This is the first of a regular column I intend to write called "Psyched".  The entries will deal with books and other media having to do with psychology, psychiatry, mental health and illness, neurology, and basically anything having to do with the mind and what makes it work healthy or fail to work.  I am considering going back to school to study Psychology, because I want to do something that contributes to the improving and well being of those who suffer from mental illness and those who care for them.  Let me know if there are any books or other media which you think I should read and possibly review here.  With that said, here is the first entry to my "Psyched" column.  

I want to recommend that anyone in the area of psychology, psychiatry, therapy, neurology or any other field dealing with the brain and mental health read the book "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" by Dr. Daniel Amen.  I will just get straight to the point about why this book is a must read for anyone who may be diagnosed with a mental condition or seeking to improve the mental conditions of their lives.  Dr. Amen does not just focus on cataloging symptoms and attempting to make a diagnosis that fits the criteria compiled in a non brain connected guidebook such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  Dr. Amen makes use of brain scans called SPECT in identifying what kind of brain activity (or lack of it) is going on in patients who are referred to him.  Dr. Amen makes the connection between the brain and mental illnesses or disorders or behavior problems.  His use of brain scans, while not the only factor in diagnosing and treating various conditions, makes psychiatry into an actual physical science of the brain.  It is no longer subjective guessing game where the only evidence used to identify what is going wrong is through external behavior.  Dr. Amen can show a patient the difference between normal brain activity and the abnormal activity, or hyperactivity, of various parts of the brain involved in different kinds of mental and emotional and physical behavior and health.

The praise I give this book is simple.  If my experience with the psychiatric and mental health fields had involved brain scans such as Dr. Amen does, and connected the brain difficulties and mental symptoms I have to something physical in the brain, I would not have been so resistant to getting involved with psychiatrists, therapists, and psychiatric medication.  Today's psychiatrists claim that mental illness is a condition of the brain, but do not use any kind of scan or test or brain imaging to help identify what exactly is going wrong with the brain, what areas of the brain are overactive, or not active at all.  Psychiatrists should look into Dr. Amen's work, and try to incorporate brain scans into their diagnostic considerations and also in determining what treatments, and medications are best to promote optimal brain health for their patients.  I would not have been so resistant to taking medications if the criteria and methods used for determining my diagnoses and what regimen of treatments and medicine were based on brain science and actual evidence of what is wrong with my brain.  Today's psychiatrists don't do that.  They base everything on externals, such as behavior or symptoms, and do not actually look at what is actual going on, or not going on, in the brain.

If you work in the psychiatric or mental health field, read this book.  If you or someone you know has a mental illness, and especially are resistant to working with psychiatrists, therapists, or taking medication, read this book.  This is a book anyone concerned with having a healthy brain should read and recommend to the other people in their lives to read.  Get a copy, get 10  copies, and give them to your doctors, therapists, friends, family, church leaders, etc.  I can't recommend this book any more highly than I do.  I plan to read Dr. Daniel Amen's other books as well.  Hopefully, I will be able to write reviews for them, as well.

As someone who grew up watching re-runs of Reading Rainbow on PBS, it made me very happy to learn that a season's worth of the show was now being streamed on Netflix. I've watched 3 of the 25 or so episodes that are currently on there, and it brought back good memories. I actually don't remember any of those 3 episodes, as they were probably among the first ones aired well before I was born - the show started in 1983.

What's great about it is that you see books that are probably today out of print, but it doesn't make them any less good. The first episode featured were If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. That book is actually still a top seller on Amazon even over 30 years later! It's a good one, too - and it's amazing what happens when you give a mouse a cookie.

The second was Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy, another good one about a father and daughter taking two old sprouting potatoes and turning them into over 60 of them. This one was reprinted in 2013, and I'm sure having Reading Rainbow on Netflix is helping it out.

The third one was Owen by Kevin Henkes, which was read on the show by Matthew Broderick - ok, I found that amusing. It's about a little mouse who doesn't want to give up his security blanket although he's now old enough to go to school. His mom comes up with a creative solution - which one Amazon reviewer wasn't too happy with... It's a good book, though.

I really love that this show is now easily accessible to today's kids. Yeah, the books are from the 80's and before, but that's what's great about it - shedding light on some really good kid's books. Yeah, I'm way too old for them, but it doesn't make me enjoy them any less.

