Explore the theme of danger with reference to the extracts from ‘Heart of Darkness’ and ‘Blood River’.
Comparative Essay: Explore the theme of danger with reference to the extracts from ‘Heart of Darkness’ and ‘Blood River’.
Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ and Tim Butcher’s ‘Blood River’ both explore the theme of danger throughout. This is achieved through Conrad and Butcher’s choice of lexis. The extract from ‘Heart of Darkness’ is taken from chapter eleven. In this extract, Marlow and the rest of the crew of the steamboat are being attacked by the natives of the Congo. The extract from ‘Blood River’ is taken from chapter ten (Bend in the River). In this extract, Butcher describes how a child pickpocket is being attacked by an African mob. Both novels are written in 1st person, but ‘Heart of Darkness’ is fiction, whereas ‘Blood River’ is non-fiction. ‘Heart of Darkness’ was published in 1899 and ‘Blood River’ was published in 2007.
The characterisation and narrative methods of the extracts are quite similar. In ‘Heart of Darkness’, Joseph Conrad gives a vivid image of how brutal the natives in the Congo might of been: “...the arrows came in swarms. They might have been poisoned...” This suggests to the reader that in the Congo, nobody is fully aware of the harm they cause to others or cares about the consequences of their actions as long as it does not affect them and highlights the dangerous nature of the Congo environment. In ‘Blood River’, Tim Butcher gives a vivid image of violent life in the Congo: “...the mob parted and there was the boy, with his arms twisted behind his back”. This implies to the reader of how punishment is taken very seriously in the Congo, even when it is a small child being involved and shows just how danger is so common, it comes naturally to the natives of the Congo.
The contexts of the extracts are very different to each other. In ‘Heart of Darkness’, Conrad expresses to the reader that when the novel was published in 1899, life in the Congo was quite dangerous, so when Marlow is attacked by the natives, while on the
Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ and Tim Butcher’s ‘Blood River’ both explore the theme of danger throughout. This is achieved through Conrad and Butcher’s choice of lexis. The extract from ‘Heart of Darkness’ is taken from chapter eleven. In this extract, Marlow and the rest of the crew of the steamboat are being attacked by the natives of the Congo. The extract from ‘Blood River’ is taken from chapter ten (Bend in the River). In this extract, Butcher describes how a child pickpocket is being attacked by an African mob. Both novels are written in 1st person, but ‘Heart of Darkness’ is fiction, whereas ‘Blood River’ is non-fiction. ‘Heart of Darkness’ was published in 1899 and ‘Blood River’ was published in 2007.
The characterisation and narrative methods of the extracts are quite similar. In ‘Heart of Darkness’, Joseph Conrad gives a vivid image of how brutal the natives in the Congo might of been: “...the arrows came in swarms. They might have been poisoned...” This suggests to the reader that in the Congo, nobody is fully aware of the harm they cause to others or cares about the consequences of their actions as long as it does not affect them and highlights the dangerous nature of the Congo environment. In ‘Blood River’, Tim Butcher gives a vivid image of violent life in the Congo: “...the mob parted and there was the boy, with his arms twisted behind his back”. This implies to the reader of how punishment is taken very seriously in the Congo, even when it is a small child being involved and shows just how danger is so common, it comes naturally to the natives of the Congo.
The contexts of the extracts are very different to each other. In ‘Heart of Darkness’, Conrad expresses to the reader that when the novel was published in 1899, life in the Congo was quite dangerous, so when Marlow is attacked by the natives, while on the