Analysis of a Literary Work
This paper, submitted in a first-year composition class, represents a more academic form of analysis than that seen in the prior sample papers. It focuses on a written text and a more abstract set of ideas. Thus the language is more abstract. The sentence structure, too, may strike you as heavier, more static. That's fine. At this stage in his development, the student writer is wrestling with a less familiar mode of communication: though showing an over-fondness for the semi-colon, he is stretching linguistically.
What is notable about the style is that it still shows signs of moving toward the energetic expression of the previous sample essays. Personal voice and stylistic self-consciousness poke through in phrasing (e.g., "stunning final words," "wretched life," "murky incandescence," "final, flickering encounter"), in imagery ("preyed on his lifeblood," "dark veil has finally been lifted"), in parallelism (e.g., the second last sentence of the paper).
The author also chooses quotations to good stylistic effect: they, too, are image- and energy-laden.
As in the previous paper, the organization here is solid:
- The introduction tells us clearly what the paper will be about and also suggests the topic's more general significance.
- The openings of the body paragraphs move us skillfully along, orienting us to the paper's developing logic.
- The author weaves quotations in deftly and appropriately.
- The conclusion pulls the paper together and leaves us with a feeling of wholeness.
One stylistic suggestion for this writer would be to vary the paragraph lengths.
Realization through Horror: Conrad's View
We are never completely fulfilled as human beings until we come upon important realizations that explain and justify the actions we take in our lifetime. We are always searching for answers, hoping that one day we may understand the basis for our very existence. In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Kurtz reaches an important realization upon his deathbed, which is heard, interpreted, and held sacred by Marlow. Marlow, who is likewise searching for meaning, takes these stunning final words and molds them so that they have direct pertinence to his own life. As a result, Marlow undergoes a mental transfiguration from words that will haunt him for the rest of his life: "The horror, the horror (147)"
As Marlow sees it, "the horror" is a reevaluation of Kurtz's final years spent in damnation. It is a judgement and summation: a "supreme moment of complete knowledge" (147) in which Kurtz painfully looks back at all of the atrocities that he has witnessed and committed. Kurtz realizes that he has shunned the moral foundations of ordered society in order to establish a savage, pre-modern order where there are no parameters by which to live. He has become a victim of the dark new world, while he is simultaneously victorious; he is doomed to live as a part of the dark forest forever, while he brutally and excitedly takes advantage of its richness. Kurtz's realization of this savagery is the most crucial point in his life. His whole life has served its purpose; it has led him to understand the injustices he has seen and done.
Marlow gains reverence for this realization; he respects it because it is a triumphant admittance of a good soul gone astray. Through his realization, Kurtz has come full circle and has actually risen above his former place in ordered society. He is no longer savage; he now has "a soul as translucently pure as a cliff of crystal" (149). Furthermore, Marlow has actually witnessed many of these atrocities himself, which contributes to his increased understanding. He has seen the natives incarcerated and transformed into helpless slaves for the European imperialists. He has witnessed the death of his own helmsman, which is an image that is ingrained into his mind for his lifetime. Most importantly, Kurtz himself is an integral part of the horrific memory; he is at the core of Marlow's entire experience, consolidating all of these horrors into one complete horror. Marlow has seen "horror", and he can relate to its effect on others. He becomes irritated with people who cannot perceive what he is feeling: "...I felt so sure they could not possibly know the things I knew" (149. For Marlow, the horrors are real and tangible; he understands Kurtz's statement because he has seen examples of the same types of horrors.
But Kurtz's final statement means much more to Marlow; he sees it as an evaluation of society as well as Kurtz' own soul. For Marlow, Kurtz is a perfect representation of society gone mad with a gluttonous greed for power and wealth. This concept is first exemplified when Marlow states: "All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz" (122). Put simply, Kurtz is Western society. Kurtz embodies the corrupt imperialism of Europe; he has stepped over the tempting edge of complete power and cannot be rescued. But the difference between Kurtz and society offers hope to Marlow; Kurtz recognizes the disgraceful nature of his actions whereas society has yet to even acknowledge its own injustices. Kurtz realizes the "horrors" that he has done when he utters his final words; society continues its vicious practice of imperialistic exploitation and incarceration without even a hint of conversion to less barbaric methods. Marlow develops a profound respect for Kurtz because he has the confidence to openly evaluate his wretched life, even if it is summed up in just one short phrase.
Kurtz also becomes respectful and even appreciative of Marlow who, in more ways than one, has become Kurtz's savior. Although Kurtz doesn't openly communicate it, he knows that Marlow has rescued him from a death in the forest that has preyed on his lifeblood; Marlow has preserved Kurtz's dignity at the risk of his own life. Marlow and Kurtz develop an extraordinary symbiotic relationship launched from this mutual respect. Kurtz entrusts Marlow with his dearest possessions, knowing that it will be Marlow's duty to give them to the proper people after Kurtz's death. Kurtz also entrusts to Marlow the most important a life of living in "an impenetrable darkness" (149), the dark veil has finally been lifted. Marlow understands and appreciates this realization, and he now must keep it and learn from it. Marlow feels that it is his duty to Kurtz to maintain his respectable image before the public, while fostering Kurtz's important realization as a lesson within himself.
Marlow doesn't only grow to respect Kurtz's realization, he actually harnesses it and lets it run in his own life. Upon his return to Europe, Marlow could see more easily the darkness and horrific nature in our own lives; our society is a "a shackled form of a conquered monster" (105). He sees the irony in the supposed civility of European society: "Here you all are, each moored with two good addresses, like a hulk with two anchors" (120). Marlow realizes that there is one important difference between himself and Kurtz: "he had made that last stride, while I was permitted to draw back my hesitating foot" (149). While Kurtz had gone too far in reverting to savage ways, Marlow has learned an important lesson that he will carry with him for the rest of his life. For Marlow, Kurtz' words are words to live by; they are an evaluation and a warning. In gratitude for this lesson, Marlow keeps Kurtz's words forever dear and sacred. In short, Marlow feels that Kurtz is a part of himself and possibly all of humanity. Kurtz had seen horrors that only Marlow would ever understand and profit from.
For the final years of his life, Kurtz had been chained to a greedy lust for power in one of the darkest reaches in the world. His final words are a final analysis and a release from the transient stage of darkness. As Kurtz lies "in the dark waiting for death" (147), he is illuminated only by the murky incandescence of Marlow's candle, which offers Marlow a final, flickering encounter with Kurtz. Kurtz makes his life whole in one last minute; he makes the realization that would liberate him from the world of darkness. From out of the darkness comes Kurtz's minute of realization; from out of the darkness comes Kurtz. In realizing the importance of Kurtz's last words, Marlow has learned an important lesson that has kept him from going over the edge, and that lesson will remain with him for the rest of his life.
--Jay Underwood