Philosophy and Literature Essays

8/13/2019 Philosophy and Literature Essays

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Both Conrads The Heart of Darknessand Kafkas Metamorphosis, in different ways, are about looking

beneath the surface. Explain, as thoroughly as possible, how each of these literary works is about

looking beneath the surface and in each case what is found by looking beneath the surface.

The Heart of Darkness

The story begins on a ship docked at the river Thames when the narrator of the story, Marlow,

begins telling a story of a journey to Africa. Marlow begins his tale by commenting on the past history of

England and relating that history to a trip he made to Africa. Thus, Marlows first quip regarding how

the history of England is a dark history makes us think that there are underlying themes in Marlows

story about Africa which reflect back to themes relevant to England. That is, Marlow is going to Africa, a

colony where much violence exists but, looking beneath the surface, we find that England also has a

history of being colonized by Rome. Therefore, the underlying message is that those who are colonizing

and those being colonized may be the same and may not be permanently fixed. Also, the suggestion

with Marlows first comments is that the state England found itself in under colonization was not

civilizedand maybe this history is not far beneath the surface. The entire text ofHeart of Darkness

reflects this idea of looking beneath the surfacenot just at society but at individuals too.

So, we begin our trip with Marlow but we first see that Marlow must make two stops. First,

Marlow visits with a doctor. This doctor has examined skulls and brains of people who go into the

Congo and suggests that changes take place with the people who enter the Congo. This version of the

Congo, when one looks beneath the surface, may represent madness. That is, once one goes further

into the Congo (and thus looks further beneath the surface) they see things so horrific that they come

back with some sort of mental problems or madness. The second stop Marlow makes is to visit his aunt.

Marlows aunt sees his impending trip as something favorable; she thinks that he is going to bring

civilization to distant and uncivilized lands. When we look beneath the surface we may wonder how

likely such a scenario truly is.

Marlow sets off for Africa from a port in Belgium. Marlows sales down the coast of Europe and

eventually reaches the coast of Africa. As the boat approaches the mouth of the Congo there is an

incident involving another ship; the ship is shooting cannonballs into the jungle but there does not

appear to be anyone on the receiving end of the cannonball fire. Again we get the indication that things

are not quite right and that, beneath the surface, there is madness. When Marlow arrives to his first

destination he gets an assignment; this first destination is at the outer stationsuggesting that, as

Marlow goes closer to the inner station, Marlow will be looking more and more beneath the surface. At

the outer station Marlow sees people being treated in a barbarous way by people from so-called

civilized areasthe heart of the modern world. Marlow then has a conversation with the station

manager and this is where he first learns of Kurtzthe man running the inner station. The impression

that Marlow seems to get when hearing about Kurtz (a character beneath the surface) is that others

look up to him; other people from the company view Kurtz as a company star because he brings in more

ivory than everyone else. Also, it seems, that people are somewhat fearful of Kurtz. This being said,

while Kurtz is a star, he is also insane.


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So, the Heart of Darkness keeps referring to this looking beneath the surface. But, as Marlow

gets beneath the surface plans seem to run aground. In the outer station we get the impression that

civilized people are becoming uncivilized. In the middle station, Marlow is supposed to catch a boat but

they are waiting for parts for the boat (rivets, which hold things together)that is, as you look more and

more beneath the surface, things start falling apart. Also, we see in the central station that the manager

is a brick maker; this seems strange because there are no bricksand bricks, like rivets, hold things

together. Building materials are needed in general because things are breaking downthis might mean

that things are not going as smoothly beneath the surface as one might think; society is breaking down.

We see that the Belgian people in Africa are there on a quest to get rich. In so doing, the so-called

civilized people resort to barbaric actions as they plunder Africa.

As Marlow moves to the inner station, we get the impression that nature is not very friendly.

