation" of the reader - which carries the potential for a reader to enjoy countless different experiences of lightness, no longer unbearable in such lightness, because of their plurality.
President Clinton and President Nixon both associated themselves with criminal actions. Both the presidents misled the American public, causing personal as well as professional problems. For instance, President Clinton released a false statement about his affair with Monika Lewinsky, causing a lengthy and costly trial, and greatly affecting his presidential career. Also, President Nixon caused a scandal associated with Watergate, which ended up with his leaving the office. Even though they caused trouble for themselves and others around them, Clinton and Nixon did influence the American economy to a great degree. Clinton practically saved the economy and lowered the US inflation rate, through gradual and advocated plans of reform. Moreover, Nixon was the first to go into China territory for negotiations. Ultimately, they have attracted the media with their antics, making themselves? targets of controversy and embarrassment. In fact, President Clinton and Nixon have become the subjects of public mockery and have been an embarrassment to the American people in the office of the President. Moreover, both men have been involved in humiliating situations.
Roberts, Edgar V., Jacobs, Henry E. “Literature.” The Lesson. 470-475. Toni Cade Bambara. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. 2001
The realism movement of the late nineteenth century produced works in literature that were marked by reduced sentimentality and increased objectivity. The goal was to let details tell the story, and remove noticeable bias of the author through scientific and detailed descriptions. While this form of storytelling undoubtedly is most accurate, it creates difficulties for authors to incorporate their themes into the story. This resulted in an increase in symbolism in realist works. The objects and descriptions within the story are the author’s vehicle for displaying the values and themes of the work. Light and darkness are symbols commonly used in literature, and have held specific symbolic meanings for hundreds of years. Simply stated, light commonly symbolizes good, while darkness symbolizes its antithesis - evil. (Cooper) For centuries light vs. dark has been quite possibly the most common symbol in all literature. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses detail to create a feeling that transcends the literal text - most notably through his use of light and dark and the inversion of their traditional meanings. The end goal of this inversion is the establishment of the theme that not everything is as it seems. More specifically, Conrad uses detailed imagery of light and dark to show often times white men can be more savage than the natives.
The novel Heart of Darkness features several influential themes that elicit a plethora of emotions in readers. However, there is one particular theme that is displayed predominantly throughout the entire book. The author of this novel, Joseph Conrad, features this theme by using different literary devices. In Conrad's novel, he uses the literary elements of symbolism, figurative language, and Biblical allusions to demonstrate the theme of human depravity when removed from civilization.
In many ways “Heart of Darkness” was a provisional novel between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Later on many of them were taken it as an adventure novel and started stage performances all over the world. The idea of a horror so terrible it could not be named was a nineteenth century mentality, as was the idea of anthropophagy as an extraordinary horror. The book was meanings as a lead in to the twentieth century for a number of reasons. One of the most important aspects was tied to twentieth-century susceptibilities as the sense of cultural belief, awareness of the irrational and of the insensible mind.
Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, was raised in a farmhouse in Yorba Linda, California. Born January 9th, 1913. He was raised in a Quaker family that ran a lemon farm. After moving to Whittier, Nixon attended Whittier High School, and showed himself to be an excellent student. He excelled in history and civics. After completing high school Nixon was offered opportunities to apply for scholarships at institutions such as Harvard and Yale, but decided to attend a small Quaker college, Whittier College, and be closer to home. After losing his second brother Nixon was said to have thrown himself into his studies as if “compensating for his brother’s death.” (Peterson, 2005, p. 1). Nixon graduated Whittier College second in his class. He then received a scholarship to Duke University School of Law. While living there he lived a very basic life, staying in small rented rooms and showering in the men’s room. He finished at Duke third in a class of 44 in 1937. In December 1941 Nixon took a job at the Office of Price Administration working in the tire rationing division, he choose this job because it put him in Washington and gave him a great opportunity to learn about the government. After working, disappointedly, in this job he decided to join the Navy saying he felt obligated to serve his country. Nixon’s parents did not approve of his decision due to their beliefs as Quakers. When discharged from the Navy in 1946 Nixon decided to run for political office in California. This is where Nixon got his start in the world of politics. Nixon’s childhood shows that he was a good, selfless, hardworking man...
Because passive euthanasia is accepted by the American Medical Association in cases where it is clear the patient has no reasonable hope of living without the aid of a machine, passive euthanasia is not as controversial as active euthanasia. This paper will focus on the controversial morality issues regarding active voluntary or involuntary euthanasia, the ending of a persons life by lethal injection with or without the patients consent. Unless oth...
Reading is a complex process that’s difficult to explain linearly. A student’s reading capabilities begin development long before entering the school setting and largely start with exposure (Solley, 2014). The first remnants of what children are able to do in terms of reading are built from their parents and other people and object around them as they’re read to, spoken to, and taken from place to place to see new things (Solley, 2014). As kids are exposed to more and more their noises quickly turn into intentional comprehensible messages and their scribbling begins to take the form of legible text as they attempt to mimic the language(s) they’re exposed to daily.
Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Lover's Story. Trans. Henry Michael Hiem. New York: Harper, 1984.
Humphry, Derek. “Euthanasia is Ethical.” Euthanasia. Ed. Carol Wekesser. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1995. 17-20. Print. Opposing Viewpoints.
Keown, John. Euthanasia, Ethics, and Public Policy: An Argument against Legislation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.
Beckoning readers closer, the gloomy foreboding of a mysterious darkness has typically been indicative of an antagonist or a horror that is to follow, and the glory of a shining light has signified a positive connotation. The pair is often utilized to express an author’s ideas and theme and Joseph Conrad uses the two paradigms liberally in his interpretation of European colonialism in Heart of Darkness. While Conrad employs the typical binary of light and darkness as positive and negative forces, respectively, he also challenges this notion by exposing the contradictions of misdeeds done in light and the portrayal of darkness as a sanctuary.
It is the authors’ intention to argue that some forms of euthanasia, to be exact, passive nonvoluntary and in exceptionally rare cases indirect euthanasia are morally permissible. However it must be noted that due to the limit of words and more importantly the authors’ lack of experience surrounding euthanasia, the claim of permissibility reflects that of the authors’ recent course readings and my emergent experience thereof. In addition to this it must also be noted that euthanasia cannot be evaluated exclusively. That euthanasia unquestionably is connected with the very questions that endeavor to understand life and death. My arguments descend from articles written by authors such as; Rachel’s, Steinbock, Beauchamp and Foot.
In literature, contrasting places are used by certain authors as a way of representing opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. We see this used in the novella “Heart Of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad as he applies the jungles of Africa and Europe to develop the concept of civilization and the heart of darkness respectively. However many critics such as Chinua Achebe and Karin Hannson believe that Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a racist work displaying the mistreatment of African natives being below Marlow and Kurtz.In "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad 's Heart of Darkness," Chinua Achebe criticizes Joseph Conrad for his racist stereotypes towards the continent and people of Africa. Despite this, Conrad
The "Heart of Darkness," written by Joseph Conrad in 1899 as a short story, is about two men who face their own identities as what they consider to be civilized Europeans and the struggle to not to abandon their themselves and their morality once they venture into the "darkness." The use of "darkness" is in the book's title and in throughout the story and takes on a number of meanings that are not easily understood until the story progresses. As you read the story you realize that the meaning of "darkness" is not something that is constant but changes depending on the context it used.