I'd suggest you check out Reading Rainbow on Netflix if you have kids, or if you have PBS nostalgia like I do. But as LeVar Burton says, you don't have to take my word for it!

by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy

Finally, I have finished reading the original Sword of Shannara Trilogy and the followup quadrilogy, “The Heritage of Shannara”. There is a story behind how I was introduced to these novels by Terry Brooks. When I was in 4th grade or so, I was really into the Goosebumps books. I would read really fast, often reading a whole book in a single night. My aunt noticed I read really fast and recommended I read the Shannara books, of which she had the first 7 volumes. At this time, these were the largest books I had ever tried to read, with the first book “The Sword of Shannara” being over 700 pages. It took me a long time to read the first book, and I found that I often would read 20 pages and not remember anything that had happened in them, and have to backtrack to concentrate on them. My reading comprehension skills were very poor for a long time. But these books challenged me, excited, and inspired me. I read the first three books, doing a book report on the second one, and my favorite of the series, “The Elfstones of Shannara” for an 8th grade English paper. Years later, about a few years ago, I decided to read them again and try to break into the followup four book series “The Heritage of Shannara”. I got into the second volume of this series “The Druid of Shannara” and put it down, having lots of other reading to do. Once again, a year or so later, I picked them back up, rereading from the beginning and finally tonight, finishing the last book of those I am reviewing here.

The Shannara series is a fantasy series, being something like Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings”, including elves, dwarves, magic, demons, and sword-fighting. While I enjoy Terry Brooks fantasy world, I find that Tolkien is far better. But Brooks is very good to read, in my view. I know some people who do not like his writing, but I enjoy it. The plot is essentially about the powers of magic, and the use or misuse of magic. That is the theme that runs throughout the series. Essentially, an order of Druids who practice and develop magical powers, is split, where one druid seeks to much power and is corrupted with the power they use and try to destroy the world and rule it. It is somewhat like the Darth Vader and Sith storyline from Star Wars, but this is not an interstellar galactic empire, but a world-bound army where there is no advanced technology, mostly medieval level society and there is magic.

But the series follows the adventures of members of a certain family, the Ohmsfords, who are partially descended from the race of Elves which has power of magic. Each volume find the Four Lands of Shannara threatened by some kind of evil, demonic, destructive force or character, and the druid Allanon charges a certain descendant of the Ohmsford, to go on a quest to stop this danger. Often the characters bounce all over the world, of which there is a map at the beginning of each novel, kind of like Lord of the Rings, but totally new, seeking out magical items and weapons and recruiting help along the way as the ever doubtful protagonists seek to bring peace and harmony back into the threatened land of Shannara.

Terry Brooks is someone whom I find to be very eloquent in his descriptions of setting, characters, and action. Especially in “The Elfstones of Shannara”, his portrayal and descriptions of battle scenes are very exciting, fast paced and visually imaginative. Whenever he described the setting or scenery or action sequences, I have a very vivid idea in my mind of what the scene looks like, what the characters are doing, and the psychological state of the characters are. The characters are all believable. There is a great variety of characters, and they are easily recognizable and distinguishable. Many of the characters are very likable, and there were feelings of devastation in my soul when certain very important characters are suddenly slain or die, sacrificing themselves to save others and keep the quest going until it is finished. There are some interesting plot twists, and the lore and background story behind the state of the world and the battle between the good magic and lust for power through destructive magic is intriguing.

One thing I would like to gladly note is that there is a “Shannara” TV series in production, which will be aired on MTV. The first season is going to cover the second book “The Elfstones of Shannara”, which I mentioned before, is my favorite in the series. I expect this will be very good, and I hope you obtain copies of these books, and enjoy them very much. I liked it, and I hope you like it as much as I did. You might not, but at least give the first book a try, and you'll get a good idea soon of whether you like the book or the author or not. The list below this review is the order in which the books should be read, just so you know.


Shannara Trilogy:
“The Sword of Shannara”
“The Elfstones of Shannara”
“The Wishsong of Shannara”

The Heritage of Shannara:
“The Scions of Shannara”
“The Druid of Shannara”
“The Elf Queen of Shannara”
“The Talismans of Shannara”

by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy

I finished reading “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain for the first time in my 30 years of life. Twain called this novel his “hymn to boyhood” and it is refreshing to read about the carefree, adventuresome antics of the mischievous Tom Sawyer and his friends.