That is, as we look further beneath the surface, we see that we might not be made for each other. This

issue is quite large in a philosophical sense when looking at the world we find ourselves in and our place

in that world. As you get beneath the surface, plans run aground. There may not, in fact, be a special

place for humans. There is no God looking after us in this context. Beneath the surface things are not sotame; there is violence and life is out of control. This, however, is something we have in common with

the world; and as Marlow moves beneath the surface something inside of him responds to the

wilderness because this same wilderness is found within the human being.

Moving closer to the inner station Marlow comes across a hut and a book; the book is about

seamanship and there are notes in the book that Marlow takes to be some kind of cipher. Language

usually holds society together, but as we get beneath the surface, language falls apart. Then again, this

cipher was really Russian. So, we might just take this part of the story to mean that, if one culture

cannot understand another culture, society breaks down. The movement into the inner station is very

foggy; this may suggest that looking beneath the surface is difficult. Eventually Marlow is attacked bylocals and begins to suspect that Kurtz is dead. But, the locals did not attack Kurtz, they will not attack

Kurtz, they are only attacking the boat so that it will not take Kurtz away. That is, Kurtz has become

something of a hero or god figure for the locals. Maybe there is a point that one goes too far when

looking beneath the surface.

When the boat reaches the inner station the first person they meet is Russian. This Russian is a

friend of Kurtz and was the individual who wrote in the book that Marlow found. Before long, Marlow

leaves the boat with the Russian and goes to meet Kurtz. When Marlow enters the house he sees

shrunken heads on sticks; these would usually be odd lawn decorations; however, Kurtz uses them to

scare people. Upon meeting Kurtz, one realizes that something within him as indeed responded to the

wild nature of the jungle. Underneath the surface his soul has gone mad. During the time Marlow

spends with Kurtz, Marlow finds out about human sacrifice. Marlow finds that the native people regard

Kurtz as some sort of divinity and this suggests why they attacked the boat; they do not want Kurtz to

go. Eventually Marlow gets Kurtz on the boat to head back to Belgium. Kurtz becomes very ill and he

does not make the trip; he dies on the boat. Marlow tells people that Kurtzs last words were the

horror.


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Next Marlow and others decide to bring some of Kurtzs belongings to Kurtzs fiance. Upon

arriving the fiance has one very pressing question, What were Kurtzs last words? Marlow lies to her

and says that, instead of saying the horror, Kurtzs last words were her name. This suggests that

Marlow respects Kurtz to a certain degree. Marlow admires the fact that Kurtz faced up to the

realization that the world we find ourselves in does not live up to intentions and may even be hostile.

Indeed nature may not even be our permanent home.

Metamorphosis

In this book we are faced with a Cartesian (as in Descartes) sense that we have to look beyond

the appearance of things if we want to understand truth. What we find inMetamorphosisis that Gregor

Samsa wakes up one morning as a dung beetle. As Gregor goes to move he cannot. The problem here

has to do with the fact that his lived body is not there for him. Gregors first concern is that he is going

to be late for work. We learn that the type of work Gregor does as a traveling salesman is quite similar

to that of a drone in a beehive or a worker ant. This may be Kafkas attempt to show that, as we look

beneath the surface of modern society, the workers life is much like that of a drone. Eventually

Gregors manager from work shows up (quite indicative of the type of working environment Gregor

deals with) and when the manager sees that Gregor has turned into a dung beetle, the manager runs off

down the street.

After a while Gregors sister begins to care for him. Gregor knows, however, that he is ugly

looking and so wants to spare his sister any site of him; he hides under a couch whenever he hears that

she is coming. So, we see here that Gregor and his sister still have a special relationship but that Gregor

is caught between two contexts. On the one hand he is human; but, on the other hand, he is an insect.

