Time You Enjoy Wasting Is Not Wasted Time

Generally I think of myself as a very responsible person, yet there is an affliction that not only I but every human being in the world suffers, procrastination. Its quite ironic that I am sitting here tapping away on my laptop writing this blog entry hours before it is due. Procrastination is the culprit for many bad things in our lives as students, teachers, and basically anyone who has something to do. It causes lack of sleep, bad grades and in some cases lack of food since because of the procrastination people need to skip meals in order to keep working on something they put of for a long time.

 Nevertheless procrastination has some good characteristics, it helps us get things done not during the time we were supposed to be doing it, but right before. which made me think of this quote; “You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic.” ― Bill Watterson

I feel this quote describes perfectly how we feel when we are in a hurry to complete an assignment that is due in a couple of hours or minutes.

The question still remains, why do we keep doing it? Could it be that we are morbidly masochistic and enjoy the thought of needing to do something important yet doing something else instead? Doesn't it make us overstressed and sleep deprived? What could be the answer? Forget it I'll find out tomorrow.

The Impacts of Murder and Violence

Today our societies display a frightening amount of violence, children grow up with the knowledge of murders, massacres and shootings. Its safe to say that this has shaped the people who live within our societies. Which begs the question, does the recurrent knowledge of violence de humanize us even further? Much like us, Hamlet lives in a world wrought with violence. Nevertheless there is a difference, during Hamlets time dying in battle and killing for revenge was thought to be heroic.

As I listened to the inmates in the podcast, one in particular caught my eye, Danny Waller an inmate who played the ghost. Waller talks about how his experience acting as the ghost helped him connect with his actions, the people whom he had murdered. Waller says:"I took a man's life. And I felt he was talking to me through that. That he wanted me to know what I put him through."

Having heard this it made me think about all of the murderers and serial killers out there who still plague our societies. Could it be that our constant immersion in what is crude and violent have truly deprived us of our humanity and our morals?   

Action, Inaction, What?

J. Alfred Prufrock demonstrates, throughout his so called "love song", an uncanny resemblance to that of prince Hamlet, yet he is, in fact, much worse. Despite disclaiming any likelihood to said character.

Both of the characters begin with a similar mind set. Each of the main characters have but one task to accomplish. Throughout the text, Prufrock wants to ask the woman he loves out, and Hamlet must decide whether or not to kill King Claudius. He must kill his uncle in order to avenge his father’s death. HE must choose either that or to live the rest of his life knowing he failed his father. In the end only Hamlet is able to make a decision as he was dying. On the other hand Prufrock was never successful in his endeavor, putting thoughts into actions. Ultimately both of them could be branded as cowards.

The texts portray both of the characters disappointing and self pitied thoughts directed towards their own indecision. Nevertheless as the story goes on we are able to observe a change in Hamlet ever so slight, yet still present. He finally makes the decision to take action, unlike Prufrock who remains unchanged. Hamlet decides to "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action" (Act III Scene II Line 17) and start doing something about the perilous situation that he's in. Still he hesitates but finally sets out to do what he made up his mind to do, regardless of whatever consequences there could've been. On another note Prufrock still contemplates death and his failed endeavor, to accomplish his hearts desire in what remains of his "song". Hamlet dies in the midst of action, while Prufrock sits around thinking about things that ay never be due to his cowardice.

Prufrock denies his likeliness to Hamlet yet his over thinking about action left him action less and as a result making him more like Hamlet without him realizing. Prufrock let inaction do away with him, leading him astray into a universe of nothing but thoughts about what ifs. Hamlet died a man of action,  the same could not be said for Prufrock. 

One Story A Thousand Perspectives

    The world is plagued by stereotypes, each culture affected by these global opinions and views. World views Americans as fat, Asians as smart, and South Americans as people who live in trees. As people of the world we have all been judged, yet just as well we're all guilty of instigating and believing some of these stereotypes.

