Imperialism Glorified in Heart of Darkness
Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" is, as Edward Said states a story about European "acts of imperial mastery" (1503)-its methods, and the effects it has on human nature. Furthermore I hold the presumption that Conrad incorporates much of his own experience in the Congo and his opinions about imperialism. Another recent critic also suggests: "he seems to approve of Marlow," the narrator (Achebe 1492). These revelations of the author are conveyed to the reader through Marlow's observations, descriptions, reactions, and statements.
Whilst "Heart of Darkness" is at times very critical of European imperialism, that criticism for the most part is directed at the false idealistic claims made about the enterprise and the inefficient and savage methods employed by the Belgians; the book does not question imperialism when undertaken competently, particularly by the British. What is questioned is the brutality held within the false ideals of helping the people.
The opening discussion in "Heart of Darkness" between Marlow and his friends, is about an idealistic imperialism of conquerors, especially English, who were "bearers of a spark from the sacred fire"-the fire of civilization (1428). Marlow once too had "tingled with enthusiasm" at the thought of imperialism, as his friends do during their recollection of the past. However this was before his experience in the Congo, where he uncovers the crudeness of the Belgians. Imperialism, to Marlow, is not always "a pretty thing," but if the conquest of land is approached in an organized, efficient, and moralistic way, it can be considered redeemable by "an idea" (1430). The idea refers to "moral ideas" that Kurtz once had of humanizing...
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Barnet, Sylvan, et al. An Introduction to Literature. 11th ed. NY: Longman, 1997.
Bradley, Candice (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Lawrence Univ.). "Africa and Africans in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." A Lawrence University Freshman Studies Lecture, 24 Jan. 1996. Available: http://www.freespeech.org/james/conrad/heart.htm (Accessed: 2 Apr. 2002)
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness, New York: Dover, 1990.
Dintenfass, Mark. "Heart of Darkness: A Lawrence University Freshman Studies Lecture." 14 Mar. 1996.
Available: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~csicseri/dintenfass.htm* (Accessed : 2 Apr. 2002).
Hayes, Dorsha. "Heart of Darkness: An Aspect of the Shadow," Spring (1956): 43-47..
McLynn, Frank. Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa. New York: Carol & Gey, 1992.
Said, Edward W. "The Imperial Attitude." Barnet 1502.
According to Polanyi, a market economy becomes a market society when all land, labour and capital are commodified (Polanyi, 1957). A market society is a structure, which primarily focuses on the production and distribution of commodities and services. This takes place through a free market system, which allows the opportunity for individuals to engage themselves in the market place, through trucking, bartering or exchanging. Polanyi’s fundamental idea of a market society is that all social relations are rooted in the economy as opposed to the economy being submerged in social relations.
Heart of Darkness shows imperialism in more of a physical and psychological perspective. The main character Marlow, in his beliefs, shows a positive side to imperialism. Marlow does openly admit that he does not belong as an invader to this land that is not his; however, he also says that he will try to help these people, the antithesis of most, if not all, of his comrades. Concerning these imperialistic invasions, he says,
Macbeth fears that Banquo’s son will become king so he finds three murderers and tells them to find Banquo’s son and kill him. Since they are killing his son Macbeth says to kill Banquo. The murderers kill Banquo but not his son. Macbeth throws the murderers into the dungeon. Later Macbeth starts hallucinating. He sees Banquo and is scared. At the end of this act MacDuff escapes.
Achebe, Chinua. "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: Norton, 2001. 1783-1794.
Loeb, Jane W, Marianne A. Ferber & Helen M. Lowry. (1978) The Effectiveness of Affirmative Action for Women The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 49, No. 3, 218-230.
In final consideration, both Helena and Hermia represent love but in a totally different ways. It’s the evil and the good gap that is between them two. I also say that, I don’t blame Helena for the things she did because it hurts to be not loved back by someone who you love truly. However, it was a happy ending for both ladies because at the end they both married who they loved. The contrast relates to the meaning of work by how every character has something to do love and they all show it differently. Adding funny comedy scenes and conflicts, the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare did exactly show what a person goes through to find love.
“ The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” (Conrad 65) So stated Marlow as though this was his justification for ravaging the Congo in his search for ivory. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness shows the disparity between the European ideal of civilization and the reality of it as is evidenced by the domination, torture, exploitation and dehumanization of the African population. Heart of Darkness is indicative of the evil and greed in humanity as personified by Kurtz and Marlow.
"I don't want to bother you much with what happened to me personally,' [Conrad] began, showing in this remark the weakness of many tellers of tales who seem so often unaware of what their audience would most like to hear" (Conrad, 9). Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad's best-known work, has been examined on many bases more than I can possibly list here, but including imperialism, colonialism, and racism. I would reason that all bases of analysis are perfectly acceptable through which to critique Conrad's novella, or any piece of writing. I would reason this, were some of these bases mainly, racism not taken to an extreme level. In arguing racism, many critics seem to take Heart of Darkness as Conrad's unwavering view on Africa, Africans, life, or whatever else one may please to take it as. I, therefore, propose that Heart of Darkness be taken for what it truly is: a work of fiction set in late 19th century Europe and Africa.
Wirth, Linda. “Women in Management: Closer to Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling.” Women, Gender and Work. Ed. Martha Fetherolf Loutfi. Geneva:
McLynn, Frank. Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa. New York: Carol & Gey, 1992.
Macbeth is a play, written by Shakespeare, about a soldier who is overtaken by ambition. The soldier, Macbeth, starts out as a loyal soldier who fights for Scotland. As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes more and more evil, killing whoever is a threat to him. Evil overtakes good for Macbeth.
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 Conrad's Heart of Darkness Marlow, the main character, symbolizes the positiveness of Imperialism. Marlow, as a character realizes the evil that negative Imperialism has caused and decides it is truly unnecessary. When Marlow states, "I had got a heavenly mission to civilize you," he expresses his good intentions to help the Africans progress and advance. Furthermore, when he says, "I was an impostor," Marlow recognizes the fact that he is an invader into a foreign land, yet he sticks to his moral values.
Throughout Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, a sense of imperialism is present. Imperialism is defined as “acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies”. Through the novel, many of the travels Marlow encounters contain imperialist ideas. The whole continent is used as a symbol for this theme. So therefore you can tell that imperialism is just as bad as the disease that many people get from the Congo, they become infected.
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.