Psychoanalytic Criticism of The PWB

I am very happy that I chose this focus out of the basket. I knew immediately that I could have a lot of fun with this connection to the book and really express my thoughts.
A common psychoanalytic question is 'how symbolic is the imagery in the work?'
My answer in the form of examples in regards to the book PWB is as follows:

The white flowers taken over by African dirt. This is important in showing the reader that even the beautiful pure things are not meant to survive the harshness of the African Terrain.

Rachel, the "white rabbit". Like mentioned in class, the rabbit is often a creature symbol of trickery and deceit. We have yet to see Rachel be either of these things, but as a symbol, the white rabbit represents rarity, trickery, and perhaps bad luck.

The "overkill" of fish, dead and left to rot on the river bank. The imagery o dead fish is symbolic of the Father's goal in Africa. His goal is to help "enlighten" the people, And yet we
predict he will lead their downfall. His attempts at creating an easier and better life for them ultimately harms them. The fish is an example of the father trying to do a good thing, feed them, but instead waste fish and plague the village air with the scent of rotting fish (symbolic of death). I think his massacre of the fish is also symbolic of his lack of foresight and understanding of Africa. Back home the fish would have been put on ice and preserved, but he fails to remember this detail and his fish fall victim to the sweltering African heat.

The fake ivory hand mirror. This is symbolic of Rachel's lack of depth. She is concern solely with her material goods and strongly detests sharing with her sister. The facade of her mirror accurately mirrors her shallow ideals and her lack of "true honest" depth.
The betty crocker cake mix meltdown. This is symbolic of Orleanna's loss of control over her surroundings and sense of adaptability. She was not prepared for what the heat would do to the cake mix. Her meltdown displays her first moment of "losing her cool" it brings us far deeper than just the loss
of the cake mix. Here we realize that she is losing her motherly control. She realizes she no longer has the means to provide for her daughters in the manner that they are used to.

Anatole's face scarring. This section where his face is described is symbolic of Rachel's lack of consideration for things beyond physical perfection. She goes on to tell the reader that the African people seem content with scars as a decoration. Unlike her, the African people know that scars often represent challenges or hard circumstances that have been overcome. Perhaps in many instances those scars were obtained in near death experiences and therefore she has nothing to relate to. Her reaction to the scars, and the description of Anatole's face is symbolic of her innocence and lack of empathy.

Heart of Darkness vs. Apocalypse Now

I think we all found the movie Apocalypse Now to be quite entertaining. There were many scenes in the movie that led us to think "wow the movie has dead ringer parts to the story". While some ideas were similar, many aspects of the movie AN were
different from HoD. The main variation I would like to focus on is our relationship and feelings towards "the oppressed". In HoD the reader can feel nothing but pity and sadness for the Africans in the Congo. They are portrayed as shadowy figures who are brutally and ruthlessly worked to the death, if not killed before then. When reading HoD, the reader is allowed to manifest feelings of sadness towards the people. We almost want to save them.
When watching Apocalypse Now, I formed and entirely different opinion towards the "oppressed", if we can even call the Vietnamese in AN oppressed. We can see
the majority of them as victims of war and brutality, but as the US was not physically trying to govern and rule them in AN I do not see them as oppressed. However, As Eric mentioned in his blog, AN may have been a form of Vietnam War propaganda, in which case it would only be logical that we don't relate to the "oppressed" in the way we do in HoD. In the scene where the Vietnamese girl runs in the plaza to throw a grenade in the US chopper, viewers are immediately resentful of the Vietnamese. While this particular scene does not translate into a scene from HoD I think it is still very significant. An important difference between HoD and AN is our feelings and connection to the oppressed. I personally did not relate and want to save the Vietnamese. In HoD I Wanted to see the Congolese freed and yet in AN I wanted to see the Vietnamese lose as much as the US did. As a form of propaganda, and as part of a war film it makes sense that we cannot relate to the Vietnamese, they are intended to be the enemy. But I think it is important to realize that AN is missing the key component of compassion towards the "oppressed" that really drew us into the book HoD.