The Secret Agent Symbolism

Time is constant. No one has the power to stop it or to go back in it. Time cannot be changed for it is timeless. With time being everlasting there is a mystery within time’s boarders; why cannot one change time? Arcadia by Tom Stoppard explores the lives of many individuals in two different time periods but within the same setting, Sidley Park, which is a stately home. Within the first four scenes of the play there is a shift between the two time periods 1809 and contemporary time period. Time is omnipresent throughout the play, whatever happens will happen and time is constant regardless how you measure it. In Geraldine Cousin’s Playing for Time, Cousin explores the mystery of time’s immutability. She also explores the ideas of how the past always has a lingering effect on the future. Then in John Fleming’s Tom Stoppard’s: Arcadia compliments on how time is equally woven between the past and present. He also provokes the idea that one could split the play into two plays by splitting up the two times. The mystery behind time in Stoppard’s Arcadia is well defined. Time is inevitable and connected, you cannot have the past without the present and future. Tom Stoppard depicts that tie overlaps itself in order to show how chaos enables freewill.

Symbolism plays an important part in this story. The ebony clock is particularly significant “there stood against the Western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony.” Poe placed the clock against the western wall for a symbolic purpose. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. The clock is nearer to the setting sun. The placement of the clock indicates an association with an ending. A sunset indicates the ending of a day, while the ebony color of the clock suggests its relationship with darkness and death. The characters react to the sounding of the clock’s chimes in a nervous fashion. “…While the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale.” Poe uses this clock to remind the characters that they have lived through another hour to build up the time of revelation. At each strike of the clock the characters stop everything as if they are waiting for the "Red Death" to come for them at any minute. At twelve, the stranger dressed as the "Red Death" appears. This time everyone begins to fear death. The darkness of the rooms causes shadows to form by the fires' light to increase suspense.

Time, what is time, and why is it important? Well time is a concept that humans’ brains can perceive, in fact their brains basically construct the past, the present, and the future. Basically, time is a measurement system, and without it the human race wouldn’t have ever existed. Humans have a very simple understanding of time, and they still do not understand its full potential. Humans only understand the measurement of time, and the manipulation and capturing of time overwhelms them. To this day the only way humans have captured time is their memory, and even then they still get it wrong sometimes.

Time is one of the biggest inconsistencies in our world. Sometimes a second may seem like an hour, and a day may seem like a minute. Our relative perception of time is based solely on the circumstances surrounding that moment. For Elie, one of the first instances where time became a major factor in the

time,” is a statement which this book The Daughter of Time demonstrated very well. It showed how

In ‘Run Lola Run’ time is shown to be an important theme right from the beginning. We

In the beginning of the poem we see the line “Time that is moved by little fidget wheels” conveying the meaning he was taken before his time. This refers to the chronological and systematic time of humanity in which is measured by minutes and hours, shown on clocks that are symbolised by bells. This concept of time is far more powerful with the use of personification as emphasised by the capitalisation.

Conrad applies an apparently crystal clear literary narrative technique in the tradition of conventional realism, a narrative method that appears deceptively simple. The Secret Agent holds great deal of the social concerns. It is considered supreme masterpieces, it is a brilliantly depicting an ironic narrative of London's seedy and dispossessed underworld of revolutionist and anarchists.

Postman (1985) then speaks about the clock and how it serves as a metaphor for the way we look at the world, moments turning into other moments. The clock serves as a conversation man has

Most notable to J.B. Priestley, who was heavily influenced by this work, was John William Dunne’s “An Experiment with Time”. In Dunne’s work, he talks about that all time is happening at once so that every moment is proceeding right now. However, humans experience time in linear fashion. To comprehend time, we must clearly separate past, present, and future. Dunne also explores the theory that only when we dream, time is no longer limited to linear concrete interpretation that we experience in our waking hours. The idea of nonlinear time in dreams relates to Strindberg’s A Dream Play and some sections of Time and the Conways. However, Dunne was not taken seriously by his contemporaries due to his lack

In life and in literary text hidden meanings are quite common. There is basic level of understanding by the majority and a concealed meaning that requires a deeper level of critical thinking and analysis. Terrance Hayes provides a “poetic style that resist style” which proves hard to interpret, but I conclude he provides a common theme many might mistake for just an element of poetry (Fabu 1). A common theme present within two of his poems “Lighthead’s Guide to Galaxy” and “Antebellum House Party” as well as ”Mausoleum” from his signature book Wind in a Box is the idea of symbolism and underlying meanings within itself and how individuals tend to look for something more in things even in life instead of being as it is.

In many novels, the idea of time is handled in different ways to keep the story at a smooth pace. Kurt Vonnegut, the author of Slaughterhouse-Five, uses time as a way to give the reader an idea of what his main character’s life was like and what he had gone through throughout his life. Vonnegut’s manipulation of time may make the story confusing to some at times, but he effectively explains his character’s background through this different use of time.

Time is a wonderful part of the world and our lives. Time allows us to learn, grow, make memories, feel emotions, teach, and meet new people, just to name a few. Sometimes, we may not think we have enough time for our various goals because of numerous distractions. The concept of time can be hard to understand because it is a cycle but something we cannot return or get back. In Amulet, time plays a large factor in the way that Auxilio tells her story.

In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut wants us to understand that time is inevitable and uncontrollable. This is similar to Time XXI by Khalil Gibran due to its description of time it describes how time is boundless, measureless etc. However, The Twilight Zone, “Nick of Time” by Richard Matheson is in direct contrast to Vonnegut’s ideas about time in Slaughterhouse-Five because in the show they were able to change their actions to change the future, which is completely in opposition to Slaughterhouse-Fives themes. In Slaughterhouse-Five a major theme in the book is taught by the tralfamadorians.

According to Hawking, you can’t look at the universe using general relativity without finding a big bang or something similar to that at the very beginning. So what does time mean to people now? Time is different as you go through time zones. Everyone has their own perception of time.