The Spiritual Voyages of Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness describes an outward journey to the heart of Africa that parallels an inward journey to the heart and depths of man's being. Two spiritual voyages are made by Kurtz and Marlow.
Kurtz was a great man who discovered a flaw in himself while working in Africa. He lacked "restraint" to control the emerging dark side which he found within himself. He plumbs the depths of man's dark side -a side which civilization and culture represses - but is swallowed up, by these forces which eventually overcome him in the isolation of darkest Africa. He falls into unspeakable acts and experiences the primitive power and ecstasy and horror of man's uninhibited darkness. Marlow holds back from "the abyss," although he humbly takes no credit for this achievement, ascribing it to grace. Nonetheless, he comes away changed, even enlightened, by this glimpse into the deeper and darker mysteries of life. William Blake (and Sartre) suggests that the road to heaven leads through hell. Blake also saw the pursuit of truth and self awareness as an effort to combine the Innocence of the Lamb with the darker Passion of the Tyger, the two poles of man's and life's existence. Wisdom and enlightenment come to the one who effectively understands and harmonizes both sides of this human nature.
Few people make the effort because society discourages such knowledge in an effort to protect itself. Most people are ignorant of themselves, blithely self-satisfied in their protected world. Kurtz was one of the great men of Europe, a poetic visionary and promoter of progressive causes. In Africa, repressed urges arose which he could not control. Lost in the darkness of his own being, he defines this new found reality as "the horror." Despite his descent into evil, Marlowe respects Kurtz in comparison to the much more "hollow men" whom he ironically calls "pilgrims." These men (EEE, Central Manager, paper mache Mephistopheles, pilgrims on the boat) operate on the "raw principle of rapacious greed" while pretending to be apostles of progress. Such pyjama-clad, gun waving, slave driving, self righteous fools sicken Marlow and, compared to their nightmare of ignorance, the nightmare of Kurtz commands respect and allegiance. His was a spiritual voyage which failed.
Marlow, we are led to believe, has succeeded. He is five times described by the narrator of this frame story in the posture of a meditating or preaching Buddha.
During American colonization, the economy of the south became predominantly dependent on the tobacco plant. As the south continued to develop, they shifted their focus to cotton. Indentured servants as well as African slaves were used for these labor-intensive crops because their labor was decent and cheap (Shi and Tindall 39). Young British men were promised a life of freedom in America if they agreed to an exchange between a free voyage and labor for a fixed number of years. Many willing, able-bodied, and young men signed up with the hopes of establishing a bright future for themselves in America. Unbeknownst to them, indentured servitude was not as easy as it was made out to be. Many servants endured far worse experiences than they had ever imagined. The physical and emotional conditions they faced were horrible, their masters overworked them, and many had to do unprofessional work instead of work that enabled them to use their own personal skills. Young British men felt that because they faced such horrible circumstances, the exchange between a free voyage to America in exchange for servitude was not a proper trade.
The decline of indentured servitude and the rise of chattel slavery were caused by economic factors of the English settlers in the late 17th century. Colonists continually tried to allure laborers to the colony. The head right system was to give the indentured servant a method of becoming independent after a number of years of service. Colonists chiefly relied on Indentured Servitude, in order to facilitate their need for labor. The decreasing population combined with a need for a labor force, led colonists to believe that African slaves were the most efficient way to acquire a labor force that would satisfy their needs.
There are many aspects contributing to the rise of slavery and decline of indentured servitude. The beginning of slavery started when Columbus invaded Hispaniola and enslaved the Arawaks . This was the first time people thought to enslave people against their will for labor. Hard labor and diseases nearly killed off their race, essentially concluding that they were no longer available candidates for labor. Indentured servitude was used as bait to lure people into enslavement and eventually began to fade due to multiple historical events, such as The Bacon Rebellion . African Americans became an easy target because they were less prone to diseases and their bodies were capable of such intense and difficult labor. As slavery began to rise in popularity certain laws were passed through Congress that supported slavery.
In pages 20-24 of Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, I agree that there are many different video games. For me, I am a fan of single-player games with story modes because I can play by myself and go at a pace that suits me. However, I enjoy playing online multiplayer when I have friends I can play with because it is fun interacting with friends and doing stuff together. I play on a console or my computer, but I have played on my phone and a hand-held device. I have not played a board game or card game in a while, but I would play it if the opportunity presents itself. The video games genres I play are sports, action, and adventure. I agree with Jane McGonigal that video games share four defining traits,
The employers have reimbursed the indentured servants with lands that are closer to the Native Americans where it had barely any economic value. This created not only a huge unequal wealth distribution within the colony but many disgruntled independent farmers. This unequal distribution of wealth and dissatisfaction lead to a revolt by indentured servants. The textbook elaborates “These fears were grounded in growing numbers of servant runaways and small revolts in the early 1160s, one of which […] resulted in several executions and law tightening curbs on servants” (77). The revolt was the tipping point for indentured contracts; the risk is skyrocketing from runaway indentured servants and revolts. The employers had to replace undisciplined forced labor force. Eventually, Europeans return to the most primitive form of forced labor; slavery. The slaves were the most primitive but efficient method of exploiting
Heart of Darkness is a book soaked with meaning, but the most prevalent theme is that of darkness. This motif is evident through the physical blackness of nature during the excursion, Kurtz’s mind and mannerisms in his final moments, and the everyday turpitude with which Marlow has grown
It seems that from the very beginning of the conundrum of life rules are ingrained into human mental system. Humans beings are taught by their parents to listen, their teachers to raise their hands, and their governments to maintain order. Human beings have an innate need for structure and order within their lives, which is something that vanishes with the increase of age. To fill the void of structureless societies and to find the truth about themselves; humans look to omniscient deities.
