Heart of Darkness Parallels Essay Example for Free

Heart of Darkness Parallels Essay Apocalypse Now is a movie directed by Francis Coppola came out in 1979. It is set at the height of the Vietnam War. U. S. Army Captain Willard is sent on a top secret mission into the jungles of Cambodia. His mission is to seek out and destroy Colonel Kurtz, who is believed to have gone completely insane. The novel Heart of Darkness and the movie Apocalypse Now have many parallels. Both works follow the same story line but presented in completely different contexts. Even though Apocalypse Now is based upon the book, there are still many differences in themes, characters, and events. The largest of these differences is the setting and time of the two works. While watching Apocalypse Now the viewer is able to observe many scenes that are similar with the novel Heart of Darkness. One of the most apparent of these scenes is when the natives attack the men on the boats. After the attack Coppola and Conrad both use fog to show the uncertainty the characters have in regards to completing their tasks. The men in the novel begin to randomly shoot into the jungle once the attack begins. They are unable to see their attackers so they are shooting completely blind. After the attack is over a large cloud of smoke from the men’s guns floating in front of the boat. Marlow then continues to lead the men of the boat blindly up the Congo River. In Apocalypse Now after the attack by the natives, a fog also surrounds the boat. In the movie the fog is used to represents Willard’s thoughts. Captain Willard is not sure whether what he is doing is worthwhile. He has no idea what he is getting himself into; one of his men has just died without even knowing the purpose of his mission. The fog in both stories is used to represent the leader’s uncertainty of their missions. In both Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness madness is represented during the attack. In the novel the Helmsman goes crazy and in the novel Chief is the character that succumbs to madness. In Heart of Darkness when the natives attack the boat the Helmsman begins to go crazy, jumping up and down going absolutely mad during the attack, acting like a complete animal. He begins shaking his empty rifle and screaming at the men on the shore he is unable to see. In the movie, Chief begins to go mad when he realizes that not even Willard knows the location of where they are headed. When the boat is to be attacked by the natives with harmless arrows the Chief goes absolutely absurd. Screaming at the shores completely exposing himself to his attackers. A huge mistake because as soon as Chief exposes himself a spear that turns out to be deadly hits him. There are many parallels between the novel Heart of Darkness and the movie Apocalypse Now. Throughout the entire movie there are scenes that are nearly identical to the novel. During the attack seen parallels with fog and madness can be seen in both Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness.

The Use of Alcohol Should be Banned for all State University Undergradu

The Use of Alcohol Should be Banned for all State University Undergraduate Students "According to the Core Institute, an organization that surveys college drinking practices, 300,000 of today's college students will eventually die of alcohol-related causes such as drunk driving accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, various cancers and heart disease" (Phoenix House). All around the State campus, at frat parties, in black-light-lit dorm rooms, and even at casual social gatherings, alcohol can be found in abundance. Despite the many downsides to alcohol use, college students as a whole maintain a very casual attitude toward drinking. I believe that drinking causes many more problems than it is worth to anyone, which is why I propose that the use of alcohol should be banned for all State University undergraduate students. Granted, alcohol has a very strong and important historical and cultural background. "Babylonians were brewing beer, which they considered a gift from the gods, in 5000 B.C" (Hoechsmann). Indeed, it is said that Noah stocked the Ark with beer. Furthermore, wine is mentioned in the Bible about 165 times, and it plays an important role in Christian religious traditions. During church communion, Christians eat bread and drink wine to memorialize the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their sins. At weddings, the English custom of toasting the bride gave us the modern word bridal (Hoechsmann). Throughout history, alcohol in its various forms has been used for a multitude of rituals; to many people, banning alcohol would be denying them their cultural heritage. Many people — both drinkers and non-drinkers — will argue that alcohol has advantages. Some of the effects of alcohol that are generally seen as positive are gi... ...k." Alcohol Culture. 2000. http://www.drinksmart.org/more.html (7 Nov. 2000). Iowa State University. "Sexual Assault Resources and Information." 2000. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mswc/sexual_assault.html (8 Nov. 2000). Iowa State University. "Tuition and Fees." 21 Aug. 2000. http://www.iastate.edu/~registrar/fees/ (7 Nov. 2000). Phoenix House Foundation. "Facts on Tap." 2000. http://www.factsontap.org/ (5 Nov. 2000). SAMHSA. "Children of Alcoholics: Important Facts." 2000. http://www.health.org/nongovpubs/coafacts/ (8 Nov. 2000). Shyness Clinic. "The Problem." 1998. http://www.shyclinic.com/ (6 Nov. 2000). Soolsc. "Facts and Statistics." Drinking: A Student’s Guide. http://www.glness.com/ndhs/stats.html (6 Nov. 2000). ThinkQuest. "The Problem." Driving Under the Influence. 1998. http://library.thinkquest.org/23713/frameset.html (8 Nov. 2000).

