Connection: Heart of Darkness and The Wizard of Oz

This comparison was made in class, how Marlow goes into Congo-Oz down the Yellow Brick River, but I thought direct parallels, as well as theme resolutions deserved some fleshing out.
Marlow starts his journey in Kansas-Brussels, in the comfort of family and friends, to depart, on an eye-opening journey, for the Congo. Here the two stories are slightly different, but very helpful to each other. Marlow makes his initial journey from a place of comfort, on a ship, while observing a distant/unknown land. Similarly, Dorthy is in her house when she's uplifted, but the journey is in fact much quicker, since her destination is clearly not of this world. Conrad is here making a statement the Wizard of Oz doesn't in forcing us to realize that these horrors are part of our world.
In the interest of time and space, I won't go through the entire book, but make a few other connections.

Kurtz as the wicked witch. This comparison actually makes a lot more sense if you've seen Wicked. (which, for better or worse I have) The two stories inform one another in building a true sense of how the villain's role is more of a fall from grace, and less of a chosen path. In both stories, the character on the journey confronts the villain simply to help free them from the heart of darkness, not to defeat them. (Dorothy unknowingly aiding an escape, and Marlow preventing a return). Dorothy obviously doesn't feel a spiritual obligation to carry on the memory of the witch, but the Heart of Darkness is less of the classic hero's tale than the Wizard of Oz to start with.

The Manager as the wizard. This one's a bit harder, but in both cases, the two are essentially reluctant and somewhat incompetent masters of worlds they take by circumstance, staying healthy and dropping in a hot air balloon, rather than by design or prowess. In the end, we see that in both cases actual leadership skills are lacking and pure lack allows each to survive.

In the end we see why the Heart of Darkness is called the Heart of Darkness, and not the Heart of Fuzzy Bunnies- it's dark. The side of human character and nature it reveals is something the Wizard of Oz, a classic hero's journey, could never touch on. Even if they borrow some characters.

Carry It Forward: Memoria Ex Machina

From Memoria Ex Machina, I will carry forward the idea that memory is selective, self-serving, and constantly changing. As explained in the paper, our mind plays tricks on us with our memories. Not only do we layer memories of people, to a point where we can only remember the most recent version we've known, but our minds also specialize in preserving that which is painfully static, like electronics. The essay recalls electronics from certain times, but not sounds of voices. The nature of memory is a vast science, but this one oddity is the thesis of the paper, and sticks with me.

Years from now, will I remember my brother's face, or my laptop? Probably the latter. Once this has been established, I wonder how I can use it to enhance my life now, knowing how sadly little of it I will remember. Does it mean I should spend more time with family and friends, whose roles in my life, and the way I will remember them, will change? No, I'm going to forget about it anyway. Does it mean I should spend less time with technology and appreciate the ever-changing-but-still-the-same outdoors? No, that will always exist outside my memory. Beyond cynicism, what will I carry forward? I know. I'll always remember that memory captures a shifty world in a shifty way. The disappointments and highs of yesterday and tomorrow will soon only exist, or cease to exist, in the way my mind and I deem fit. That terrible depression from that terrible let down need not exist for more than one day after I get over it. The happiest times mean nothing unless I actively preserve them in my mind. After all, I already can only recall scattered pieces of my summer, and school only started a few weeks ago.

I will remember to remember what has been good, and that both good and bad can vanish from existence as soon as they came in. At the end of the day, I'll know that tomorrow that day may not have to have been, and, just like my future, my past is my choice.