Complicated Relationships

My mother has always told me relationships are hard. I never believed that, when I was younger it seemed pretty easy to relate with people. You would hang out with someone if you had fun with him or her and supposedly all your family loves you and is there to help you. As I grew older I realized my mother was right. And I figured out that relationships are hard because people are complicated. When I was in seventh grade I had my first big fight with my best friend. We tried to fix it but neither of us ever got the bottom of the problem and I think she still has some resentment today, 4 years later. We tend to over react and make our self he victim no matter and the situation. With my family things happened differently. My mother has two brothers and one sister and I could have sworn they had a great relationship until I came home and found my mother crying. I´m not going to tell all the details but the main pint is that relationships are hard and learning to cope with people is also hard.

In chapter two of Song of Solomon Morrison continues to talk about the Dead family. We learned in chapter one that Macon Dead Jr. is a complicated man. He hates his wife and is obsessed with money. From these two chapters we can assume that the novel is going to include various situations where relationships are important. In my opinion they define the characters. Morrison never states a clear reason for the hatred that Macon feels towards his wife. Knowing what we know about him, he may feel that because of complex of inferiority. He finally gained power and was able to “approach the most important Negro in the city” (22). Although he overcame his difficulty he did not like the idea that his wife was, in a way, better than him.

I can´t really say anything about the relationship with his daughters yet. But further into the chapter Morrison describes a father-son moment. Milkman had spent a whole afternoon in his aunt’s house even though his father does not permit it. When he found out he claims to his why he went and they get into a discussion, Milkman states that he feels “like a twelve-year old baby”(50). He asked his father if he was treated that way when his twelve and immediately Macon has a flashback to his youth and tells Milkman a story. “Macon paused and let a smile come on. He had not said any of this in many years.” (51). His son listens with attention because his father had never shared anything like that with him. “His voice sounded different to Milkman. Less hard, and his speech was different” (52). With this conversation, Morrison reveals a change in their relationship. We could se Macon softening a little bit. As he remembered what his childhood was like and how much he admired his father he wanted his son to feel that way about him. There may be some things he regret and does not want to make the same mistakes. He even tells his son that he´ll teach him to “own himself and other people too” (55). Macon becomes a little less complicated.

Out Of The Ordinary

Book titles often call my attention. Every time I’m going to start a new book I make a picture in my head of what the book can be about based on its title. Most of the times I’m wrong, still I enjoying doing it because titles fascinate me. When I read the title of my new book: Song of Solomon nothing came to head. I was blank. So the only thing left to do was read.

After 40 minutes more or less I was done with the first thirty pages. And, unlike before there was a whole lot going through my head. Toni Morrison starts her novel with a note. A note left by the insurance agent and it said: "At 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday the 18th of February 1931, I will take off from Mercy and fly away on my own wings” (3). Already this makes the novel interesting. Why would Mr. Smith want to commit suicide? Was he trying to prove a point or was he just desperate with his life? My thoughts are that he was desperate and could not take it anymore because “none of them (people) suspected he had in it him” (9).

After Mr. Smith´s episode occurred, Morrison starts describing the family of a doctor. It was said that his wife and daughters lived a peaceful life but “it was not peaceful, for it was preceded by and would soon be terminated by the presence of Macon Dead” (10). We can guess then, that he is a complicated man because the family doesn’t enjoy his presence. Due to this we see his wife Ruth as a struggling character. Her husband feels hatred towards her and she can´t do anything but find comfort in a watermark. “Like a lighthouse keeper draw to his window to gaze once again at the sea” (11). It was something that made her feel secure and gave her tranquility because somehow she knew it was hers. Another thing that helped her escape from harsh reality was breastfeeding her son. He was old enough for that still, “she felt him. His restraint, his courtesy, his indifference, all of which pushed her into fantasy” (13).

Characters and their names are unique in the novel. Morrison portrays each of them with they struggle that they have. Macon hates his family and it addicted to wealth. Ruth struggles because of her husband. Pilate his sister has a name that makes allusion to the bible. And she struggles with the fact that she lost her mother and her life is a mess, “she had no electricity because she would not pay for the service” (27).

Up to know the description of the family and the individual characters give clues that the novel is going to be about struggles. It is placed in a time where racisms was present reinforcing the suffering that the characters may have. I will continue reading to see what happens with all of them but definitely my first impression of the novel is that it´s out of the ordinary.

The "Dark Continent"

I am almost sure that if you ask anyone what happened in World War II they know at least about the Nazis. Events like that one that create such a big impact are often remembered. By reading Joseph Conrad´s Heart of Darkness and Adam Hochschild´s King Leopold´s Ghost I realized that the Congo suffered from European imperialism but it´s not really known. Hochschild narrates the exploitation of the Congo when King Leopold was its ruler. It focuses on African slavery. Although this country already had slavery it was “more flexible and benign than the system Europeans would soon establish in the New World”. (Prologue)

In a different way Conrad reveals the same truth. Through Kurtz and Marlow he shows how the natives behaved with the Europeans and how the exploitation of ivory took place. Many people have this squared vision of Africa. They think it is the place and the uncivilized and a lower race that has always been oppressed by people that are superior to them. After reading these two texts I thought of a movie I had seen a long time ago: Blood Diamond. It shows how the country was tearing apart by the international abuse to get diamonds. The situation is different from the ones of the text but still they relate. The three of them manage to show in a different way that Africa throughout history has exploited, its people and natural resources.

