Depiction of Africa in Heart of Darkness
Chinua Achebe believes that Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness is
racist based on Conrad's descriptions of Africa and it's people. Achebe,
author of Things Fall Apart, stresses Conrad's depiction of Africa as the
antithesis of Europe and civilization, and the animal imagery present
throughout the novella.
Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 during the period of British
Imperialism, concerns a British trading company and their expedition into
the Congo for ivory. The African natives are treated brutally by the
Europeans, and despite Conrad's casual condescension towards the Africans,
one cannot help feeling resentment at the unnecessary cruelty they must
endure. The novella stands as a document against the imperialist practices
-- Conrad was quite liberal for the time.
The natives are referred to as "savages" several times throughout
the story, but Conrad is not using any particularly strong words for the
time. The European audiences who would be reading would not find anything
racist about it. By today's more sensitive standards, such deference is
more serious, but turn-of-the-century England was sure to expect far
harsher. Educated people reading Conrad's novel should understand the
differences between the past and the present, and be forgiving of his
language.
The deeper the expedition progressed into the center of the
continent, the more isolation was felt by the crew. In a sense, Central
Africa IS the antithesis of Western Europe -- it lacks not only the hectic
urban structures but also the Social Darwinist attitudes of the time. It
is in this remote environment that man must face his true self without any
illusions, and the darkness of the human soul is apparent. The uncivilized
environment may mock western civilization's refinement, but this is not
derogatory towards the jungle, but rather an eye-opener to the European
audience.
By exhibiting the deeds of the Europeans, their portrayal becomes
so negative that they become the savages. Conrad clearly is sympathetic to
the plight of the Africans, and any racial epithets, if not accepted by
progressives of the time, are not meant as attacks directed at the natives.
It should be obvious that Conrad is on their side -- or is this
"undermined by the mindlessness of its context and the pretty explicit
Conrad’s main character Marlow is the narrator for most of the story in Heart of Darkness. He is presented as a well-intentioned person, and along his travels he is shocked by the cruelties that he sees inflicted on the native people. Though he is seemingly benevolent and kindly, Marlow shows the racism and ignorance of Conrad and in fact of the majority of white people in his era, in a more subtle way. Marlow uses words to describe the blacks that, though generally accepted in his time, were slanderous and crude. He recalls that some of the first natives he saw in the Congo looked at him “with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages” (80; part 1). Marlow casually refers to the Africans with the most offensive of language: “Strings of dusty niggers arrived and departed…” (83; part 1). To Marlow, and thus to Conrad, the Africans are savages, dogs, devils, and criminals. Even the stories that Conrad creates for Marlow to narrate are twisted and false. The natives that Marlow deals with in the book are described as cannibals, and they are even given dialogue that affirms th...
The diaries Conrad kept during his journey through the Congo gives detailed descriptions of the monotonous African landscape. Conrad wrote that the landscape of the African coast looked the same every single day.[1] This is reflected in Marlow’s narration of the jungle where shapes and forms cannot be made out clearly. The monotonous landscape differed from what Conrad had expected of this exotic location. When he was still a young kid, he had once boasted that he would someday journey to the heart of Africa. However, the actual journey was not at all what he expected it to be. Conrad was shocked at the men in the African colony. He was repulsed by the European colonizers because of the horrible treatment of the natives as well as the unlawful aggressive pursuit of loot. Conrad witnessed atrocities committed by the European colonizers, which helped to form his opinions on the colonization of Africa. In the novel, Conrad uses sarcasm to display his displeasure towards the European colonizers’ treatment of the natives. The Europeans in the book are called pilgrims and the natives are called cannibals, however the pilgrims are the ones who are much more willing to use force to resolve their problems.
Americatel is positioned within the small to mid-sized market in the telecommunications sector. However, their primary competitors Movistar and Claro compete within the large-sized market. With only 10% overall market share, Americatel has the potential to capture additional growth as the industry growth rate is growing at 6%. To accomplish this we recommend that Americatel own their position in the small to mid-sized market by capitalizing on their competitive advantage of providing superior customer service as well as leveraging new solutions to further drive customer satisfaction.
In Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, the issues of Imperialism are discussed. Madness is shown as an outcome of Imperialism through the metaphor of the flabby devil and the band of men known as the Eldorado Exploring Expedition. Chaos is also demonstrated through concepts like the shackled monster and in the attack against the Europeans as well. Corruption is another result of Imperialism and can be seen through the manager's crooked personality and Kurtz's character. Thus, Conrad reveals the madness, chaos and corruption that is the very result of Imperialism.
Effective competition is widely seen as a key to the development of telecommunications services. The ability of new telecommunications networks to interconnect fairly and efficiently with existing networks is critical to the development of competition. AT&T has undergone numerous changes since its inception in the late 19th century. The McKinsey 7 S framework as applied by Pascale is recommended to manage the changes they are facing to adopt a greater competitive presence in the global economy. In conjunction with this framework, numerous other models were applied to analyse the global competitive position of AT&T. Recommendations for a revised strategy and direction for AT&T have been made throughout this document including two scenarios of how the telecommunications industry might develop towards 2000, while outlining the impact on AT&T.
