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Contrasting Elements

#44: Feb. - Mar. 2008 (Fiction)
teacherlady
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Contrasting Elements

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"Heart" and "Darkness" seem to me to be contrasting elements or symbols with contrasting interpretations. What other co-existing elements do you see that are in conflict with each other? What purpose might they have?
Evan
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Re: Contrasting Elements

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"Everything belonged to him-But that was a trifle. The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own."
----Page 126

It probably comes across as overly simplistic, but two contrasting elements I found are compassion and...well...lack of compassion. Marlow himself, though he occasionally comes across as condescending (using the word "savage" a lot) still feels an exceptional degree of concern for the atrocities he witnesses. Other characters, particularly Kurtz, are manipulative and apparently have no compassion whatsoever. What they overlook is the human element: That to attain control and impose order, a megalomaniac must make other individuals suffer.

Many of history's problems have originated from lack of compassion. Wars are caused by pride, lack of understanding, universal hatred, but more than anything a lack of compassion and failure to realize the parallels that exist between all nations, between all human socities. Thus, even though the theme of compassion if very simplistic, it still ties greatly to the world at large.
xmagickk
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Re: Contrasting Elements

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I'm not sure if this would be considered to be an element, but in my view, the river and Africa in general are contrasting elements of each other. Africa was known to be the Heart of Darkness, a place which has contained much chaos and tragedy. On the other hand, the river seemed to symbolize peace and quiet.

In my opinion, its quite ironic how the river was inside Africa. To me, this shows that in all hearts(even the ones that seem to be pure darkness), a part of it is always peaceful and innocent.
jelee
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Re: Contrasting Elements

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I agree with Evan, two very radical contrasting elements are the care and and lack of caring for the Africans. Marlow may not directly care, but it is narrated that he shows much more interest in them. As for Kurtz and other high powered characters, such as the ones that sent Marlow there in the first place have showed little to no care for them whatsoever.
vichan10

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Two contrasting elements/symbols could be the continuous river and Marlow's gaining knowledge of Africa. The deeper he goes into the river, the more he gains.. and the darker it seems to get. I think that they rely on one another to progress in the story, otherwise the story is standstill, like when Marlow's boat broke and they had to wait for rivets. -Virginia 1st period
JeLam
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Re: Contrasting Elements

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I'm not quite sure if this is the thread to the literary elements homework, but I sure hope it is.

The members on the boat are significant in their own little way, and while they are a necessity, I feel like they hold each other back. As discussed in class, one might symbolize the human mind, where the id, ego, and superego live. The "others" are cannibals who the whites look down on when given rotten meat. They are the heart of Africa, the main inhabitants of the land. However, they are also the darkest part of the continent, for they are seen as savages. It all depends on whose eyes you're looking through.
kapeterson
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Re: Contrasting Elements

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Two contrasting elements I found are light and darkness. When Marlow discovers Kurtz, he is greeted by a colorful character. This kind of shocking brightness in a tale of such extreme darkness can lead the reader to believe the light could actually foreshadow something much darker. The 'harlequin' character could serve as a shock absorber, to distract the reader from the strange condition in which they find Kurtz. Earlier in the book, the clean, polished official acted as the light to distract from the despicable treatment of the Africans.
jotang2
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Re: Contrasting Elements

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Stagnancy vs. Progression
Marlow's journey into the African Congo reflects his mindset of progress, moving forward and coming closer to his achievements, yet certain obstacles prevent his movement and leave him in a standstill. The river should be a propelling element, pushing Marlow closer to Kurtz, but unexpected troubles occur on this river. He had to wait three months for the rivets to fix his boat, and he ran into an ambush, where his helmsman had died of a spear attack. Although this river is pushes Marlow to Kurtz, it also provides the stop signs and red lights that prohibits Marlow from proceeding with his journey. Perhaps these occurrences are warning signs for Marlow?
nomtiff
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Re: Contrasting Elements

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For me, I feel like the life and death are contrasting elements in HOD. The river is like a dark matter to me. It's a place of death so I feel like after people fall in or get thrown or pushed into the river they enter a different world, the underworld. Then the people are just doing what they do, living and being happy and whatnot. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the death and life are contrasting elements because the river represents death and people are just filled with life and hope.
-Tiffany 1st period
kachan15
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Re: Contrasting Elements

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As I learn about Kurtz more and more, the two contrasting elements i found are hollowness and completeness. It seems to me that on the outside Kurtz seems to have everything; his ivory, his station, his river... etc, but his true self is hollow and insatiable. He constantly hunts for ivory to give him a sense of completeness, belonging and power over the people he takes it from. In truth, he is just searching for something to fill the void in him, he wants to stop but he has come too far to turn back. In the end, he commits the actions that contrasts his desires and is swallowed by darkness as he strays away from his true heart.

- Katherine Chan 1st period
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