King Leopold’s Ghost has a different approach on the topic because it narrates something that actually happened. While Heart of Darkness narrates a story that gives a picture of Congo and what was happening. Instead of taking a side, both texts expose a situation. In neither of them do you feel that the author is defending Africa nor Europe. It is inevitable to show how the whites mistreated the black, it is part of what happened. In a way, I would say the texts have a way to balance each other. One of them gives the reader detail and more facts on the topic while the other allows the reader to get into the situation. They both portray Africa as a mystery and they want to discover what they have. Once they people manage to do that they take advantage and use what it has in their benefits. in neither texts do they show compassion for the mysterious continent and they should not. Both texts are trying to expose and truth and should do it exactly like it is. The main point is this: “for Europeans Africa, remained the supplier of valuable raw material-human bodies and elephants tusks. But otherwise they saw the continent as a faceless, black, empty, a place on the map waiting to be explored”. I think they were intimidated by the “Dark Continent” but to their advantage knew how to conquer it.

I Wonder

Richard Holmes narrates the voyage of Captain James Cook and Joseph Banks to the island of Tahiti. Their journey is an exploratory voyage where they are able to appreciate the natives that live in the island. “This voyage may count as one of the earliest distinctive exploits of romantic science, not least because it involved a long stay in the beautiful but ambiguous version of paradise-Otaheite or the South Pacific island of Tahiti”. (prologue) I wanted to understand what romantic science was and by reading chapter one I realized it was finding answers in nature and understand the human life.

Banks and Cooks got to the island and they started to explore it. Most of what is narrated is Banks experiences that he recorded in his journal. As time passed Banks got more accustomed to the island and related with the natives. He found their life style fascinating. In The Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad describes a similar situation. His character Charlie Marlow narrates his own story about his journey to the heart of Africa. The novel revolves around Kurtz, a man who became part of the native tribe from the Congo. Both novels portray two different lifestyles. Let´s call them the civilized ones and the natives. And in each story there is a character that changes his lifestyle. Kurtz related very well with the colonized ones that he actually lived among them. And the Tahitian natives captivated Banks.

Besides the fact these novels have characters that are similar, they emphasize on the journey. Marlow was comfortable telling us his story because he was able to meditate on his experience while he told it. And through his diary entries Banks does they same thing. They both “find” themselves. Journeys are wonder. If you look up the word wonder in the dictionary the definition is the following: to think or speculate curiosity and to be filled with admiration or amazement. According to Plato “wonder was central to all philosophical thought, in wonder all philosophy began in wonder it ends but the first wonder is the offspring of ignorance and the last is the parent of adoration”. (Prologue) We humans do everything because of curiosity is what drives us and what leads us to new things. Banks Endeavor voyage originated an era of curiosity where he discovered things and shared them. Although Conrad´s novel is a work of fiction, they both reveal a truth about human nature: we all wonder for things we don’t know.

A Black Vocabulary

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1. Lugubrious: mournful, dismal, or gloomy especially in an affected exaggerated or unrelieved manner.

2.Lanky: ungracefully thin and rawboned.

3.Scoundrel: a dishonorable person. Mean in nature, villainous

4.Wade: to walk in water when partially immersed. To make one´s way slowly.

5.Foliage: the leaves of a plant, architectural ornament.

6.Futility: the quality of being futile.
Futile: incapable of producing any result. Useless

7.Lustrous: having luster, shining luminous.

8.Preeminently: superior, surpassing.

9.Moured: to secure in particular place, as by cables and anchors or by lines.

10.Asylums: an institution for the care of the mentally ill, orphans or people requiring special attention; temporary refuge.

11.Wraith:a visible spirit.

Marlow´s Voyage Tips

It turns out Marlow is telling a story to his friend aboard The Nellie. Narrating his voyage and how he traveled “deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness” (105). He is a great storyteller and the story actually becomes the book. More than a story, I think Marlow is learning from it as he narrates it. He already lived it and now while telling it he states lessons and tricks. His story can be seen as a manual for someone who wants to make an expedition to Africa during an imperialist era. The idea of voyage is important and recurs throughout the novel. And I mean a journey like the one Marlow is doing. Not like the ones we do today. It´s much easier to buy a ticket go to the airport board a plane, and once we get to the destination get a taxi and got to a hotel. Mostly everything is done for us we just pay. A manual for a journey now a day would be pointless. What good would it be for us to have tips on how to know at what times there are less people in the airport. Pointless. We don’t have to know about the weather and how it can affect our trip, they just announce to us if something is wrong. Marlow did have to worry about that. And make decisions of weather to continue sailing or not at night for example. More than a journey it is his passion, he was a man that “followed the sea”(66). And that´s one of the reasons why he tells his story with such emotion and the reader feels secure that Marlow knows what he talking about. As I read today, I imagined that I was going to take Marlow´s voyage and some tips that I saw as important were the following:

“Going up the river was like travelling back to the earliest beginning of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and big trees were kings”. (102) He warns us about geography and that you have to respect it because it has been there long before us.

