Abstract
The author states that there have been few artists more dark and introspective than Goya. "Saturn Devouring His Children" is an image of great power and is the most representative of his Black Pictures. The author describes the painting in detail. The life of Goya especially his deafness is review and analyzed in terms of his art.

From the Paper
"This blurring of the lines between the real and the ideal is shown in Goya's construction of the painting. The thick, heavy lines that outline Saturn's fingers as he grasps his child serve to underscore the detachment between the two figures. The god is wholly distinct from his offspring. Yet the lines between his own fingers are blurred. They compress together like mittens, inhuman paws tearing into the flesh of the headless figure. Line too in most of the rest of the picture is faint, all except for the thick, black circle of the creature's mouth."

Tags:soul, lucientes, deafness, power, construction, lines, emotion, color, headless, child

Abstract
This paper will discuss the book "Other Side of Dark" by Joan Nixon and seek to understand the characters that play a part within this tale. By revealing the nature of the author through her style of writing, we can see how she uses the premise of darkness to illuminate her story. By revealing the plot and the characters, a better understanding of this novel can be made.

Abstract
Using Marlow, a character in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", this analytical essay looks at the history of colonialism and the European conquest. Describing and analyzing the inner monologue of the character, the writer presents a different view that Conrad, in writing this novel, was portraying the brutal conquest of other continents. Breaking down various imagery and metaphors, the writer paints a picture that is meant to help one understand the sublime meaning within the text.

From the Paper
"The first images of African nature that Marlow provides are found in geographical maps and these images set up Africa as dangerously devoid of humanity or civilization. This supposed lack of civilization in Africa, or its "darkness", corroborates the idea that Africa is essentially empty and therefore available to be divided up amongst European nations. Marlow first references this idea of Africa lacking humanity by stating that as a child, "I would... lose myself in all the.. many blank spaces on the earth... there was one yet, the biggest, the most blank... that I had a hankering after" (1894). He then states that Africa, the blank space he had been describing, had "become a place of darkness" (1895). These descriptive images of Africa as a "blank" and "dark" space have the effect of denying African people agency and erasing their humanity, since from their viewpoint African land would most certainly not be blank or empty. Yet if Africa is positioned as blank, an idea which Marlow aligns himself with by default as no other maps that offer an alternative perspective seem to be available to him, then the colonization of Africa would not be land theft or morally objectionable."

Tags:Heart of darkness, joseph conrad, colonialism, conquest

Abstract
This paper discusses the novel "Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer and looks at how there are several different stories inside this single novel. It examines how the main story is set in modern day Ukraine and is recorded as the main character, Alex's own memoir. Another character, named after the author of the novel himself, also is in the midst of writing a story. It examines how the story takes place over several generations and how toward the end of the novel Alex's grandfather reveals insight into himself through the story of his youth during World War II.

From the Paper
"In Jonathan's letters to Alex he also includes chapters from his novel. Jonathan's book is written to depict his family's history using the little facts he has uncovered about the generations preceding him, as well as his own creative imagination, which fill in the missing pieces. Jonathan's novel beings with the story of Brod, his great great-great-great-great grandmother, who as a newborn was the only survivor as her family's carriage plunged into the river of an unnamed village. This accident becomes the backbone of the village, which celebrates the anniversary of that mysterious accident with an annual festival and soon takes the name "Trachimbrod" after the river at the center of everything. Brod herself is named after the river she was "born" from and is adopted by Yankel who she believes is her real father until the day of his death. "

Tags:alex, ukraine, Yankel

Abstract
The paper asserts that the relationship between the intellectual and his or her social context is a complex one because of the forces a strong, public stance by the intelligentsia can unleash. For instance, the paper relates that intellectuals can spark social upheaval by attacking ancient institutions or conventions; on the other hand, if intellectuals remain silent, many grave injustices can be committed in darkness. The paper looks at how Chomsky writes that intellectuals are in a position to expose lies and to analyze governmental actions; they can, as it were, speak truth to power and prevent cruelty and injustice from continuing needlessly. The paper also highlights how Charlotte Perkins Gilman, John Dewey, and Frederick Jackson Turner are all intellectuals who challenged the perceived truths of their age - their social context - and used philosophy to illuminate the shortcomings of their world while also offering suggestions for improvement.

From the Paper
"The relationship between the intellectual and his or her social context is a complex one because of the forces a strong, public stance by the intelligentsia can unleash. For instance, intellectuals can spark social upheaval by attacking ancient institutions or conventions; on the other hand, if intellectuals remain silent, many grave injustices can be committed in darkness. Chomsky writes that intellectuals are in a position to expose lies and to analyze governmental actions; they can, as it were, speak truth to power and prevent cruelty and injustice from continuing..."

Tags:history, america, thought

Abstract
This paper looks at the relevance of the movie to our everyday existence. It shows how, throughout the film, life and death are displayed in ways that illuminate their surreal quality, their strangeness in the context of such darkness and emptiness. It explains that life in the case of a radically imposing world is strange even to the hero, Deckard.

