Thursday, November 23, 2017
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjuz̪ɛf ˌkɔn.rad]; born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Polish-British writer[1] regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language.[2] He joined the British merchant marine in 1878, and was granted British citizenship in 1886. Though he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he was a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature.[note 1] He wrote stories and novels, many with a nautical setting, that depict trials of the human spirit in the midst of an impassive, inscrutable universe.[note 2]
Conrad is considered an early modernist, though his works still contain elements of 19th-century realism.[3] His narrative style and anti-heroic characters[4] have influenced many authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald,[5] William Faulkner,[5] Ernest Hemingway,[6] André Malraux,[7] George Orwell,[8]:254 Graham Greene,[5] Gabriel García Márquez,[5]John le Carré,[5] V. S. Naipaul,[5] Philip Roth,[9] J. M. Coetzee,[5] and Salman Rushdie.[10] Many films have been adapted from, or inspired by, Conrad's works.
Writing in the heyday of the British Empire, Conrad drew on, among other things, his native Poland's national experiences[note 3] and his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European-dominated world—including imperialism and colonialism—and that profoundly explore the human psyche.
Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa, by the story's narrator Charles Marlow.[1] Marlow tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames, London, England. This setting provides the frame for Marlow's story of his obsession with the ivory trader Kurtz, which enables Conrad to create a parallel between London and Africa as places of darkness.[2]
Central to Conrad's work is the idea that there is little difference between so-called civilised people and those described as savages; Heart of Darkness raises questions about imperialism and racism.[3]
Originally issued as a three-part serial story in Blackwood's Magazine to celebrate the thousandth edition of the magazine,[4] Heart of Darkness has been widely re-published and translated into many languages. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Heart of Darkness sixty-seventh on their list of the hundred best novels in English of the twentieth century.]
Monday, November 20, 2017
The Courage to Think for Yourself
This book was written with the purpose of proclaiming the duty of each individual to search for truth and the meaning of existence. The twentieth century produced such monsters as Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot who revealed the deadly drive of people who blindly followed these tyrants. Ignorance, passivity, and sheepish readiness to sell one’s life into the hands of self-made political “saviors” have created the sad reality of our times. Our world today is characterized by a growing cult of political power. There is an almost complete neglect of the individual person and of moral values in general. We should always remember that those who neglect reflection sentence themselves to repeat the same catastrophes and mistakes. Thinking requires determination and endurance. It is not easy. It demands courage to question the most fundamental convictions that may be accepted by others without any reflection or evaluation. Thinking requires courage because it involves a certain risk and may lead to unexpected conclusions. Above all, passion for truth is necessary for every honest seeker. The Socratic saying, “an unexamined life is not worth living,” is as true today as it ever was before.
Why Do Christians Get White Stones in Heaven?
Why Do Christians Get White Stones in Heaven?: Picture the scene: you’ve just arrived in heaven, after probably passing through purgatory. Tradition tells us that you are then invited to the beatific vision. The Book of Revelation adds some details to this, listing some of the things you will receive in heaven. They include the ‘hidden manna,’ a victory crown, and fruit of …
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