We know that Gregor enjoys certain aspects of his new insect lifehe plays on the walls and swings

upside down from the ceilingbut we also know that he is upset. We know that Gregor had plans to

send his sister to music school; but now that he is an insect, he probably feels as though that chance is

gone. Also, when Gregors sister and mother decide to move furniture for him so that he has more

space to play, they move a picture of a woman in a fur hat and Gregor becomes very upset. It is as if

Gregor is still attracted to the human world but this part of the human world, the instinct of mating, is

shared with the insect world. What is not shared, however, is the ability to read pictures. Also, we

know that there is a definite human element to Gregor because he enjoys listening to his sister play

music. Insects, as far as we know, do not obtain the same kind of enjoyment from music.

Unfortunately for Gregor, it eventually seems as though the family would be better off if he

were gone. When his own mother catches site of him he ends up running after her to console her and

scares her so bad that she faints. It takes Gregors father having to come home to force Gregor back to

his room by throwing an apple at him, which lodges in Gregors back. This apple stays in his back, goes

bad, and becomes a problem for Gregorit will ultimately end up killing him.

When new characters come into the story (borders who live with the Samsa family) we see that,

as time goes by, the care for Gregor declines. It is as if he is being pushed further and further out of the

human world. In fact, the family goes on to hire a cleaning woman and, because she has never met


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Gregor the human, we suspect that her presence (calling him names and treating him in a subhuman

manner) are indeed indicative of the fact that he is being pushed further out of the human world. Soon

the borders find out about Gregor when Gregor makes an appearance while his sister is playing the

violin (again, Gregor seems to be caught between the human and insect world). It seems that the

borders are very intrigued by Gregor but when they are told by the Samsa family that they cannot see

him, they become very upset. So, with this latest incident of Gregor causing more problems, the family

decides the borders should go. Next, the cleaning woman finds Gregor dead.

When Gregor dies we get the definite sense that there was a point where Gregor went from

being a him to an it in the story; his sister even stops calling Gregor by his name. So, with Gregor

now dead, the family moves on; they even decide to physically move to a new location. Now that his

father has a job (which he did not when Gregor was working and providing for the family) they are able

to move to a better place.

When looking beneath the surface of this story, what we seem to find is that the insect is the

most human of all the characters. Gregor wants to send his sister to school, he wants to provide for his

family (even if it means going back to work as a drone), he enjoys playing, and he enjoys music more

than other people (such as the borders). It seems that the more and more Gregor is pushed from the

human world to the insect world we find that he is still human. Everyone else just seems to take the

fact that Gregor has turned into an insect for granted; they take it in stride. No one ever says, How

could he turn into an insect? As we look beneath the surface of Gregor and we get past his grotesque

looks, despite having been pushed out of the human world and despite that nobody seems shocked that

Gregor is an insect, we find that Gregor still manages to express human qualities. It seems as though

this story is about where we find ourselves and where our place in the world is. Even though Gregor is

not communicating, he expresses human qualities especially with people; and so there seems to be a

place for humans in the world after all.

In Manns Tonio Kroegerand in Camuss The Stranger, the main characters, Tonio Kroeger and

Meursault, can be described as outsiders. Explain, as thoroughly as possible how each of them is an

outsider. Then explain, as thoroughly as possible, what each of them eventually learns, from his

status as an outsider,about who he is and his place in the world.

Tonio Kroeger

First, when we meet Tonio Kroeger, he is a young boy living in northern Germany. He likes to

write poetry and he comes from a prominent family; his mother is an Italian-born woman with an

artistic side and his father is a German man with an esteemed position in the government. So, it is at

this point where we begin to get a sense that Tonio has two sidesand these sides may reflect the

differences between his parents. Unfortunately for Tonio, his two sides cause him great struggle in

finding who he is and what his place in the world is.


