When the Darkness comes?

From the first sentence, of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, he illustrates a few key ideas that were fairly important to Britain at the time. The two things Conrad starts off by describing are the boat, the Nellie, and the river Thames. 'Precious space' is used to tell us about the clusters of vessels on the river and create the atmosphere, implying that physical manifestations of progress was highly valued. It isn’t until the third paragraph that we meet any actual people. Even then, only one of the five men on the Nellie was given a name. Marlow, our eventual narrator, was accompanying these men that are eventually named or labeled by their professions – the Director of Companies, the lawyer, and the accountant – and nothing more.
As I continued to meander through the first thirty-some-odd pages, I tried to get a sense of the character Marlow. To start off with, the guy likes to talk. Completely unprovoked and afloat in the middle of water, he launches into part of his life story, and a very important part, it seems-at least it was to him. Within the first few pages, Marlow dives into his thoughts on the idea of conquering land, of “taking [it] away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves,” declaring that it “is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” He acknowledges the harshness and wrongness of what they do, but continues to say that it’s okay because they have “efficiency” and an “unselfish belief in the idea” of what they are doing. I’ll admit that acknowledgement is the first step to recovery, but that’s all it is: the first step. Admitting that what you take part in is bad but continuing to do it is like repeatedly eating a food you know will make you nauseous, it does not benefit either party.
Oddly enough, it is that very same willful ignorance, that the British carried along with them to Africa. Conrad manages to embody this idea in the character, Mr. Kurtz. When Marlow first arrived at Central Station, only to discover that his steamer sank, he hears all about a Mr. Kurtz from the manager of the station and a young, aristocratic agent of the company. However it is when the aristocrat then goes on to say that Mr. Kurtz is “an emissary of pity, and science, and progress"-the embodiment of Western ideals, that I discovered the true extent of this personification. I found it very odd that he [Mr. Kurtz] ended up in the Congo where pity doesn’t seem to be held in high esteem. Perhaps Mr. Kurtz would have second thoughts about his presence in a land that didn’t welcome him-something that I hope will be revealed in later parts of the book.
After reading the essay that Chinua Achebe had written about Heart of Darkness, I had some-sort of bias towards this book and its ideals. I received a negative connotation from every word as I looked deeper into the imagery of what Conrad was trying to portray. Perhaps it's not so much Conrad speaking to the reader, or even the unnamed narrator, but it is Marlow, and his point of view. There were many times in Part I when I started to question the validity of Marlow's story. He seemed like a proud man, one that has been through a lot and wants to boast about what he has survived through, but could he be over exaggerating more than a few parts of his story?
All in all, I found Part I of Heart of Darkness to be very intriguing and mildly overwhelming. Yet, I am eager to learn more about these characters and their reactions to events they are to face in the rest of the book.

Hanseldee & Greteldum

There are lots of stories that are spin-offs of the classic fairy tales. These stories enable/give parents an aid or creative way to teach/show their children that happy endings do come true. Or not to do certain things - aka the basic things a child needs to know/learn about. They provide children with a way/idea to expand their creativity and imagination. I know as a child the fairy tales my mother read to me helped me escape everyday life. To this day, when I'm having a bad day and I feel as though all hope and light are gone from the world, I hold the book close to me and reread the stories that are written on its pages. I find it incredible that society is still trying to keep these fairy tales alive with movies and "series" (their lives about what happened to them after their stories ended). Such as Ever After High which is about the teenage sons and daughters of famous fairy tales. It also reminds kids to be themselves and stand up for what they believe in because the main "conflict" is about how Raven Queen, who's the Evil Queen's daughter decided not to follow in her mom's footsteps and "writer her own story". The new Disney movie Descendants is  very similar to it as well. Except instead of 'Royals' and 'Rebels' its about Maleficent's, Cruella De Vil's, Jafar's and the Evil Queen (from Snow White)'s children going to a school with the 'good guys' children and deciding to be 'good' and not 'evil'. There is also Enchanted, Frozen, Tangled that are in some way based off of the famous original fairy tales.
Everyone knows the stories of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. We read the books and watched the movies on repeat as kids. We know the characters, which ones are bad. We know the story lines. How it began. How it ended. They are the most recognizable stories for everyone, and people would surely be able to identify exactly which fairytale the reference came from. With more complex stories from literature however, it is more difficult for the reader to understand the motives behind certain characters, the literal meaning behind certain symbols, or the reason for the plot structures. One might not recognize these elements in a story they read if they’re not very familiar with the literature it came from. With fairytales however, we have all pretty much memorized the stories so well that they’re carved into our minds. Therefore we will be able to immediately point out a reference to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Snow White in a movie or book we read. When writers borrow these plots, characters, or symbols, they don’t identically recreate the fairytale as their own, but they simply use small portions and use it in their own writing to create a subtle parallel to a certain story. The most common elements that may be borrowed from fairytales include a young girl who is probably innocent and naïve, a young woman who will serve as the love interest (usually forbidden), an evil antagonist who creates difficulty for the main character, some sort of task or journey, and usually an indication of poverty or royalty.

...Or the Bible / Yes, She's a Christ figure too.

