How we view and come to conclusions about situations and issues is based on what point of view we are seeing them. Whether we agree or disagree about an issue depends how they are portrayed to us. What is the best way to analyze an issue? How many points of view do we need to see before coming to a conclusion? Heart of Darkness has multiple levels of storytelling, giving us many sides of the story. But how do we know what to believe?
In Heart of Darkness, we see story telling from many people. First there is the author writing the book, and the narrator depicting everything. Then there is Marlow, who is telling the narrator a story. Within the story, there are even more people who tell stories. So, what is the real story anyways? Sometimes it is hard to tell what is even going on, because the characters don't always know themselves. So how should we see the story? Should we believe everything a character tells us?
In the media, things are most often portrayed to us one-sided. We see the newstations view, and that is really about it. We see the opposing sides to the situation sometimes. In news articles, not information is always available to us. We make decisions and judgements based on what we read. If we are lacking another side of the story, these decisions and judgements become biast.
What is the purpose of reading things, if all we are getting is one side? This is what makes Heart of Darkness so great. We see all of these levels and different sides of characters, events, and stories. The news today is so focused on the economics of their business. What will sell? Will people watch our show? These are the things they worry about, rather than putting out a solid, mulitiple level story.
We, as citizens of the world, deserve to see all sides of things before making a decision. Racism and hate both stem from lack of knowledge of other cultures. If we learned more about how different kinds of people feel, we would have greater knowledge and wisdom in general. Heart of Darkness has endless levels within it. Learning from this book is one way to gain wisdom. The more we analyze things, the better we understand them.
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Sam,
ReplyDeleteWow, I like the connection here and I fully agree with you. I'm influenced by what I read or learn. I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing for me personally. Whatever I read, I usually end up supporting that view if the claims are logical. However, when I read an opposing claim that's justified with good explanations, I also want to believe that as well. Then, it becomes an internal struggle for what I should believe. In some ways, it's almost like whatever comes to me first influences me best. Take religion for example. I was introduced to it as a child, without knowing anything else, and it has stuck with me ever since. I wonder sometimes if, for example, I grew up being influenced that religion is false. Would I stick with that view, or would I eventually convert to religious faith once I learned of it later on in my life. Is our belief predetermined by fate or is it something that is a result of what we're influenced by first?
Seeing the other side is very important. I try to think about this as much as possible, especially when reading about current news. When I'm perusing a newspaper, I am struck with surprising facts. However, I wonder "What's the other side that I'm not getting.?" I see this most relevant in news about wars or conflicts in other countries. You only get the side of the country reporting to you or from the side of the reporter who's telling you the news. Often information is lopsided in a view. This is why I value information (newspapers, books, articles, etc.) that encompass multiple points of view.
Nice job in relating this to Heart of Darkness and globally. I support that we should take in all aspects when analyzing issues that come before us because so much of the world's problems is just a lack of understanding of the opposite view. I also support, that taking in all the views is important in reading literature because it helps you to understand characters deeply and the overall plot like in Heart of Darkness.