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We begin to get a sense that Tonio is an outsider because, though he lives in northern Germany,

Tonio does not seem to have a home. That is, though he lives in the north (his fathers home) the part

of him affected by his mother being Italian seems to be at odds with the people with whom he

surrounds himself; Tonio has conflict with his friends. For example, his friend Hans Hansen appears at

the beginning of the story to be a major source of inspiration for Tonio; however, Tonio also realizes that

Hans does not have the same interests as Tonio does. Hans is the German equivalent of what people in

America might call an All American Boy: he is good at sports, he is popular, and he stands out among

the other kids; Hans is a natural. On one hand, it isthis natural ability that so attracts Tonio (this

may represent his Fathers side); however, on the other hand, Tonio wants Hans to be interested in

what Tonio is interested inreading, poetry, and other artistic pursuits. Unfortunately for Tonio, Hans

is not interested in artistic pursuits (things that may represent Tonios mothers side). In fact, not only

does Hans not share Tonios artistic side, Hans appears to treat Tonio as if Tonio is somehow different or

foreign(we see this particularly when Hans is around his other friends). Hans sees Tonio as an outsider.

So, when it comes to Tonios relationship with Hans, we see an especially profound instance of

Tonio being a so-called outsidereven in his own home town. The conflict building up in Tonio causeshim to view Hans, and many of the other northern German people whom Tonio surrounds himself, with

a sense that norther German people are somehow shallow. For example, Tonio is quite attracted to a

school girl named Ingeborgbut this attraction ultimately ends with Tonio feeling embarrassed and

feeling that Ingeborg, like Hans, is shallow. Though Ingeborg, a veritablefemaleHans, provides Tonio an

opportunity to show how envious he is of north German people, when Tonio realizes that Ingeborg does

not have the same romantic feelings for him that he has for her (such as when she does not run after

him when he is laughed at after a mistake during dance lessons), Tonio decides that maybe he does not

belong in northern Germany after all. That is, Tonio finds that he feels like an outsider in his own home

town, so he decides to leave northern Germany for Munich (southern Germany). In so doing, Tonio

moves closer to his mothershome and closer to a more artistic atmospherewith a culture more

accepting of Tonios artistic and dreamy tendencies. Tonio is seeking to find a place where he belongs.

In Munich Tonio becomes a full time artist and writer and lives an artistic bohemian lifestyle.

While in Munich, Tonio meets a girl named Lisaveta who is also an artist. After living with Lisaveta,

however, Tonio realizes that he still feels like an outsider. Tonio probably realizes this soon after he and

Lisaveta have an argument over what it means to be an artist. In this scene, we see that Tonio has

reservations about being an artist. In his argument with Lisaveta about the role of the artist, Tonio finds

that the north German part of his personality is add odds with some of his southern artistic

tendencies; where many people in the south view the north with a certain kind of disdain, Tonio feels a

closer kinship with much of the north German culture. Tonio does not like how Lisaveta says that artistshave to be ruthless and that they have to grind up peoples lives to surviveespecially people with

simple lives. In Tonios opinion, people with such simple lives (such as those in the north) are eliminated

by artiststhis is unsettling to Tonio because he has admiration for people who live simple lives

(perhaps as a result of Tonio being his fathers child). Eventually the argument causes Tonio to take

some time off from Munich. Tonio decides to head for a resort town on the Danish coast.


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At this point we see that Tonios conflict has been internalized. Tonio is both an outsider at

home and away from home. Eventually Tonios trip up north becomes an eye opening experience;

home has changed. We see here a repeated literary device wherein, when something goes wrong,

characters learn about themselves. By going up north Tonio is able to reflect on his childhood. He

realizes that he was an outsider as a child; but now, instead of feeling that he needs to run away, he has

matured. Tonio has now grown into himself as an artist. In a letter to Lisaveta he realizes that his

conflict (his being an outsider) has been the source of his art; and his art has been a way to deal with

this conflict. So what Tonio is saying is that the human imagination is an ability or a capacity that we

have that lets us deal with conflicts that take shape when we ask about our place in the world. Art, that

is, is one of the strongest forms of imagination. And so, Tonio, being an artist, symbolizes how we, as

humans, use art to address questions about who we are and what our place in the world is. Ultimately,

for Tonio, the growing as a person and as an artist leads to the realization that art is a way of dealing

with conflicts that take shape in life when asking about ones place in the world. The source of his art

and his art are both ways of dealing with these conflicts; imagination helps one deal with conflicts and

art is a very refined method of imagination.