From the Paper
"The film is one big test of empathy, of how much we should be feeling, upon the audience. It is highly self-conscious in this way; we are made to feel that we are watching a film, and yet a film that throws doubts into all our expectations, especially that of the extent of our own emotional understanding. How much do we feel for the characters of Deckard or of Batty by the end and how is this relevant? Deckard at one point asks regarding a replicant, "How can it not know what it is?" The Replicants are an essential premise, for once we begin to replace aspects of our humanity to such a degree, what is left of the human or at least the value of a human's life? Where everything is thrown into doubt, one answer might simply be more delusion in a world of delusions and yet also of (pure unicorn) dreams."

Tags:replicants, life, death

Abstract
The paper discusses Charles Dickens' novel, "Our Mutual Friend" which centers on materialist capitalism and how its acceptance or rejection leads to personal disintegration or reunification. The paper notes that to this end, Dickens places most of his characters into a dichotomy--on one end of this dichotomy are the characters who ruthlessly trample upon others in order to economically advance themselves, while on the other end are those who seek wealth while still maintaining ethical standards. The paper discusses how, in the work, Dickens illuminates the dark realities of the cutthroat capitalism, which epitomized his contemporary Victorian society.

From the Paper
"Ultimately, the characters who eschew morality and integrity in their aspirations to prosperity face misfortune and personal destruction while those who maintain their altruism and dignity even within this ruthless capitalist society experience personal reunification, redemption, and honor. Through these events, Dickens illuminates the dark realities of the cutthroat capitalism, which epitomized his contemporary Victorian society. Materialist capitalism, unlike mixed or regulated capitalism, is an economic system by which the pursuit of wealth and material goods is a significantly greater priority than the pursuit of personal character, virtue, and altruism. In the novel, Dickens illustrates its dangers by showing how it ravages human relationships, destroys communities, and pollutes individual character".

Tags:accumulation, of, wealth, salvation, mercenary, social, competition, renewal

Abstract
This paper examines how Edith Wharton's short story, "Roman Fever", offers a dark glimpse into the characters of two upper-class women, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, who have known each other for years in New York City, and who serendipitously meet in Rome where they are vacationing with their daughters. It analyzes how Wharton's exploration of the characters of these two women illustrates much about the nature of female friendships, jealousy, and forgiveness. It also shows how the character study illuminates Ansley and, especially, Slade as exemplifying few of the cardinal virtues of wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice.

From the Paper
"As they sit knitting together on the terrace, Slade muses about their pasts, insulting Mrs. Ansley thoroughly in her mind. This silent, passive character assault indicates that Slade lacks true courage. Although her past action of luring Ansley with a fake letter by her fiance demonstrates a degree of compunction, brashness, and guts, Slade nevertheless acts passive-aggressively. She allowed an irrational, as yet unfounded jealousy cause her to entrap her friend. Then she lets the wound fester for decades. Her envy of Ansley and her upper-crust lifestyle also cause her to compare their daughters and Slade feels that her Jenny is inferior to the livelier, spunkier Babs Ansley."

Tags:slade, ansley, female, friendship

Abstract
The period covered by the term 'Ancient Greece' is a long one, encompassing the Mycenaean period and the subsequent so-called 'Dark Age' (c.1600-900 B.C.), the Archaic Period (c.900-480 B.C.), the Classical period (c.480-323 B.C.) and the Hellenistic period (c. 323-146 B.C.). This essay discusses the Mycenaean, Archaic and Classical periods, using the literature of some of the richest cultural epochs in Ancient Greek history to illuminate questions of freedom in the society of Greece during that time. Works examined include Homer's "The Iliad" and "Hymn to Demeter", Socrates' "Apology" and Sappho's "Hymn to Aphrodite".

From the Paper
"Socrates was a man; no woman could have been brought before a court to face the charges he faced because no woman had the freedom to travel, to question, and to speak in public. Women were perhaps the largest class of the Ancient Greek population to be excluded from the exercise of many of the freedoms we would recognize as important today: political participation, ownership of property and wealth, pursuit of education and careers. Women in the classical period were restricted in their free choice of marriage partners; any dowry was effectively the property of the husband, denying the woman financial independence (Sealey, 67, 77); these restrictions were less evident by the later Hellenistic period, in which women possessed more freedom in their personal lives and control of their own financial affairs (Sealey, 94)."

Tags:Troy, Hector, slavery, Athens

Abstract
This paper contends that Spanish filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar often presents his themes in a satiric and comic framework emphasizing certain melodramatic and exaggerated elements. The paper discusses his film "Talk to Her" and claims that it is not as darkly comedic or as exaggerated as some of his films. The paper examines how he uses the various elements of film to heighten the odd nature of his characters and to illuminate their inner states on the basis of external action, sets and camerawork. The paper explains that a primary mental state for these characters is that of audience, for life to a great degree is a spectator sport at which they are better as observers than participants.

From the Paper
"The film maintains a certain theatricality throughout, beginning with the opening shot, which is revealed as a curtain is drawn back as if for a stage play. Indeed, the first thing seen in the film is a stage play, a very odd interaction at which the main character is seated in the audience. The film ends in the theater once more, and the sense of life as a theater piece infuses the film. Two men are watching the performance, Marco and Benigno. They do not know each other, but they will become friends later and will be important to each other, serving as complements to one another."

Tags:marco, benigno, audience