Comparison - Violence

overall comparative statement

both texts explore the way in which violence is both cyclical and futile

home fire - point

in home fire violence is depicted as a futile concept, often used to brand or label groups in society

home fire - context

syrian civil war + representation of islamic terrorism in western media

home fire - quote 1

“emasculated version of Islam”, parvaiz “allowing the wound to fester…and receive the antiseptic” provided by farooq

“emasculated version of Islam”, parvaiz “allowing the wound to fester…and receive the antiseptic” provided by farooq - analysis

violence as a cycle, ‘wound’ used a metaphor - ‘omeros’ - wounds which never heal, farooq creates parvaiz’ wound which he then heals by subjecting him to recreations of the violence supposedly suffered by his father, healing the wounds left by the colonial world pose as the act of creating further wounds in retaliation, violence attached to masculinity, part of the process involves turning parvaiz against the empowerment of women in british, society, a process not condoned by his fundamentalist approach to Islam

home fire - quote 2

“the language of violence, spoken by the powerful of all nations, erased

distinctions beneath the surface.”

“the language of violence, spoken by the powerful of all nations, erased

distinctions beneath the surface.” - analysis

parvaiz ultimately realises that violence does not provide him with a reconnection to any great sense of culture, parvaiz seems to realise that racial differences on the surface are the only distinction between people, parvaiz realises that violence makes us all victims in the endless cycle created by the colonial world, this is ironic given the irrevocable tag he attaches to himself as a ‘terrorist’

home fire - quote 3

“and run she does, crashing right into him…for a moment they are two lovers…sub-dappled, beautiful and at peace”

“and run she does, crashing right into him…for a moment they are two lovers…sub-dappled, beautiful and at peace” - analysis

ends with a moment of terrorist violence, conducted with political goals in mind, the description removes eamonn and aneeka’s identities, they lose their names and the ending is jarringly peaceful/positive in its tone, ‘two lovers’ loss of identity allows them emotion and peace, ‘sun-dappled’ traditional hallmarks of romantic ending work against the actual event being described

heart of darkness - comparative point

home fire depicts the results of the colonial era starting a cycle of violence, heart of darkness depicts the original acts of violence, with conrad commenting on it as similarly futile

heart of darkness - context

Leopold II’s Congo Free State regime

heart of darkness - quote 1

“man-of-war…shelling the bush” + “pop would go one of the six-inch guns…little white smoke would disappear”

“man-of-war…shelling the bush” + “pop would go one of the six-inch guns…little white smoke would disappear” - comparative analysis

conrad creates a parody of the senseless and unproductive violence he observes in africa, ‘pop’ indicative of the gunfire being powerless, reference to ‘six inch guns’ and ‘white smoke’ a parodic image of a sexual anticlimax, similar to farooq’s linking between masculinity and violence, the ‘impotence’ of the violence marlow observes has a masculine tone, both writers make link between male dominated societies and needless violence, shamsie’s uses a metaphor of ‘wounds’ indicating that postcolonial violence is an endless cycle is echoed by conrad’s repeated reference to cycles, such as the men on the boat are waiting for ‘the turn of the tide’, marlow gradually realises that beyond our facades, we all have ‘hearts of darkness’ and all have the capacity for violence

heart of darkness - quote 2

“sticks, little sticks…were whizzing…striking behind me” vs “the pilgrims…were simply squirting lead into that bush”

“sticks, little sticks…were whizzing…striking behind me” vs “the pilgrims…were simply squirting lead into that bush” - comparative analysis

conrad mocks the violence of colonial presence in africa as well as presumption of advancement in order to subvert the violence of the colonial world and futility, ‘little sticks’ have agency and onomatopoeic sounds, which contradict the impotence and powerlessness of the pilgrims ‘squirting’ bullets from their guns, implies uselessness and lack of fertility, shamsie’s tone while highlighting that violence is needless and makes victims of us all in society is much more serious than conrad’s sense of parody and yet both make conclusions about how unnecessary violence is

heart of darkness - quote 3

“attempts at ornamentation” marlow realises are “heads on the stakes”

“attempts at ornamentation” marlow realises are “heads on the stakes” - comparative analysis

the image of the heads on spikes, ultimate symbol of kurtz’ brutal exploitation of africa is echoed by karamat when he convinces parliament that parvaiz should be branded as a violent terrorist and disallowed a British burial, throughout heart of darkness, while kurtz’ violence poses as mere decoration, it is the native africans who are homogenised as savages, marlow recognises the irony of branding them ‘rebels’ against their own violent exploitation, while conrad’s account of Africa’s inhabitants homogenises africans as violent savages, removing individual identity, the removal of aneeka and eamonn’s individual identity at the end of home fire actually serves to give them a moment of escape from violence they have become caught up with, shamsie is perhaps suggesting that for those whose who are islamic in contemporary society to be free of the brand of ‘terrorism’, loss of individual identity is the only possible solution