The Stranger

Our story opens with an Algerian character named Meursault. The first major scene in the book

takes place with Meursault leaving Algiers because his mother has died. Meursault is going to a town

where his mother has been living in a type of retirement home. In asking himself whether sending his

mother to the nursing home was the right thing to do, Meursault apparently decided at one point that it

would be best to send his mother to this nursing home because she needed carein his words, they

reached a point where they did not communicate. Being at the nursing home causes a caretaker to ask

Meursault about his deceased mother; here we begin to see that Meursault is quite unresponsive to the

caretakers questions. This is our first impression that Meursault is an outsider. Instead of talking to thecaretaker about his deceased mother, Meursault is very attentive to immediate circumstances. He is

very aware of details such as cigarettes and the heat; however, he does not seem to give much attention

to the caretakers questions. Again, these oddities suggest that Meursault lives outside of normal

routines. In the next scene, Meursault attends a vigil and again we see that what seem to be of most

concern to Meursault are his immediate surroundings and not the rituals of the vigil. We will see

throughout the course of the book that Meursaults lack of interest in rituals makes him appear to be

quite an outsider. Alas, even the next episode (Meursaults trip to his mothers funeral) shows that

Meursault may be there for the ceremony but he seems to be attending to the details of immediate

circumstances more than the event that is taking place. Meursault is an outsider at his own mothers

funeral.

Next, Meursault returns to Algiers. Upon returning we see that Meursault is somewhat

concerned about the fact that he has taken off from work; Meursault is concerned about his boss.

Eventually we learn that he is not too concerned about work because he does not take part in the so-

called rat race; that is, his boss offers him a good job in Paris, but Meursault is not inclined to take it

as an outsider at work, Meursault does not participate in the rat race ritual.


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In the next scene, Meursault goes to the beach where he meets a girl from his officeMarie.

Marie and Meursault appear to hit it off; they joke, they play, and they appear to enjoy each others

company. In fact, Meursault has so much fun that he ends up going to see a comedy moviea day after

his Mothers funeral. Later in the story, this scene will play a crucial role in showing that Meursault is an

outsider. That is, How could anyone but an outsider want to have such fun and take in a comedy movie

a day after their mothers funeral? Eventually Marie and Meursault hit it off so well that Marie asks

Meursault if he wants to get married. Meursault, again, not seeming too enthused by rituals, seems to

accept the idea with apathy. He does not see what marriage will add to his and Maries relationship, but

he obliges her. Meursaults approach to life is to avoid partaking in rituals.

The next big scene introduces a character named Raymond. Raymond apparently lives near

where Meursault lives. Raymond views Meursault with a certain regard or admirationin fact,

Raymond expresses to Meursault how Raymond wants to be Meursaultsfriend. Again, showing that

Meursault does not participate in rituals, we see that Meursault finds it curious how Raymond feels the

need to label their relationship as friends. However, Meursault comes across as obliging. Here we get

the sense that Meursault is kind of an outsider. That is, because Meursault does not participate inrituals but does seem pretty intrigued by those who do, we get the impression that Meursault is on the

outside looking in at all those ritualistic individuals. We see this again during the next scene when

Meursault goes to Celestes and has dinner by himself. While eating, Meursault notices a woman sitting

at another table filling out a list (a radio schedule) and making exact change while eating. The woman

properly stacks her change and is ready to pay before she finishes eating. This so-called robot woman

provides a contrast to Meursaults non-participation in rituals; however, again we see that Meursault is

fascinated by the robot womans behaviorso fascinated he even follows her down the street. We may

ask ourselves what the robot woman is doing in the scene; theres a definite sense that shes the

opposite of Meursault. Meursault is not someone who plans his stuff the way the robot woman plans

hers.

One of the main reoccurrences with Meursault is that we see him observingbut not actually

taking part inritualistic routines. For example, at his Mothers funeral, Meursault just observed.