This novel reminds one of the days before computers, and Nintendos, iPods and Playstations, when all we as kids needed was an imagination and a story to play out, whether it was pirates, or treasure hunters, or whatever fantasy would be fun to us. These were the days when treasure hunts were real, and going out to the woods and living off the land was a grand adventure.

I think just the ability to look back to the way our childhoods were without all the electronics and gadgets and noises and beeps and whistles, makes this novel worth reading just in itself. I could describe the plot and the adventures in this book. But my main goal is to recommend you get a copy, read this, enjoy it heartily and bask in the nostalgia to when you didn't need advanced technology and remote controls and hi-speed Internet to enjoy yourself with friends.

by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy

Recently, I finished reading a nonfiction book called “The Philosophy of Tolkien” by Dr. Peter Kreeft. I highly recommend reading this book for anyone who is interested in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and other Middle-Earth novels and stories. Kreeft digs through the writings and letters of J.R.R. Tolkien and correspondence between him and his good friend C.S. Lewis of “Chronicles of Narnia” fame to demonstrate the very rich worldview and philosophy that fueled the creation of Middle-Earth and his fantasy stories. Kreeft discusses such questions as to God's existence, the existence and nature of angels, what is beauty, the meaning of death, romance and love, knowledge, history, language, politics, and ethics.

I started reading this book over a year ago and got bored for some reason. I picked it back up a couple of weeks ago and couldn't put it down. Perhaps this is because I left off on the parts where Kreeft discussed two of my favorite ideas: Predestination and Providence. I recommend especially the chapter in which Kreeft discusses Tolkien's take on ethics, especially the battle between good and evil which Tolkien dramatized in his novels. I want to highly recommend this book, though I feel inadequate to the task of doing the book justice in this review. But I want to insert here a quote about the battle between good and evil which I thought highly uplifting and inspiring:

“Good and evil are not equally powerful, because they are not equally real—even though evil appears not only equal to good but even stronger than good (“I am Gandalf, Gandalf the White, but Black is mightier still”). But appearance and reality do not coincide here, and in the end evil will always reveal its inevitable self-destruction (although often after a terrible price is paid: e.g. Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin). The self-destruction of evil is not just something to believe in and hope for, but to be certain of. It is metaphysically necessary, necessary because the very kind of being evil has by its unchangeable essence. For evil can only be a parasite on good. It depends on a good host for it to pervert. “Nothing is evil in the beginning” or by nature. Morgoth was one of the Ainur, Sauron was a Maia, Saruman was the head of Gandalf's order of Wizards, the Orcs were Elves, the Ringwraiths were great Men, and Gollum was a Hobbit. And whenever a parasite succeeds in killing its host, it also kills itself. So if evil succeeds, it fails; it commits suicide.”

I recommend this book highly. There are so many gems in the form of quotes from Tolkien's letters and correspondence with others such as C.S. Lewis, and I hope you will find more enjoyment in Tolkien's epic saga the Lord of the Rings after reading this book.

"The Philosophy of Tolkien" can be purchased on Amazon here.

by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy

I just finished reading Charles Dickens' famous work “Great Expectations” and am going to make an attempt to write a decent review of it. Being new to writing reviews, I am going to try to write whether, and for what reasons I would recommend or discourage yourself from reading this novel.

As for whether I think this book was worth the read, I affirm the case in the positive. I enjoyed the novel and consider the time spent reading it well worth it. I am going to try to explain why without giving away any spoilers.

This book I consider to be a book of persons, a book about persons, and their characters and relationships and the fruit of their virtues and vices. This being the first novel by Dickens I have read, since reading “A Christmas Carol” in the 6th grade, I was most struck by the characters.

Dickens goes to great lengths to share with you the nature of his characters. And I found that he did so, more by the actions of characters, than by their words or dialogue. There is a lot of good dialogue, but characters are known more  by their actions in this book than by their words.

This book demonstrates the fallacies we can have in trying to judge the true nature of persons. Some characters are misjudged as being bad persons, when in actuality, they are better natured and charitable than those with clean reputations.

I am not really going to reveal anything here, because I want you to take the opportunity to read the novel yourself, but I will just say that Dickens does a good job of describing his characters and putting them in promising or perilous situations. Some fulfill their “great expectations”, while others find themselves in ruin at the end. Some people are not as they seem, some being the opposite of what popular opinion would have of them.