Marlow’s thoughts are so consumed by Kurtz, that he is built up to be much more of a man than he truly is. In turn, Marlow is setting himself up for a let down. He says at one point, “I seemed to see Kurtz for the first time...the lone white man turning his back suddenly on the headquarters, on relief, on thoughts of home...towards his empty and desolate station”(P.32). When Marlow reaches Kurtz’s station, he begins to become disillusioned. He begins to hear about, and even see, the acts that Kurtz is committing, and becomes afraid of him. He sees in Kurtz, what he could become, and wants nothing to do with it. He does not want people to know he has any type of relationship with him, and says in response to the Russian, “I suppose that it had not occurred to him that Mr. Kurtz was no idol of mine.” (P.59). It is at this point that he begins to discover the darkness in his heart.
In the eyes of the universe, Earth is but a microscopic dot of blue mass. The peculiarity of the lived experience is that on this dot, there can exist societal differences as enormous as the universe itself. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow departs the Western World and dives into the heart of Africa, as if traveling from one end of the universe to the other. Marlow’s calling to Africa is driven by an innate hunger for adventure. By the end of the novel, however, Marlow’s frivolous curiosity is overwhelmed by disillusionment with the alternative civilization he discovers. In this coming of age tale, Marlow’s growth is defined by a loss of narrow minded innocence that develops into a conflicted understanding of the universe.
Video games have come a long way. They have evolved from the simple game of Pong into a complex, multi-platform, multi-genre, multi-billion dollar industry.
It is very important for a teacher to be a good communicator.He doesn`t just stand in front of the class and lecture but tries to establish a dialogue and tofind the best group activities in which every child to be involved.Discussion,peer-to-peer coaching are the things which make the process of teaching more interesting and challenging so that all students attend classes and participate actively.
Upon meeting Kurtz’s wife, Marlow decides to lie to her, attempting to protect her from the darkness. As Kurtz’s fiancé begs for Marlow to repeat Kurtz’s last words, Marlow lies: “The heavens do not fall for such a trifle. Would they have fallen, I wonder, if I had rendered Kurtz that justice which was his due…but I couldn’t. I could not tell her. It would have been too dark—too dark altogether…” (Conrad 72). Marlow lies to Kurtz’s fiancé in an attempt to protect her from the darkness. After witnessing the darkness of imperialism, Marlow realizes heaven does not fall for the darkness of mankind, so it will not fall for a lie. Upon this realization, Marlow becomes aware of the darkness not only in the jungle, but also back home. As Marlow completes his story, his lie to Kurtz’s fiancé causes Marlow to realize the unavoidable darkness for humanity. After completing his story, Marlow looks up, only to understand how unavoidable darkness really is: “The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky—seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness” (Conrad 72). As a result of telling his story, Marlow realizes the darkness of mankind is not only a result of imperialism, but also a result of existence. Lying to Kurtz’s fiancé completes Marlow’s realization of
At the beginning of the novel the reader is informed that Marlow is “not typical”, that he, contrary to stay-at-home-minded seamen, is a “wanderer”. He has no home, in a psychological sense of the word. He simply “follows the sea”. This may evoke an interpretation that the man is disturbed, that he attempts to find out about the secrets of his soul, to get to know himself. Since boyhood he had been interested in unexplored lands and especially in a long winding snake-like river with the “head” in the sea and the “tail” plunging deeply into the land, which, as Marlow admits, “charmed” him. This image resembles a map of a journey from the dark lands of the soul, the unconstrained, uncivilised core, which may be called a Freudian Id, towards light, that is Superego. Marlow desires to follow this path in the opposite di...
In the heart of Africa lies darkness beyond that of night. Africa, still mostly undeveloped and covered in wilderness has a beast hidden within waiting to be let out. It is widely known that the primal instincts of a human are savage. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, darkness is not just found in the pigment of one’s skin; it is found in the primal instinct of all human beings, and every human starts with a heart of darkness.
There are several main characteristics that every teacher needs to have to be a great teacher. A great teacher respects students(Orlando,Web). In every teachers classrooms, every students opinions and ideas are highly valued. Students need to be able to feel safe to fully express their feelings and