    All of my life I've lived in different places around the world, learning about cultures that weren't my own. Truthfully I've never had a specific culture, while living a western life style never have I come to say that a certain culture was my own. Also living around the world opened my eyes from a very early age helping me see through these stereotypes. A couple of years ago I spent my winter break in Andorra with some friends of the family and one of whom had spent an easter break with us even some time ago. He started to tell us about how his friends started asking for him to bring them cocaine, and the FARC's autographs. Upon hearing this I felt a tad concerned but at the same time I laughed about it.  Relief came when he told me that he knew that things weren't really like that here in Colombia and that he told his friends as much.

      It's quite complicated for far of places around the world to truly see what is going on in a certain country. When the only thing that reaches their television set is the news of explosions, guerillas, and overall danger. As educated people of the world we should strive to get informed about a certain place, instead of jumping to conclusions. One story may develop a thousand perspectives.

Change of Heart

As I finished reading the third and final part of Heart of Darkness, I paused to think about the characters and their development. What I found most impressive is Kurtz's radical change in the novel. He went from being the one in power, to the one who became that which he was trying to control. A savage. It seems as if the jungle had this power over him and it took over making him mad. Yet I believe he is pegged as such for fraternizing with the "swine"which was insane in that particular time period.

Kurtz defies the laws of society within the time period, robbing him of the chance of going back to europe. Had he returned he'd be a pariah within his own society for taking a native lover. Such a thing was outrageous when all these people thought of was taking as much as they could from the natives, regardless for their safety or welfare.

Change of Heart

I believe that what made Kurtz snap was that he realized that these savages were not so different from himself. After a lifetime of colonizing, brutalizing and subjugating others the realization turned him into a basket case. Kurtz's change of heart came as an unexpected shock.

Different, Yet Similar

     While reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad I realized that there were some things within this novel that I felt I'd seen before, it struck me then that my current novel is similar to a previous one Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Although the books are polar opposites when it comes to content and literary devices they contain similar elements, which help us as readers to further understand the text. Both of these authors use fog to symbolize uncertainty and to create a powerful main character with the power to influence the stories narrators.

     Fog is and important symbol in both novels, within One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest its use is as an insinuation as to the combines actions concerning the patients blindness towards them (combine) and its intentions. There it connotes to feelings of self-doubt, uncertainty and confinement. On the other hand with Heart of Darkness the fog appears as something that symbolizes what is unknown.

     Yet the most remarkable similarity is the narrators idolization of a certain character, Marlow idolizes Kurtz while McMurphy was idolized by the patients whom made him their symbol of hope. Only within Conrads novel the idolized character is not so obvious until the end of the second part of the book. Which is when as readers, we realize that Mr.Kurtz became of importance to Marlow. DEspite his actions Kurtz is without a doubt a major character in the Congo, to a point in which the natives rebelled due to his leaving the area. Relating to this is the "celebration" the patients of the ward had, which may help portray this point.

   Despite the differences aspects of Heart of Darkness remind me of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.
These two novels are indeed quite different, yet similar. 

And the Truth Is?

Often times people have wrong ideas about information, and that we must know all of the facts in order to get a clear picture or concept. Yet as we live our own separate lives we learn that this is not the case, in reality the things of upmost importance are left unsaid. This is the situation we are in when reading the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. As you weave your way through the ironic text of this novel you'll start to wonder what exactly does the author want us to know? As readers we are given an interesting character, Marlow an enigma you try to decipher in order to acquire information for the unanswered questions in your heads. The use of irony puches this novel forward or rather, back and forth. Conrad makes his readers think and rethink every word and action, every situation Marlow faces.

Surprisingly one figures out that the original narrator wasn't narrating the story at all in this intriguing story. He is i fact retelling the story told to him by the real narrator, Marlow. This makes you stop and think as readers, when you find out that the identity of the real narrator is unknown, what is determined?

Something that was subject to questioning was Marlow's attitude towards the natives. It remains uncertain if Conrad is using his irony when mentioning the european' "noble task". One thing is certain though, and that is that Marlow was shaken by what he witnessed in Africa, that's probably the reason why this story is beng told in the first place. Where is he leading us? What should we expect? What's determined, and the truth is?