But in the end, I recommend reading this novel, and would like to hear what you think of it.

(Warning: Spoilers Ahead!)

Out of the Silent Planet was written by C.S Lewis in 1943. Most of the story takes place on the planet Malacandra.  The protagonist, Dr. Ransom, is a complex character who commits both dishonorable and good deeds. He is led into a trap by Weston and Devine, who he believes are scientists. They kidnap him and take him in a spaceship to a planet that the inhabitants call Malacandra.

They were invited by a being called Oyarsa, and planned to desert Ransom there. But, the doctor evaded his captors and made it into the wilderness where he risks both his life and his chance of escaping back to Earth. Fortunately, Ransom will discover that most of the creatures are friendly on this planet.

The first group of natives he meets call themselves the hrossa. One of his first friends is later shot by his former captors, who wish to show their power. The hrossa suggest he go to Oyarsa, who lives in a valley. In order to make the journey, he must first cross steep mountains. As the cold nips at him from the altitude, he comes across a cave. In this cave, he finds a sorn named Augray, another inhabitant of this strange planet, who he finds to be friendly. This creature helps him to find Oyarsa’s valley.

Finally, when he meets Oyarsa, he finds that his captors had already been taken captive for the death of the hross. Weston and Devine confess and are forgiven for their crime, and Oyarsa frees Ransom. Their space ship only holds enough provisions for ninety days. If their spaceship does not make it to Earth by then, they would die. Under great stress, they barely make it in 88 days. After they return home, Ransom becomes extremely sick. When he recovers, he wonders if any of this was real.

My favorite character is the protagonist, Dr. Ransom. It was amazing to see how much his character changed from when he was kidnapped to the trial scene with Oyarsa. C.S Lewis does an extremely excellent job of describing him. In most physical respects, he is rather average, although he has notably high stamina. An example of the latter is the trip he made when he was searching for Oyarsa. As C.S Lewis put it, it would usually be impossible for some one “with his age and build” to stand up to the extreme conditions he faced.

C.S Lewis writes many beautifully descriptive passages throughout the book. Here is an excerpt of Ransom’s impressions when they landed on the planet:

A mass of something purple, so huge that he took it for a heather-covered mountain, was his first impression: on the other side, beyond the larger water, there was something of the same kind. But there, he could see over the top of it. Beyond were strange upright shapes of whitish green: too jagged and irregular for buildings, too thin and steep for mountains. Beyond and above these again was the rose-coloured cloud-like mass. It might really be a cloud, but it was very solid-looking and did not seem to have moved since he first set eyes on it from the manhole. It looked like the top of a gigantic red cauliflower – or like a huge bowl of red soapsuds – and it was exquisitely beautiful in tint and shape.

I liked how descriptive C.S Lewis is in painting the scenery in my mind. The characters were realistic and believable, as well. This book was full of mystery and suspense which were well-balanced with the rich character development. The natives learned to trust Ransom, and to be wary about Weston and Devine. Ransom himself changes dramatically through the story. At the beginning, he had been dishonorable, but when his life was on the line, his values changed. The following passage talks about his encounter with a hross:

Then something happened which completely altered his state of mind. The creature…opened its mouth and began to make noises. This in itself was not remarkable; but a lifetime of linguistic study assured Ransom almost at once that these were articulate noises. The creature was talking. It had a language.

If you are not yourself a philologist, I am afraid you must take on trust the prodigious emotional consequences of this realization in Ransom’s mind. A new world he had already seen – but a new, and extra-terrestrial, a non-human language was a different matter…In the fraction of a second which it took Ransom to decide that the creature was really talking, and while he still knew that he might be facing instant death, his imagination had leaped over every fear and hope and probability of his situation to follow the dazzling project of making a Malacandrian grammar.

Readers will be delighted to know that this is only the first book of a three part series called the Space Trilogy. The two books that follow this are Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. For further reading, C.S Lewis has also written almost 30 other books that may be of interest.

Photo credit: Amazon.com, Fair Use

The World State Society of Brave New World 

The World State society presented in  Brave New World  is radically different from our own. However, it is fascinating to see some striking similarities and, at the same time, to see how certain things in our present culture have been totally done away with in the World State. Art, as we know it, no longer exists. However, the consumption of goods and services is at an all-time high, because people are conditioned to always want the new! The World State also greatly encourages, and actually insists, on the instant gratification of desires. Supposedly, the World State has also rid the world of religion, and yet ironically their high praise of Henry Ford is in itself a religion.