“There were moments when one´s past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself, but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and silence”. (103) If you have passion for the journey it will help you to look at your past objectively and recognize mistakes.

“The reality-the reality , I tell you fades”. (103)

“We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth that wore the aspects of an unknown planet”. (105) Like when we travel we go to places that are not our own. Where we do not dominate.

“The earth seemed unearthly”. (105) We all travel into the unknown.

If we were to follow most of these “tips” and apply them to our own journeys we would experience the same passion as Marlow. Of course we have to go to places that interest us. That is what the Heart of Darkness does, it stimulates the want to go on a journey so the reader can learn just as Marlow did.

Camouflaged Mystery

The story continues as Charles Marlow keeps narrating his voyage. I mentioned in my last blog that Conrad uses vivid imagery and detailed description. Instead if giving action he narrates situations calmly and gives emotion to them by description. Another thing that caught my attention as I read was the sense of mystery. But it is a different mystery not the once I was used to. I had read mystery books before like Nancy Drew. Where they give you hints through out the novel and you read to find out what the next clue is going to be and everything makes sense at the end. I would not qualify this book as a mystery novel in fact I´m pretty sure it´s not, still it creates doubt to the reader. In comparison to the other mystery books, this one does not give you hints, it tells us story and by vaguely mentioning characters, situations, and places it creates mystery. One page 84 a Mr. Kurtz is mentioned for the first time.

“He was a first class agent” (84).

“Mr. Kurtz was at present in charge of a trading post , a very important one, in the true ivory country,. Sends in as much ivory as all the others put together. From the moment I read that questions ran through my mind. Why would Conrad mention him? What role is going to play in the novel?

When they mention him again, the narrator states, “there were rumors that a very important station was in jeopardy, and its chief Mr. Kutz, was ill. What station? Are Kurtz and Marlow going to have to work together in the future? Questions arise again.

The head of the company then mentions to Charles “Mr. Kutz was the best agent he had, an exceptional man, of the greatest importance to the company.” (89)

“I heard the name of Mr. Kurtz pronounced, then the words “take advantage of this unfortunate accident”. One of the men was the manager.” (90) my immediate reaction with this sentence was jealousy, men that were supposedly working together with Kurtz want to take advantage that he is ill, because they are jealous that he is loved that much.

Finally, in page 92 Marlow asks “ who is this Mr. Kurtz and the answer does not help us much “the chief of the inner station “ I don’t know about you but still after knowing who he is I want to know more.

The examples sated above are just a few of the times that the mentioned. I suspect that further into the novel he will really appear instead of blending in the story and being part of situations like he is right now. Although he´s currently not playing part in the novel he can be seen as an example. Most of the times that Marlow is talking to someone higher ranked than him they mention Kurtz. Others are jealous and plan to take advantage of the fact that he´s ill. So far the novel has not been really exciting. Still Conrad includes little aspects like this one of Mr. Kurtz so that the reader will want to continue. It´s like camouflaged mystery because all the talk about Kurtz does give the reader some clues. What makes it different is that right know that novel does not revolve around Kurtz but around Marlow. Kurtz was up to know “just a word” (94).

Conrad Evokes Passion

From the first few pages, imagery and description are present in the novel. By narrating the story of Marlow, Conrad depicts the passion that he feels toward what he does. The story is not very interesting. He tells us how he got the job to be the commander of the boat that will travel to the Congo River. What´s interesting, is the way he narrates it, using intense description and vivid imagery. With this, he reveals to the reader the passion that he feels towards the sea. The unknown narrator tells us this and when he mentions their captain, the Director of Companies, he said that he “resembled a pilot, which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified” (65).

When talking about the sea, the narrator includes himself and the other four men that were with him, including Marlow. They all feel the same passion but Marlow was the only one “who still followed the sea” (67). This gives me a hint, (besides the fact that he is the only character with a name), that the book will be mostly based on him. He is not like the others. Most seaman as the narrator states live a sedentary life but Marlow is wanderer. And to describe that, the narrator states: “to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine” (68). Here we can see the description and imagery I mentioned at the begging. He uses the glow and haze to express how Marlow likes to go beyond what happens and know why they happened. He then tells the story of the places in his childhood, specifically one that had become “a place of darkness” (71). And imagery comes up again with the way he describes the river “resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast a country and its toil lost in the depth of the land” (71). By comparing the river with the snake the reader gets a vivid image and can imagine it much better.

The way Charles Marlow talks about the sea evokes passion to the reader. My impression is that Conrad and Marlow don´t give much importance to the situations that happen through out the book, instead they focus on the description to evoke passion and feeling to the reader.