Author Archives: Thanvir Hussain

False Prophets

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Clue
“If we leave our gods and follow your god,” asked another man, “who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?”
“Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm,” replied the white man. “They are pieces of wood and stone.”
When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter. These men must be mad, they said to themselves. How else could they say that Ani and Amadiora were harmless? And Idemili and Ogwugwu too? And some of them began to go away.”

The snapshot above shows the strong belief many of the villagers have in their own religion as the reaction observed by them when Mbanta translate what the “white man” says which causes to laugh. However, this can also be interpreted as the inverse as well as it also shows the people who did not walk away and continued to listen which we learn later in the story that one of them was Okonkwo’s son Nwoye who has doubt in their own religion. This allows us to see that possibly there is several other people who may disapprove of the religion and not agree with it completely and is willing to hear an different perspective and look for answers from a god that is not made of “pieces of wood and stone”.

Are We Alone?

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As I walked towards the building which only continued to overwhelm me in size in which the architecture blew me away. As I entered the building, I noticed the Labyrinthine complexity structure the building had. The contours and proportions of the building seemed off to me but I dismissed it for a moment to marvel at the beautiful geometric symmetry some of the murals and sculptures contained. I have never seen anything like this, nor has any human ever capable of replicating what I was seeing. As I approached the light-debris filled echo chambers, both me and Danforth eyes gravitated towards the five-point we have been seeing. We started realizing that the connection to religion wasn’t the reasoning but something we didn’t want to believe. Upon inspecting the carvings, we realized the time frame in which the monstrous dead city lived in which man’s ancestors were merely primitive archaic mammals. It only meant one thing as both the thought left us frozen in time. We knew what we concluded would be hard to be taken seriously even with photographs that can only capture only an essence of what we encountered. We were not alone and I realized what must be stopped… the invasion of the Antarctic…..

The above monologue of Dyer simple shows his thought process as he is discovering the building and its insides which give him and his partner an insight to the date of the carvings of the sculpture and the city itself. The realization of the five-point not being associated with religion or any culture ideas leads him to believe in the far-fetched belief he shared of the aliens living long before the humans and how they functioned and lived as a society with the governmental and hunting process.

Am I Dead? (Clue for The Island of Doctor Moreau)

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Did Edward Prendick actually die when Lady Vain collided?

The story provides realistic details about events that took place along with things that can be deemed as supernatural and unrealistic. The physical traits that Edward describes of his encounter of the “black-faced man” shows there is something more to what meets the eye. The description of his physical traits of “..and the huge half-open mouth showed as big white teeth as I had ever seen in a human mouth. His eyes were blood-shot at the edges, with scarcely a rim of white round the hazel pupils.” (13) show that he is something Edward has never seen and possibly the supernatural. Perhaps he is in purgatory and is simply being transported to another place with people such who have an reason to being here like perhaps, the drunk captain who had lost his license due to putting people in danger or the doctor who has possibly done something with evil intent with his medical knowledge in London. The description of the “black faced man” and the constant barks from the animals being caged possibly display a bigger role in which Edward is in and a strong possibility of him dying on the boat and letting his mind wander before he finally dies.

Just Another Day in the West (“The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky” – Stephen Crane)

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“The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky” by Stephen Crane gives us a depiction of the social dynamic of a small town which can be compared to the small town from “Young Goodman Brown” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. To first understand the social dynamic, one needs to understand the story and who Jack Potter is. Jack Potter is the town marshal of Yellow Sky which is a little town that is in Texas. Being the town marshal, Jack Potter is a person who people look up to because he is an authority figure and also as someone who deals with the town’s conflicts that arise. Jack Potter is a newlywed who is bringing his wife along home and feels like a traitor to his own town because he got married without the affirmation of the town. Jack Potter feels like he had “committed an extraordinary crime” (29) in his own words which show that this isn’t a crime that happens every day and will leave a strong impression on the town. At this point, it is well understood since Jack Potter is an authority figure who is even feared at times still owes the town to be completely honestly and is comparable to religious figures who also hold an authoritarian figure in Nathaniel Hawthorne work. The main difference in how each author depict the social dynamic in their own story deals is how the characters are involved in the story. In Stephen Crane’s story, he is able to provide a typical day in the west due to involving the drummer whose unfamiliarity with Scratch Wilson, the town drunk who arms two revolvers which causes the reaction of the Mexican men to leave right away. The other men that are left are also familiar with the situation and are irritated with the drummer due to him asking questions. To the reader, based on the reaction of the people in the town, we are able to understand that this is a common occurrence that occurs and a certain routine will be taken to ensure their safety. Hawthorne uses religion and what it stands for to describe the small town actions and behavior. Crane uses a conflict to give insight while Hawthorne uses consequences of religion to drive home the point of loss of faith through deconstructing the people in the town and how they go on their day after they are exposed.