The Lack of Art, As We Know It 

The first striking difference in  Brave New World from our own society was the lack of art, or at least, art as we know it. In our society, we for the most part place a pretty high value on our art. While not everyone goes to museums, everyone appreciates some form of art – whether it is theater, movies, or music. As a culture, we generally value self-expression through artistic media. In Brave New World’s World State, such expression is not only discouraged, but it is in fact prohibited.

Art in Brave New World has been reduced to three things. First are the sensual “feelies,” a rather base concept for entertainment. They are basically composed of cheap, corny movies where you can feel people kiss and all that junk. The second is synthetic music, which in itself doesn’t sound bad, but it has no soul or human touch to it. It would seem the only real music is at their meetings to revere Ford, the Solidarity Services, which I’ll talk about later. Thirdly, there are the scent taps, which actually sound pretty fascinating. They’re somewhat like Glade air fresheners. However, nature itself is fairly ignored in Brave New World.

Many would agree that expression through art is an extremely important aspect of our society. Taking away art takes away a big part of the individual. Our society is certainly correct on art and how necessary it is. Some people may not like particular forms of art, which may itself cause dissent, and some art may be radical in nature, but artistic expression is a natural part of being human.

If we lose the ability to express ourselves, then we cut off the better, more fascinating parts of ourselves.  Our ability to express what is wonderful about us would be so limited. It would come to the point where we’d become little more than animals feeling and touching each other living in a freshly scented world with the Sounds of Nature music selections playing in the background. Unfortunately, that’s what the majority of people in Brave New World have become. Most folks would rather have a little wider range of expression than that. Taking away artistic outlets from people denies human beings of an important right – to share their own perspectives on the Universe.

Consumption of Goods and Services

However, as different as the two societies are on art, it is safe to say that the World State and America are quite similar in their ideas of the consumption of goods and services. In both societies, novelty is a must. We in America are constantly bombarded to buy new things. We are convinced that our old things are outdated and therefore useless and should be thrown away. It is much the same in Brave New World; however, the major difference there is that the people have no choice. They’re hypnopaedically conditioned to consume what the State expects of them to consume, both in goods and services.

In America, we still have choices. We can choose to be thrifty. We can choose to be economical. We can choose to ignore aggressive advertising that tries their hardest to make us purchase on a whim. In Brave New World, such choices don’t exist. You have what you have what you are offered and you consume it. There are no choices to do otherwise. Having choices of what and what not to consume are tremendously important.

It can be disgusting how many needless things we consume, and how many still useful things that we throw away. But, at least we still have free will in what we acquire and what we do with it. We aren’t forced to replace everything when newer versions come out. They say in Brave New World, “The more stitches, the less riches.” It would seem to be a better philosophy, however, to use what you have until it completely outlives its usefulness. As much as Americans both consume and waste, ours is still preferable this to the World State’s system.

Self-Indulgence and Gratification 

Pleasure and self-indulgence is a topic which can be debated over forever. America is crazy about it. The concept of instant gratification has been bred into so many of us, a lot of it almost by accident. Today, so many of us are truly spoiled by all the sources of pleasure and entertainment available at our fingertips. We are overwhelmed by all the things with which we can quickly amuse ourselves. It may not be a good thing that both our society and Brave New World’s are very similar in this regard. Of course, our societies are far from identical in this respect. Brave New World has it much worse. In our culture, we at least realize that there is a time for work and a time for play. Instantly gratifying a desire truly is, as Bernard Marx puts it in Brave New World, “infantile.”

Delaying gratification is something we Americans can at least well understand. As much as we may want a pleasure at a particular time, waiting for it usually makes the pleasure far more enjoyable. Always getting gratification dulls the entire feeling of pleasure after awhile. Pretty soon, the only source of pleasure in Brave New World is “soma,” the miracle drug. It gives you an instant holiday. Oh, how many of us would love such sudden instant holidays! But if we could take holidays whenever the hell we wanted, after a while, we’d take them for granted.

We take so many of our pleasures for granted in America as it is, but at least the majority of us don’t baby ourselves and become slaves to our pleasures. Unfortunately some do. A society with infant-minded people all with terrible cases of the “gimme gimmes” is a frightening thought. In effect, however, that is what the World State has done, and they keep giving the babies more candy.

