Waiting for the Barbarians: First Impressions

My impressions of the character Joll are pretty straight forward. They came early in the reading and have remained the same up to this point. He rather disgusts me, to put it simply. His ways of torture are horrifying. Torture gives him power and a sense of superiority, which he clings to. He does not seek the truth as he claims; for him, the truth exists only in what he wants to hear, only what he wants it to be. He does not listen to reason or logic, but will make barbarian his prisoner, as he showed clearly with the fishing people. He looks to praised for making progress for the Empire and for him this means capturing many barbarians and finding out the "truth" through interrogations, all of which he has already formed in his mind.

My feelings toward the Magistrate are a little more complex. He is clearly uncomfortable with Joll's methods of torture. He even tries to reason with Joll, creating an "unsound" reputation for himself. He does his best to make comfortable conditions for the barbarians and seems almost to be their voice, looking out for their interests--all of which is very admirable. It is clear that the barbarians' way of life and their history fascinates them, as is evidenced through his excavations. He recognizes them as a people. All of this is very admirable, yet I am disgusted with a part of him as well. That part being his inclination to womanizing. He appears rather narrow-minded when it comes to women, as in he can only think of one thing when he see them or thinks of them. Particularly, I am troubled with his relationship with the barbarian girl whom he takes off the streets. This was an initially kind act, but I feel that he takes it too far, and that, in a way, he is manipulating her, for lack of better words. It is this side of him that leaves me with doubts as to his character.

Word Count: 335

Heart of Darkness

- we should read Heart of Darkness for ourselves because we can come to different conclusions in different works, and by taking someone's word or interpretation without reading it ourselves, we are deprived.

- critics have called the book names such as "racist" and "sexist." if we mantain the theory or actions of "witness to a witness" as is mentioned above, then we can not read Heart of Darkness without ourselves being labeled such names.

- Heart of Darkness "invites reading as literature" in two ways: one, Conrad himself is completely displaced from the story, and two, the simile is used quite often to create layers of veils within the story that must be lifted one by one.

-Heart of Darkness is a book of irony, and interestingly enough, irony is "infinate absolute negativity." (this observation puts a whole new twist to the comments made by the critics above)

- the personification of darkness is a catachrestic prosopopoeia: darkness is given an identity despite the fact that is is more inanimate and names something that is incapable of being named. this is most commonly used in connection to the wilderness and is connected through to the Africans, each of whom acts as a representation of that wilderness.

Closure in the Sound and the Fury

An essential symbol of closure in the Sound and the Fury is the date: Easter Sunday and the fact that it is told by Dilsy. Easter is symbol of rebirth and in this case that rebirth brings closure. It is on this day that Miss Quentin runs away, and officially rids the house of any physical reminder of Caddy and her disgrace. In so doing, she brings about a new beginning. It is significant that Dilsy narrates this final section. Dilsy is the glue that holds the family together. She is the cause of hope and a symbol of faith and unconditional love, as can be clearly seen in her love and tenderness towards Miss Quentin despite Quentin's overt rudeness in return. That Dilsy is the symbol of this love coincides perfectly with Easter day. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and reminds us that he died and rose for our sins because he loves us unconditionally. Throughout this final section, Dilsy often comments on having seen the first and the last. This is also very biblical, but also can be interpreted as her having seen the departure of the first and the last of the Compson children. Dilsy is a constant presence in the Compson household and in the end she alone remains to have witnessed the whole story. 1Corinthinans 13:13 reads: "In the end there are three things that last: Faith, Hope, and Love, and the greatest of these is Love." It is interesting that Dilsy should symbolize all three things and last until the end. 

Word Count: 258