How Do They See It?

 

Reader Response: It could go this way or that way... perspective is everything.

New Historicism: What aspects of Shelby's life as an 8th grader would cause her to take such a picture?

Reader Response:  This was meant to look like a snake, but you may see it as rather demonic.

In his classic novel, Heart of Darkness, author Joseph Conrad starts off the story in a way that sets the tone for the whole book.  He sets up the scene by having his narrator, Marlow, onboard a ship, staring off into the ocean dramatically.  He launches into a tale of darkness and terrors of the jungles of the Congo, but somehow just as informative as the story itself are the literary techniques that Conrad employs to implicitly convey his message.

In the new historicist perspective, time and space—chronotopes—are everything.  New historicists believe that authors use these tools to create a format that we, the audience, generally associate with those certain ideas.  For example, Conrad sets up the scene by describing:

                “The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway.  In the offing the sea and sky were welded together without a joint...” (1)

From this passage alone, readers can understand the importance of the waterways in England at the time and what they represented to people, as well as the type of story that was soon to follow.  As we analyze this short quotation, it becomes apparent that the river Thames of the 19^th century represented opportunity.  It represented endlessness and the age of discovery, of innovation, of untold wealth waiting for those brave enough to venture into the unknown.  Conrad’s England was a place that thrived on imports and exports, and almost all in the community played a part in the business.  With new inventions such as the steamship, even more adventures were available to those willing to take the risk.  Although we have probably never sailed a steamship, nor entered into the world of Conrad and his contemporaries, we can imagine doing so, just as one Amazon user comments here.

 Thus, readers are immediately presented with a load of information that Conrad does not say outright, but that is implied through knowledge and preconceptions that we, as imaginative consumers, have of that era.  This also brings into play the aspect of reader-response analysis.  This reference to the sea, while likely to give a sense of anticipation to the audience, could also be taken in a foreboding manner.  Perhaps to those with traumatizing experiences about the ocean or setting out on adventures, this image is more disturbing than appealing.  To the anxious, a place without borders, walls, confinement, or rules, only brings a sense of dread and desire for safety. 

However, after reading on into the story, it is evident that this could also be an accurate response to the rest of the book.  The novel goes on to describe the frightening perils and prejudices common of that time, certainly not anything to make readers feel comfortable.  BUT it also relates the riches and fame offered to those who return to their homeland victorious.  Both of these viewpoints are valid and open to the interpretation of the individual. 


To an Englishman in 1899, a scene of sitting onboard a ship headed for untamed land was likely either an oft-thought-of daydream or a reality, purely because of the importance and commonality of such excursions at the time.  But whether it brought a sense of excitement or anxiety depended, as it does today, to unique, personal perspective.   

For more info on the new historical analysis, check this out! 

Also that picture was from one night of boredom in 8th grade.  It is no longer accurate. Promise promise.