I'm supposed to be catholic but I don't really believe most of the stuff that bible says. I don't think it's truly possible for one deity to rule and preside over everything. I have more Pagan beliefs, like the Greeks or maybe even like the Egyptians. However, when it comes down to it the actual stuff that is said in the bible, I find it quite interesting.
By using biblical allusions the author/writer is able to make metaphors and allusions to something that everyone knows about practically. Even though the bible isn't prominent to all religions, the people who follow these religions are still knowledgeable/aware of some of the basic ideas/events that take place in the bible, which allows them to understand the things that the author is alluding to without actually belonging to the religion that follow it. Just like Foster says in chapter 6: "a biblical scholar? Well, I'm not. But even I can sometimes recognize a biblical allusion." After that, Foster talks about using a "resonance test" to see whether the statement is alluding to. However, I guarantee you that most people are too lazy or just don't care enough to actually look for things like that and just assume or guess what the reference is from instead of actually looking for it.
Christian symbolism can be obvious and exacting or abstract and formative.  I think one of the greatest examples of "in your face" Christian symbolism has to be that of " The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". The book tells the story of how a group of siblings stumble into a magically conflict between good and evil through a wardrobe. The good being Aslan, and the evil being the White Witch. It is clear from the from the mention of Aslan that he represents a Christ-like figure.  He comes  after a long time of suffering and sadness to set things right, like a Messiah. He is portrayed as a lion which in its essence is Christ-like because one of Christ's titles is "The Lion of Judah". The most obvious Christ-comparison is truly the sacrifice. Aslan has to be sacrificed in order to save Edmund, black sheep of the family, who has betrayed his family for personal gain. Aslan is taken, shaved, chained,spit on, beat and finally slain however, unbeknownst to the White Witch, he is resurrected due to an important clause in the Deep Magic of Narnia. This is completely the story Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. He sacrificed himself to save a people that betrayed God.
Harry’s birth was prophesied, and he grew up with everyone expecting him to defeat Voldemort (the devil). He faced many trials that are reminiscent of Christ's suffering: loneliness, mockery, scorn, temptation, physical pain, and a mission to rid the world of evil. In the end, he faced Voldemort, was killed, was miraculously resurrected, and then destroyed Voldemort. This is just like the story of Christ: his birth was prophesied, he grew up with expectations, he was tempted, mocked, beaten, suffered, killed, and resurrected.
Making Harry a Christ figure adds a whole new depth to the story. Rowling drawing on Christianity and giving us the clues to see that the story is paralleling the Bible forces us to realize how significant of a character Harry is. It also foreshadows Harry's role in the story later. If we recognize clues early on in the story that he is a Christ figure, we might be able to predict how the story will end: with him defeating Voldemort and ridding the world of that evil.
Frodo Baggins is a Christ figure as well. He suffered and was in agony for the whole harrowing journey to Mt. Doom. He was tempted several times in the wilderness (like Christ): Boromir tempted him to give him the ring, Lady Galadriel tempted him, and lastly, he was tempted by the ring and by Lord Sauron the closer he got to Mordor. In the end though, the ring, and thus Lord Sauron, is destroyed, and the evil that had plagued Middle Earth was redeemed.
Other Christ figures  in LOTR include Gandalf (as a teacher leading his disciples  who then died fighting the Balrog [the devil] and then was resurrected as Gandalf the White) and Aragorn (who in the end, is the “returning King” who redeems Gondor and leads them into the next age.

When in Doubt, It's from Shakespeare...

At first the title of the chapter reminded me of a story that was written by Shakespeare that was based on a story of my ancestors adventures to the New World. My ancestors were on the second set of ships that were supposed to go to the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. Sadly, the two ships that they were on got shipwrecked in Bermuda instead. However, my ancestors were shipbuilders/captains of ships. When their story of how they got to Jamestown reached England, it inspired William Shakespeare to write The Tempest.
I was in an acting class/camp a few years ago with Junior Players and we performed A Midsummer Nights' Dream, much like they did this past spring at Booker T. I played Cobweb. I've never seen West Side Story, but I have seen a lot of the adaptations or movies of Shakespeare's plays. I always found the translations of Shakespeare's work to be extremely amusing. Shakespeare is so common and famous that even if you haven't read any of his works, you can still tell what his writing is like, etc from something that references to one of his works. if that makes sense.
Everyone knows Shakespeare. Everyone recognizes his literature. He's the legend of literature. Of course, other writers are going to use his text for reference or inspiration. This is where writers of our era get their influence from: brilliant writers from previous eras. This commonality between the two eras comes from this appreciation and inspiration that modern writers have for Shakespeare's works. The writers don't borrow his ideas simply because they are lazy and couldn't be bothered with coming up with their own plot lines and characters. They do it to highlight features in their own work. There might be a character from one of Shakespeare;s plays that would work perfectly to complete the story of a current writer's text or a specific ending Shakespeare wrote that a writer might be inspired to resuscitate to become more modern. It might be hard to believe that Shakespeare's writing is still somehow relatable in the 21st century, however this is the challenge for the writer: learn how to rework characters or messages from the fifteen hundreds into modern day writing. This exploration between the two eras makes the writing new and more interesting. It is left up to the writer how they want to alter the text from Shakespeare's original version. Again this commonality between the eras is what continues to maintain the legacy from sacred writers (such as Shakespeare), and keep them relevant by incorporating their ideas into today's writing for people to recognize and be able to to identify with. For example, there are hundreds of books, movies and plays that reference to Shakespeare, especially of his more famous works such as Romeo and Juliet and a Midsummer Night's Dream.