The Medieval Civilization

The greater part of medieval civilization was a time of simplicity and little cultural development. Feudalism was the structure that governed medieval society and came to represent this time period. The church became the universal symbol of medieval unity. Toward the end of the medieval period, however, town life and large-scale trade and commerce were revived. Great changes took place in the church fostering a new era and change. Feudalism was a system of government that provided the structure for the political, social, and economic aspects of medieval civilization. It consisted of contracts between members of the nobility and less powerful nobles who served as their vassals. Economically it was a contract between the serfs who farmed that land and the nobles who owned it. Feudalism was very complex and confusing in some ways, but it could also be looked at as very simple. It was constructed in a pyramid or chess board-like form. Kings were at the top although they did not have much power, lords and vassals followed the king and had control of the lesser nobles. The serfs were at the base of the pyramid. A manor, otherwise known as the lord†s estate, was where everyone lived and worked. In exchange for a place to live, food, and mainly protection, the serfs farmed the land. Agriculture was the foundation of feudalism, where land and food was used to barter for other items. There were different taxes and positions of distinct people on the manor. This illustrates the complexity of feudal life during the medieval ages. If you look at it as what the duties were of each specific class you see the simplicity of feudalism. Each member of medieval society had its own particular tasks to perform. The serfs preformed the most labor-intensive tasks and often did the same thing everyday. The knights protected the manor and the lords were responsible for taking care of everyone on their manor. The feudal system could be compared to a modern corporation. The serfs could be looked at as the workers, the lords as management, the knights to the security, and the king would be the CEO of the company. Feudalism was complex in its organization and simple it its implementation. During most of the medieval time period the church was the center of society and was the law of the land. The church regulated business practices, had the power to tax, controlled all people through the power of excommunication and had influence on the aesthetic aspects of life. The church exemplified both the simplicity and complexity of medieval life. Monks led a very simple life. Their days were spent working hard, studying, and praying. The church wanted to make life simpler by standardizing the rite, calendar, and monastic rule. It was more complex then simple however. The church held a great deal of power that was often in conflict with the monarch. The head of the church, the pope, spent much of his time in Rome while attempting to govern the rest of Europe. It was difficult to govern such a large geographical area while residing in a city that was not centrally located. In A. D. 1377, Pope Gregory XI left Avignon and returned to Rome. This was known as the great schism and it developed great entanglement in the popes† standing in medieval society. The crusades, while increasing the status of the pope, also increased the power of the monarchs over the nobles. Feudalism was broken down and the power the church was illustrated in the crusades. Certain aspects of the church tried to simplify life while other things only made it more complex. Population growth contributed to the migration of people from the manor to the town, which was the base of complexity in the later stage of the Middle Ages. A self-sufficient manor sometimes was the beginning of a town where people came to form a complex web of commerce and trade. Products were bought with money rather then used to barter for other necessities such as in the earlier stage of the Middle Ages. As the towns grew the people became dissatisfied with being ruled by the nobles and church. They wanted to govern and tax themselves, and eventually they began to do these things without the consent of the church or nobles. To better protect themselves the townspeople often joined together with people from other towns to form leagues. These leagues would band together to protect one another and promote trade. The people organized themselves even further with forming merchant and craft guilds. The guilds controlled the making and sale of particular products. Feudal lords as well as the church was concerned with the formation of towns. Townspeople were able to increase their wealth through the sale and manufacturing of goods, while the lords only produced what was needed for their manor. The serfs began to move away from the manor because they realized that they could have a better life if they lived in the towns. By forming autonomous towns, people created complex relationships between themselves and the monarchs and churches. This was the development of a more complex form of economic subsistence known as capitalism. Medieval civilization was a time of change in many different ways, both simple and complex. Feudalism was organized in a quite clear way yet the structure in which it was carried out and the roles played in it were confusing. The church†s power was very perplexing in that it had the power to run the government and economy. The way that the church wanted to standardize certain things was easy to understand. Towns were complex in their organization and in the way they divided the power among the common people and the nobles and church. Medieval society that was once based on faith became rooted in scholasticism. Many new ideas brought up through the medieval civilization forced the society to be both simple and complex in many aspects.

Innate Knowledge and Death - 1744 Words

Tapping into innate knowledge is a mystery that has baffled generations of learned men and women denying them the ability to state for certain and true that knowledge is liken unto a shared casserole at a family or company picnic; that everyone can reach within and draw forth the realization of corporeal understanding from the resources of disembodied knowledge and make the same their own. According to the Advanced English Dictionary, knowledge is â€Å"the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning†, while the psyche is â€Å"that which is responsible for ones thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason†, finally episteme is â€Å"the body of ideas that determine the knowledge that is intellectually certain at any†¦show more content†¦But we shall not understand the truth of the matter until, before asking how men get virtue†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Meno 100b). Virtue is not taught, it is a gift of the gods upon the creation of man, when man was given a soul; man is born and then he dies, what matters most is what he has done between the two with the knowledge he has recollected. Peacefully Facing the Grim Reaper Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. Its the transition thats troublesome.--Isaac Asimov Death is the most beautiful adventure in life. --Charles Frohman Is death the last sleep? No--it is the last and final awakening. --Sir Walter Scott Birth and Death are the two noblest expressions of bravery. --Kahlil Gibran I only remember two kisses - the first and the last. The first, with my love and the last, with death. The first brought happiness and the last relief! --Srijit Prabhakaran Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, Did you bring joy? The second was, Did you find joy? --Leo Buscaglia â€Å"Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back.† ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations â€Å"There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.† ― George Santayana â€Å"Who would endure life if it were not for the hope of death?† ― L.M. Montgomery, The Blue Castle â€Å"Death is theShow MoreRelatedRene Descartes s Philosophy And The Science Of Philosophy1114 Words   |  5 PagesLocke as a philosopher it is vital to examine his religious background. He laid much of the groundwork for the Enlightenment and made central contributions to the development of liberalism as stated by History.com. To Locke, knowledge was not the discovery of anything either innate or outside of the individual, but simply the acclamation of facts derived from sensory experience. 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