This was not to show that Meursault is a callous person (in fact, we saw that he feels bad about sending

his mother to the nursing home); but, because Meursault does not participate in rituals and only

observes (to the detriment of what people may think about him) we see that Meursault is indeed kind of

an outsider. As an outsider he does not find rituals compelling or meaningful because Meursault does

not feel that these rituals add anything to life. Accordingly, there is even a sense that, to Meursault,

these rituals may even detract from his being alive. This is quite contrary to the robot woman from

above, who seems to live her life around ritualistic behavior. On this matter, however, two pointsshould be noted: first, Meursault does not participate in ritualistic behavior and second, Meursault does

not seem to find such ritualistic behavior objectionable. We see evidence of this with Meursaults

relationship with his neighbor Salamano; that is, though Meursault finds Salamanos relationship with

his dog as being ritualistic, Meursault does not seem to be bothered by Salamanohe even attempts to

console Salamano when his dog runs away.


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In the following scene we are experience the trial and we experience the aftermath of the trial.

The cast of characters from Meursaults life appear to be at the trial to provide Meursault a proper

defense; however, there are other characters that we have not met. In particular we are introduced to

a young journalist; this young journalist helps to show Meursault as outsidernow it is the journalists

turn to do the observing and to cast Meursault as somehow different from everything else in life. When

the prosecution opens the trial they refer to Meursault as a born killerattempting to make him this

sociopathic outsider. By casting Meursault as this horrific outsider, the prosecution (along with a

shoddy defense) has made it a virtual sure thing that Meursault will be convicted of first degree murder.

The next step will be Meursaults sentencing. The aftermath of the trial and sentencing (where

Meursault is condemned to be executed) shows a Meursault who does not dwell on an appeal. The only

real emotion we see out of Meursault is his explosive behavior to the chaplain regarding the existence of

God. Again, we are reminded that Meursault does not partake in rituals, thus confirming the fact that

Meursault is an outsider.

To understand how Meursault is an outsider, we must understand what he has learned from this

experience. For one, Meursault has learned that he is a man who does not participate in rituals andthat, because so, his reactions to things are not ritualized. Meursault feels that social rituals, religious

rituals, and personal rituals (such as with the robot woman) all compromise Meursaults sense of

being alive. Though he is interested in these rituals, he does not participate; he is, as it were, an

outsider.

Meursault is a man who does not participate in rituals according to long range commitments but

gets convicted for murder because of how people see him. He lives outside of the ritualized system;

however, he is going to be killed because of not participating. People see his outsider behavior as

sociopathic and so he gets convicted of murder; he gets convicted of murder because he did not cry at

his mothers funeral. He is convicted of murder despite that fact that he does not get involved incommitments. He devotes his whole life to immediate circumstances, where he finds his own sense of

being alive, and he gets convicted of murder because of the way other people see him.

Meursault finds a certain absurdity in the fact that he has made his life in a manner that does

not involve commitments and even so, he gets condemned to death on the basis of how people see him.

All of this leaves Meursault to realize the conclusion that the world he finds himself in is not necessarily

on his side. Though Meursault is largely trying to stay out of the way he gets convicted of first degree

murder on the basis of how people see him. Apparently the world is not made for Meursault and the

world does not have much to do with him. Indeed, Meursault is an outsider even to the world. On the

other hand, the fact that Meursault finds that the world is not set up for him, Merursault finds a sense

of liberty; there is a certain sense of freedom that relates to a kind of kinship Meursault has with the

world. So, we see that the world we find ourselves in is not necessary benignand it may even be

indifferent; however, Meursault finds a certain kinship with this indifference. This kinship is a source of

happiness for Meursault.


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So, if Meursault is happy at this point of being an outsider (because it brings him some sort of

affinity for the world) he has been happy all along. This is yet another variation on how human beings

find themselves and whether or not they have a distinct place in the world.

Thanks to Wayne Froman for the questions.

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