The Role of Religion 

Last, but not least, the role that religion plays in Brave New World must be examined. Not only are Americans so entrenched in religion, but the entire world is as well. Brave New World  has supposedly done away with it; it has done away with God. But as is made so apparent through out the novel, the World State simply has put Henry Ford in God’s place. Instead of using God’s name in vain, they use Ford’s. The meetings in which they praise Ford, the Solidarity Services, are very little different from modern day church services. They seem to believe in the coming of the Ford, which seems very strange. If all is so perfect, what would the coming of Ford be for?

Human beings seem to have an inherent need for divine deliverance and salvation. These meetings for Ford are simply cleverly disguised church services. It’s often been said that religion turns your brain off. People don’t even realize what they’re doing. They’re worshiping Ford as their God. They’re made to worship his machine, the assembly line. They have in a sense created a “new” God. People in general seem to have an inherent need to worship something. Brave New World ’s deity has become Henry Ford and his assembly line. They are made to worship the Greater Being, the very social machine itself. Ford, unwittingly, was the forefather of this mechanized society.

True Humanity Cannot Exist in the World State 

Brave New World ’s  World State can basically be boiled down to an advanced form of Communism. Not only are people told what to do, but they’re conditioned to like it. Not only are they conditioned to like it, but they’re physically built to like it. It is an impressive, ingenious social machine. But just like in any machine, where’s the heart? They’ve all become servile to the machine and they worship it. At least we’re still autonomous beings, and at least we have freedoms – overwhelming as the bevy of choices such freedoms provide. You cannot live in Brave New World  and be a true human being. The human mind has a need to grow. It can’t be kept idle and at an infantile stage of development, even for happiness’ sake.

Perpetual happiness isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. The sharp edges of life are what make the moments of joy and happiness all that more special. Brave New World  denies the individual the very right to be imperfect. Our imperfections are what make us what we are, human beings. We must all accept one another’s imperfections and learn to live with them. You can’t just throw all the unfortunate parts under the rug; without them, you’re not really alive. Honestly, is it not better to be unhappy and be your own self rather than be just another cog in a well-oiled machine that is little more than an everyday amusement park? Someday, you know the fun and games just have to come to an end.

The hero of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is Mr. Marlow, as he overcame the “heart of darkness.” What exactly does that mean? Sharing a perspective on everyday heroes may shed some light on this subject.

Everyday heroes are people who can make your day memorable. It could be through making you feel good about yourself or doing something to humor you. Or, in the most common example, performing a selfless act of kindness. An everyday hero is someone who daily defeats the “heart of darkness” within each of us. They do this by remaining positive and setting a fine example for the rest of us to remain positive ourselves.

Mr. Kurtz, the supposed antagonist of this tale, gave in to the “heart of darkness” that is the wild Congo of the time. It began physically, then mentally. From these infirmities, he was never able to recover. Kurtz does not seem to exhibit the qualities that allowed Marlow to succeed in the end. Yes, Kurtz had grand intelligence, many big ideas, and originally very good intentions. But, he lacked the integrity to keep his brilliant mind from being invaded by darkness.

Integrity is such an important part of a person. That integrity allowed Marlow to outlast Kurtz. Like so many other unrestrained brilliant minds, Kurtz became swallowed up by his darker side. He then performed numerous atrocities. Kurtz became quite self-centered, as he became almost sort of a god to native tribes, using that position to his advantage. Only in the end does Kurtz truly realize how corrupted he has become. He dies cursing the atrocities he committed, now unable to do anything about them. 

Marlow's Optimism and Constitution

Marlow never gave in, though at numerous times he could have. Part of this was Marlow’s strong constitution. Then again, he wasn’t exposed to the jungle as long as many of those in the story had been. Indeed, Marlow felt the emotional strain, but rather than being attracted to evil, he was outright revolted by what he was witnessing. He had no intention of joining this terrible invasion nor the obvious exploitation of both the land and its native people.

Fortunately for Marlow, he was able to stick to his tasks, not letting his own disgust with the situation idle him. Marlow becomes the hero of this story because he’s able to retain a positive attitude throughout the journey. In his epic case, he remains positive mostly for his own sanity.

