The Dichotomy Of Light And Darkness - 974 Words

Photographically, contrast is the scale of the difference in white and black in an image. The contrast of a photograph is crucial to its form, for without contrast a photograph would be unintelligible. The contrast, or scale of the difference in light and darkness is crucial to writing as well as exemplified in The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne, throughout his novel, employs the dichotomy of light and darkness in order to reveal several themes in which this juxtaposition accentuates the contrast not only between man’s law and nature’s law, but also that between innocence and immorality, and secrecy. A prominent theme which Hawthorne explores is that of man made law versus natural law. One could argue that the only unassailable law of nature is that the sun must rise every morning and fall every evening. This is precisely Hawthorne’s premise. He likens the punishment of man with darkness through descriptions of the prison as being â€Å"the black flower of civilized society† and a â€Å"dungeon† lit with â€Å"grey twilight† and composed of â€Å"darksome apartments† as well as describing its walkways as â€Å"the dark passageway(s) of the interior†. However, in every account of darkness Hawthorne includes a component of light such as â€Å"a wild rosebush†¦ which might be imagined to offer their[its] fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner(s) as he[they] went in...in token that the deep heart of nature could pity and be kind to him[them]† as well as â€Å"a baby of some three months old, whoShow MoreRelatedEssay on Feminist Theory in Heart of Darkness1199 Words   |  5 Pagesof Darkness Joseph Conrad’s varying depiction of women in his novel Heart of Darkness provides feminist literary theory with ample opportunity to explore the overlying societal dictation of women’s gender roles and expectations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The majority of feminist theorists claim that Conrad perpetuates patriarchal ideology, yet there are a few that argue the novel is gendered feminine. 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Analyzing the visuals symmetry and use of light and darkness in the film also illustrates the subjectivity of truth in each of the characters stories. In the Light and Darkness in Rashomon article by Kioko McDonald, McDonald says that; â€Å"The implication of light and darkness are rather opaque Rashomon. On one level, the dichotomy of light and darkness, then, can be considered archetypical representation of this bifurcation of man’s nature: light represents reason, while dark represents impulseRead MoreEssay about Arby1395 Words   |  6 Pageswith romance, with the exotic (baazar) and the erotic (images of Mangans sister). A dichotomy forms between that which is religious and that which is not. It is romantic love versus religious devotion, the baazar at which the narrator wants to buy something for his infatuation, and the kind of life that keeps the girl from going on her own. 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