The Destructive Element

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how a destructive element refers to that one trait which can destroy a person or negatively impact his life in some manner and how the element usually acts as a barrier between men and their full potential and can also seriously impede their growth. It looks at how in Joseph Conrad's novel, "The Shadow Line" the destructive element is in the shape of immaturity, which makes the protagonist give up his job on whim and out of sheer boredom. It shows how in "The Dead" by James Joyce, we come across another kind of destructive element, which is negative in nature because the protagonist has chosen to actually submit to it by becoming its victim. Finally it examines how in E.M. Forster's "A Passage to India", we come across a destructive element again and this time it is prejudice and an abnormal fear of "others". The author highlights the problems faced by the victims of prejudice and how this destructive element proves detrimental to the friendship between Indians and British and one woman's quest to discover real India.

From the Paper:

"The story, which appeared in the collection Dubliners, revolves around a party scene that takes place at the house of two old ladies who are close relatives of the protagonist, Gabriel. Gabriel's character has a destructive element, which is conceit. He is highly conceited person and considers himself more educated than the rest. However because of this element, he suffers various setbacks and even some rude shocks, which make hi, understand that conceit had completely killed his ability to communicate with others. We notice that throughout the story, Joyce has refrained from exposing the true soul of each character with his own words; rather he helps the readers reach their own conclusions by observing the behavior, speech and thoughts of the characters. "

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