#text analysis 2

I used Lexos for my first text analysis assignment, so for the second part, I decided to use Voyant and AntConc. I analyzed Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, using the Voyant Bubblelines tool:

This was a very visually appealing way of studying word frequency. The tool took the most commonly occurring words in the text over the course of the novel, as well as their frequency in each part. The word "man" had the highest appearance rate, at 102 times, while "Kurtz" appeared 93 times. This is appropriate because the novel itself reflects on the dark nature of man, and centers around Mr. Kurtz.

I also used the Voyant Knots tool, which showed the interconnectivity of some of the same words. "Man," "project," and "work" displayed high interconnectivity, unsurprising because in the novel the operations of the steamer are contingent upon the cooperation of the men on board the Nellie, and the plot chronicles Marlow's recollection of his experiences as part of the crew.

I also looked at some of the words individually using trend graphs...I chose "saw," "man," and "great." The word "saw" saw a sharp incline in frequency as Marlow describes in first person his harrowing journey into the depths of the jungle, and the horrors he encounters with the rapidly deteriorating and increasingly mad Mr. Kurtz. "Man" is fairly frequently mentioned throughout the book, but displays a significant drop toward the middle of the book, perhaps reflective of his experience firsthand with Mr. Kurtz rather than speaking hypothetically or about him in theory. The word "suddenly" notably occurs at the height of the action, mostly toward the beginning and end of the middle part, but tapers off at the end after they escape the jungle and Kurtz dies.

The word "great" was a fascinating one to look at, especially given the context of the novel. Marlow is continually told about "the great Mr. Kurtz" by the other crew members, which may explain the high frequency in the beginning. However, it drops sharply in the middle of the book, when Kurtz is at the height of his insanity and Marlow is fighting for his and his crew's survival. At the end, the word reappears in relative frequency, possibly due to Marlow speaking about him in retrospect and reflecting upon his achievements as a great man prior to his madness.

And lastly, I used AntConc to compare both Heart of Darkness and The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, because both explore the nature of man and his descent into madness and/or darkness. "Man" appears consistently throughout Heart of Darkness, but is a little more concentrated in the beginning, when Marlow has not yet met Mr. Kurtz but discusses the idea of him. The Picture of Dorian Gray, with the degradation of the painting, delves into a more abstract, psychological conceptualization of the self as a being in the context of his own mind, thus the frequent appearance of the word "man" toward the end of the book.