Through several examples, Conrad often shows the pointlessness and savagery of the English colonization in Africa. Probably the first instance of this is when Marlow comes up to the French-man who is "shelling the bush". In this scene, the French see something move and so they start shelling it for that reason. The shelling really does no good; if fact, it probably does not even kill what is out there. This represents what the English are doing in a way -- they are trying to conquer a land by shelling it to death and by trying to kill all the people who live there. The next example that Conrad gives is when he sees the black guard, who is leading the black slaves in a chain gang, straighten up when he sees a white man. What this shows is how everyone tries to look better than they are when they are in front of a supposed superior person. Also it shows that if a person can suck up enough -- and sometimes betray their own people -- they can move up in the world.
Heart of Darkness is a modern English novella written by a modern English novelist whose name is Joseph Conrad in 1898. Basically the novella has a true , historical account of European exploration and colonialism. During the end of nineteenth century colonialism was reaching its peak. The center of interest for European colonial powers was Africa, specifically the region of the Congo.
As many envision sub Saharan Africa as a densely overgrown jungle with crazy deadly animals out the get you, they could not be any more wrong. Sub Saharan Africa is a diversely population region with many different landscapes, climates, and cultures.
Joseph Conrad's novel, "Heart of Darkness", depicts events in his personal life and how he came to believe that the European invasion of the African Congo needed to end. Joseph Conrad had a boyhood fascination of maps and the blank spaces on the African continent. Therefore, when the opportunity was given to him to become the captain of a small steamship on the Congo River, he jumped at the chance. In addition to Conrad's sense of adventure, he also had a curiosity of King Leopold's actions in the Belgium Congo and had a strong desire to witness firsthand the action taking place. After learning his assigned ship was undergoing repairs, he accompanied another crew on passenger ship assigned to bring back an ailing company agent, George Klein, who later died on the return trip. These events provided the backdrop so to speak of Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness. The character of "Kurtz" was modeled after the company agent, George Klein. Although, Conrad never names the Congo or other significant landmarks, he later admits the book a "snapshot' of his trip in the African Congo. (Longman p2189).
This paper is designed to define a problem that currently exists at Global Communications, a telecommunications company and to develop a solution, along with alternate solutions that could be used to solve the problem. Always when making business decisions for a major corporation there are opportunities in the foreseen end-state goals, as well as challenges that occur that all have to be evaluated in determining the final decision. Throughout this paper the reader will be given some background information, along with the expected opportunities and hindering challenges that all will affect Global Communications and the underlying goals that is being worked towards. Global Communications stock was being traded at $28 per share just three years ago. Presently, the company has experienced a major depreciation in stock (Global Communications, pg. 1). The number one reason behind this is the competition that currently exists. All markets have been moving in on the same business, including local, long-distance and international (Global Communications, pg. 1). On the contrary, cable companies have come into the picture putting a halt on all profits being made from each market. Global Communication had to come up with a plan to solve the issue of losing stock value. This new plan, however; has not only given GC many opportunities, but there are also challenges at hand, and not all employees, including the union workers will be happy with the overall solution that the company has made (Global Communications, pg. 6)
Heart of Darkness is a story in which racism presents itself so deliberately that, for many, the dilemma of race must be tackled before anything else in the book may be dealt with. Conrad used derogatory, outdated and offensive terminology to devaluate people’s color as savages. This use of language disturbs many readers who read this book. Although Conrad uses racist language in this book, it doesn’t mean that he is really racist. When we look at the language, we are just looking at the very surface of the story.
Africa, a continent filled with astonishing geography. It was once a home to many beautiful and strong ancient civilizations. Faced with genocide in Rwanda, invaded in the age of imperialism, its people traded as slaves, and the land wanted for its rich resources.
Imagery is using all five senses to help describe details in any type of work. The five senses are seeing, smelling, touching, tasting, and hearing. For example, a story can use a character’s clothes or the colour of them to make a reader paint a picture of the scene. Joseph Conrad’s framed narrative, Heart of Darkness, uses imagery to enhance Marlow’s journey to the Congo where he meets all kinds of people. Conrad specifically used colour to help illustrate the character of the Accountant, the Harlequin and the Intended.
I have indeed learned many interesting facts about Africa and its people through this course, especially, the untold. The different books proved that the people of Africa do not all have the same norms and cultures, but that their states, customs, ethnicity, and backgrounds distinguished them all. This class has not only opened my eyes to see the improved picture of Africa, but have also helped me understand and learn some of the cultures of different nations other than Liberia.
Why is there such a misconception about Africa? and how can the role of documentary practice make a difference about stereotypes throughout the African continent ?