A Journey into Darkness in Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad, in his story, "Heart of Darkness," tells the
tale of two mens' realization of the dark and evil side of themselves.
Marlow, the "second" narrator of the framed narrative, embarked upon a
spiritual adventure on which he witnessed firsthand the wicked potential in
everyone. On his journey into the dark, forbidden Congo, Marlow encountered
Kurtz, a "remarkable man" and
"universal genius," who had made himself a god in the eyes of the natives
over whom he had an imperceptible power. These two men were, in a sense,
images of each other: Marlow was what Kurtz may have been, and Kurtz was
what Marlow may have become.
Like a jewel, "Heart of Darkness" has many facets. From one view it
is an exposure of Belgian methods in the Congo, which at least for a good
part of the way sticks closely to Conrad's own experience. Typically,
however, the adventure is related to a larger view of human affairs.
Marlow told the story one evening on a yacht in the Thames estuary as
darkness fell, reminding his audience that exploitation of one group by
another was not new in history. They were anchored in the river, where
ships went out to darkest Africa. Yet, as lately as Roman times, London's
own river led, like the Congo, into a barbarous hinterland where the Romans
went to make their profits. Soon darkness fell over London, while the
ships that bore "civilization" to remote parts appeared out of the dark,
carrying darkness with them, different only in kind to the darkness they
encounter.
These thoughts and feelings were merely part of the tale, for Co...
... middle of paper ...
...ntempt to be a kind of moral heroism.
Works Cited
Adelman, Gary. Heart of Darkness: Search for the Unconscious. Boston: Little & Brown, 1987.
Bradley, Candice. "Africa and Africans in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." (24 Jan. 1996). Online Internet. 3 October 1998. Available: http://www.lawrence.edu/~johnson/heart.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. 17th ed. New York: Norton, 1988.
Levenson, Michael. "The Value of Facts in the Heart of Darkness." Nineteenth-Century Fiction 40 (1985):351-80.
Rosmarin, Adena. "Darkening the Reader: Reader Response Criticism and Heart of Darkness." Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism. Ed. Ross C. Murfin. New York: St. Martin's, 1989.
Watt, Ian. Conrad in the Nineteenth Century. San Diego: U. of California P, 1979. 168-200, 249-53.
According to Charity Navigator (Are Nonprofit CEOs Overpaid?), certain industries pay more than others, specifically; an executive can earn more at an Educational charity rather than a Religious one. Geographical location typically reflects the variations in cost of living throughout the country. Naturally, charities with larger budgets can afford to provide higher compensation. The focus of an organization's mission can also have a significant impact on the amount of compensation available. The board of a nonprofit should have a documented policy for determining compensation and raises. While there are not very many charitable organization executives earning over $1 million dollars annually, it should still be of concern because such an amount is quite
Chinua Achebe, a well known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad used Africa as a background only, and how he "set Africa up as a foil to Europe," (Achebe, p.251) while he also "projects the image of Africa as the other world,' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilizations" (Achebe, p.252). By his own interpretations of the text, Achebe shows that Conrad eliminates "The African as a human factor," thereby "reducing Africa to the role of props" (Achebe, p.257).
Frydman, C., & Saks, R. E. (2010). Executive Compensation: A New View from a Long-Term Perspective, 1936-2005. Review Of Financial Studies, 23(5), 2099-2138.
Watts, Cedric. 'Heart of Darkness.' The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad. Ed. J.H. Stape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 45-62.
Achebe, Chinua. An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness. New York: Wylie Agency, 2006. Print.
The novel, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is literally about Marlow’s journey into the Belgian Congo, but symbolically about the discovery of his heart and soul during his journey, only to find that it is consumed by darkness. He realizes that the man he admired and respected most, is really demonic and that he may be just like him. He is able to come to this realization however, before it takes the best of him.
* Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness” in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, M.H. Abrams, general editor. (London: W.W. Norton, 1962, 2000)
McLynn, Frank. Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa. New York: Carol & Gey, 1992.
In the United States, the term executive compensation has many factors that have driven change in the landscape of executive compensation. Examples of those elements include the turmoil in commodity prices, market volatility, and political pressure for the reform of the executive compensation. Further, the executive compensation in the U.S. beats the average worker’s salary growth by a wider margin. However, when looking at the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which was supported by Paul Sarbanes and Michael Oxley represented a massive adjustment to the securities law. Further due to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, publicly-traded and privately-held companies are obligated to implement and report in-house accounting controls to the SEC for compliance. Nonetheless, I will expand on whether executive compensation is ethical or unethical in the workplace, as well as if the Sarbanes-Oxley Act too strict or not strict enough as it relates to investors.
In “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Achebe takes note of the ways that Conrad degrades Africans by reducing their religious practices to misconceptions, belittling their complex geography to just a single mass of jungle, telling them to remain in their place, and taking away their capability of speaking. Achebe criticizes Joseph Conrad for his racist stereotypes towards the people of Africa. Achebe also sensibly labels these stereotypes and shows that Africa is, in fact, a rich land full of intelligent people who are, in fact, very human. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. JSTOR.com - "The New York Times" Indiana University Press, 1978.
In the novel Heart of Darkness, there are several themes including Good versus Evil, Power, Femininity, and Fate. Two themes are further prevalent and significant. These themes are restraint and identity. They are the two most noteworthy themes in the book because both capitalize on the complexity and flaws of human nature.
An Image of Africa Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad has been depicted as “among the half-dozen greatest short novels in the English language.” Chinua Achebe believes otherwise. In Chinua Achebe’s An Image of Africa: Racism is Conrad’s Heart of Darkness he simply states that, “Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist” [pg.5]. Achebe argues that the racist observed in the Heart of Darkness is expressed due to the western psychology or as Achebe states “desire,” this being to show Africa as an antithesis to Europe.
Achebe, Chinua. "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Heart of Darkness: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Essays in Criticism. 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988. 251-262.
The Remuneration committee should help the board of directors in its responsibility for setting remuneration policies that are in line with the company’s long-term interests. The committee deliberates on and recommends remuneration policies for all employee levels in the company, but it should pay special attention to the remuneration of the company’s senior executives and the remuneration of non-executive directors on the board.
Attracting and retaining the most talented employees is essential for long-term organizational success. An important component to attracting and retaining such employees is the design and implementation of an effective compensation and benefit system. Assuming the role of a highly regarded human resource consultant hired to review, analyze, and revise the compensation and benefit system utilized by my city’s largest employer, Holland Enterprises, this paper presents a revised compensation and benefit strategy that suits the firm. This proposal describes how an effective compensation and benefit system could contribute to organizational effectiveness in the firm, the principle components of the revised compensation and benefit system for the