The human condition is the totality of the experience of being human. It's the circumstances which a person is placed in, the environment of existence, and their character. Set in the grim, war-torn future of the 41st Millennium, the weakness of humans become especially apparent in the novel "First and Only" as composer Dan Abnett uses a variety of literary techniques such as imagery and characterisation to emphasise the vulnerability of humans, both individuals and communities in such turbulent times.The introductory paragraph sets the context of the text. "It is the 41st Millennium... To be a man in such times is to live in the cruellest and bloodiest regime imaginable." Here, ...view middle of the document...
"Symber shot three of Coline's killers before a stray round took the top of his head off." The composer instead of just describing Symber's death simply as 'getting shot', chose to write that the top of his head was shot off. This brutal depiction of death is a vivid demonstration of the vulnerabilities of humans. It effectively shows the weakness of human flesh through the gory description of death. This image is enhanced by characterisation. Dan Abnett, before the scene of Symber's death, has extensively detailed his character giving his death a deeper impact on the audience, making the vulnerability of humans even more apparent.First and Only describes the psychological weaknesses of humans as well. Abnett portrays action from a third-person perspective but focuses only on one character at a time, describing in detail the mental thoughts and actions that the character takes, showing the mental weaknesses of human whenever they come up." As shells continued to fall, Caffran sank his head into the slime and begged for release from his nightmare." This sentence shows the psychological weakness of humans using Caffran as a specimen for demonstration. By 'sinking his head into the slime', the composer creates imagery of the environment, suggesting that it's a dirty, muddy place. By 'begging for release from his nightmare' Caffran is shown to be mentally broken, praying for release from his hellish environment. This is a display of the human condition of psychological weakness. Through the combination of the imagery of the dirty, hellish environment and the broken state of Caffran, the mental weakness of humans are emphasised through this comparison.The Lovesong of J.Alfred Prufrock is a parallel to "First and Only" as it also shows the vulnerability of humans. In this text it is focused upon one person that is J. Alfred Prufrock.. The human condition of Prufrock is one of overwhelming insecurity which stems from both psychological and physical sources.. The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock is a magnifying glass which presents the readers with his human nature.Psychologically, Prufrock is shown to be fearful of being unable to fit in with the society and be normal. By using rhetorical questions "'Do I dare?' and, 'Do I dare, ?" Prufrock shows that he is unsure of himself, of whether he is game enough join the crowd and participate. Imagery is also used to visualise the vulnerability of Prufrock. "When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall." This conjure to the audience the image of a worm, which is a representation of the vulnerable mental state of Prufrock.Indeed, this poem is a by-product of Prufrocks' human condition of vulnerability. This poem is narrated by the inner-self of Prufrock, and not Prufrock as himself in real life. The Epigraph is a phrase from Dante's inferno which when translated says that if the speaker knew that his words would carry on to be heard outside of his death, he would not have spoken it. Placing the rest of the p...