From how Marlow tells the beginning of the story, it’s not difficult to gather that he started this journey as a young man with an optimistic viewpoint on life. Being a hero depends so much on retaining positivity. He was able to keep a connection with his civilized self and was able to hold what was good and just in him together, an integrity that Kurtz apparently lacked. In a more literal sense, Marlow is a hero by simply “winning” in the end by not being consumed by the primitive wilderness. It’s the depths of the Congo itself that become the true villain of the novel. 

The trip down the Congo River begins like your typical adventure story. But, through Mr. Marlow’s narrative, we learn this journey affected him deeply. Both physically and metaphorically, he lives his way through a nightmare. He journeys into a primordial land where basic instinct thrives. 

Only by remaining single-mindedly focused on his tasks at hand is Marlow able to retain his composure and faculties. This includes repairing the boat, captaining it, and proceeding on his mission to retrieve Mr. Kurtz. At times, he’s under considerable strain which may have broken many lesser men. 

Marlow saw Kurtz, one who people once considered a great man, reduced to a sick shadow of a man, broken both in body and mind. All around him, people were so very corrupted. But, Marlow’s integrity prevented him from giving in to the corruption around him.

A Matter of Integrity

Sometimes, we can find it hard enough to stay cool in civilized society in our own life. If we were to be far removed from what we know as civilization and put in a world of lawlessness and chaos, the “dark side” within each of us would be extremely difficult to resist. It takes tremendous integrity to remain focused in such an alien world where it’s so easy to give in to your darker side and lose all civilized manners forever. 

Marlow’s great integrity keeps him together in his case. Still, even with all his integrity, he’s forever a changed man from the epic journey. Such hardships must be overcome for one to be remembered as a hero. Marlow truly overcomes some great calls of instinct to which many other human beings would fall victim.

As great as Mr. Kurtz was, he could never be a hero because he succumbed to evil. In Marlow, Conrad created a wonderful hero and a man of great character. Indeed, his story itself is a fairly memorable one. If we can put ourselves in Marlow’s shoes, we can learn a little bit more about ourselves. 

Like Marlow said himself of the journey, “It seemed somehow to throw a kind of light on everything about me – and into my thoughts. It was sombre enough, too – and pitiful – not extraordinary in any way – not very clear either.” Even though he found it impossible to put his exact thoughts into words, the story itself is an epic hero story.

A hero, through all of their hardships, comes to better understand people and human nature itself. It’s through hero stories that we learn so many things. It can also be through such stories that one generation passes on their values. Through Marlow’s example, we can see how staying focused on your tasks and remaining true to yourself can get you through all sorts of difficulties. This can even be true when faced with horrors as monumental as those of Marlow’s experience in the Congo. 

But, even the most “good” of mankind are attracted to power. Marlow found that he liked Kurtz quite a bit, even as corrupted as he’d allowed himself to become. Kurtz became very selfish, and with all the power he had gained, with no one to stop him, who could blame him? Marlow and Kurtz certainly are quite contrasts in character. It’s interesting to note that Kurtz had come to the Congo with quite a bit of positivity himself, but he just could not hang onto it in the way Marlow is able to in the end. Kurtz becomes the pathetic figure and Marlow ultimately is the hero.

Marlow as The Everyday Hero

Marlow’s story is one that needs to be read delicately to fully appreciate today. While Conrad’s language is effective, it can prove dense and verbose in many spots. If you read closely enough, however, tidbits of wisdom can stand out to you. Within his impressive narrative are little insights into everyday existence, quotable and truthful. 

Heart of Darkness is a fine work that can make you ponder about the darker aspects of human nature. It’s hard not to appreciate the book in its subject matter. There’s such a fascinating wealth of insights contained within its pages. It’s also a great example of not having to love a book to get something valuable out of it.

In the simplest terms, Marlow is the expression of an everyday hero. There’s nothing tremendously special about him, other than his incredible gift of expression. He’s just living day to day, getting whatever he possibly can out of each moment, sticking to his tasks and remaining true to his conscience. He does not have to agree with what’s going on to do his job; sometimes, that is just how it has to be. 

After many journeys, Marlow becomes a great storyteller, doing his best to relate the complete essence of a tremendous experience; one Marlow refers to as almost being a “dream-sensation.” Marlow really is just a fellow human being with a heck of a story to tell, and it is well worth listening to, because from it, there is so much to learn.

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