Heart Of Darkness Imperialism Analysis

1282 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Heart of darkness and light symbolism

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad centralizes the issue of imperialism. Imperialism is a nation’s policy of extending authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nation. In the novella, Conrad shows sympathy for the native Africa and attempts to attacks on imperialism by criticizing the immoral and brutal treatment of European colonizers in Africa.
In Heart of Darkness, Conrad reveals that the colonialism’s idea of helping the natives and making them “civilised” is a major misconception among European. For example, “Something like an emissary of light, something like a lower sort of apostle. There had been a lot of such rot let loose in print and talk just about that time….. I ventured to hint that the Company was run for profit. (Pg. 28) In the novella, Marlow’s aunt expresses a naively idealistic view of the Company’s mission “weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways.” (Pg. 28) She feels that Marlow has been sent by the company to complete the great acts of “humanizing, improving, instructing” the native African besides as an agent to collect ivory. Marlow disagrees with her and faults her for being “out of touch with truth.” (Pg. 28) Through Marlow, Conrad criticises that the colonizers actually create an idealistic world by claiming that they are bringing civilisation to the colonised population although they are the real darkness or evil who exploit the trade the natives for their own benefits.
According to Lois Tyson, the colonizers think that they set up examples for the colonial people, so the colonised people “were considered ‘other’, different, and therefore inferior to the point of being less than fully human” In other words, the colonizers ...

... middle of paper ...

...me greedy. As Gene M. Moor has stated, Conrad hated imperialism in central Africa of its savageness, selfishness and devastation. Kurtz’s final words, ‘the horror’, ‘the horror’, are about how a civilized man can change to savagery when there is no restriction” Therefore, Kurtz can be considered as corruption brought to Africa from Europe. The death of Kurtz can be regarded as subversion of colonialism as it destroys both the colonizers and the colonised people.
Heart of Darkness reflects the realities of world in the 19th century, that is Africans suffered and died because of European brutality during slave trading and colonialism. Unlike others, Conrad does not defence European colonisation and degrade the native African. The purpose of degradation in this novella is to show the dark side of the European colonialism and the unfair treatment of the natives.

Show More
Related

  • Oppression of Imperialism in Poisonwood Bible and Heart of Darkness

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imperialism has been a constant oppressive force upon societies dating back hundreds of years. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, illustrates this oppression by providing an instance of its occurrence in the Congo of Africa, while simultaneously setting the stage for The Poisonwood Bible, which is essentially the continuation of the story. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, demonstrates how the Congo is still affected by modern circumstances and ideology. Conrad’s novella acts as a sort of precursor to the events later depicted in Kingsolver’s novel, and this very connection between the stories illustrates the perpetual oppression of imperialism. This oppression is shown through the characterization of the pivotal characters of each respective text.

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness uses character development and character analysis to really tell the story of European colonization. Within Conrad's characters one can find both racist and colonialist views, and it is the opinion, and the interpretation of the reader which decides what Conrad is really trying to say in his work.

    Read More

  • Plato's Gorgias And Discourse

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    'Colonialism is the policy of occupying political control over another country' (Oxford dictionary). The British had power and considered themselves as civilized. They thought that the non-English people were savages and that they were not civilized. The British thought that they should civilize these savages. This is also called the white mans burden. The mission of civilizing the Indians (natives) was used as a tool to loot, plunder, murder and oppress the natives. A book the heart of darkness is based on how white men treat the natives. The book shows Kurtz, the English dealer and his attitude towards the natives. When Marlow, a worker for the same company as Kurtz goes to visit Kurtz he finds out that the natives worship Kurtz and he also sees that there are heads of natives on display near his house. The entire book shows how these civilized men treated the natives in the most gruesome ways and thought what they did was right. (Conrad, Joseph.

    Read More

  • Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel merely portrays a fictional account of British imperialism in the African jungle, where fiction offers maximum entertainment it lacks in focus. The novel is not a critique of European colonialism and imperialism, but rather a presentation of colonialism and the theme of darkness throughout the novel sheds a negative light on the selfishness of humanity and the system that was taking advantage of the native peoples. In Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, Conrad presents a criticism of British imperial colonization not for the purpose of taking sides, but with aims of bettering the system that was in place during Conrad’s experience in the African Congo. Conrad uses the character of Marlow and his original justification of imperialism so long as it was efficient and unselfish that was later transformed when the reality of colonialism displayed the selfishness of man, to show that colonialism throughout history displaces the needs of the mother country over the colonized peoples and is thus always selfish. Understanding the ideology, practices, and repercussions of imperialism is paramount to interpreting Conrad’s’ viewpoint of imperialism and the colonial experience.... ...

    Read More

  • Acts of Imperialism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imperialism is the act of one country overtaking another country. Often, the motive behind this is for resources, as portrayed in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Other times, a country may want to expand their territories, or force their beliefs and customs on another land. This is seen in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. In Apocalypse Now, protagonist Jerry Willard is sent on a confidential mission during the Vietnam War. While voyaging up the river, Willard notices the excessive tactics used by the Americans. America advertised that they went to war with Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism. However, it is obvious that throughout most imperialistic literature the group colonizing natives are the true savages. Considering that this theme is frequent among imperialistic writing, one may assume that imperialism is a violent, unnecessary concept used by brutes with no sense of open-mindedness. One may deduce that America may have had an ulterior motive in attempting to take over Vietnam. In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, imperialism is viewed by Marlow as aggressive and insincere. Marlow often notes that the so-called savages show more restraint than the "civilized" men. In Conrad's novel, the genuine reasoning for pillaging African villages is to rob the land of it's most precious resource, ivory. Though, these pieces are contrasting in style, time period, and reasoning; the two works compliment each other and show the horrors of imperialism through the eyes of someone witnessing it.

    Read More

  • Savagery in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marlow, the main character in Heart of Darkness, often recognizes the Europeans' dehumanization of the Africans.  As Marlow approaches the company offices at the Outer Station he sees "a scene of inhabited devastation" (Conrad 24).  He catches sight of a chain gang of half starved, animal-like Africans.  Trying to rationalize the situation, Marlow tells himself that these Africans are criminals, and somehow deserve their ...

    Read More

  • The Conquest in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    “ 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.

    Read More

  • In Defense Of Heart Of Darkness

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    "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.

    Read More

  • The Changing Personality of Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heart of Darkness is a novel based on European imperialism in the late nineteenth-early twentieth century. During the turn of the century in 1900, the more significant countries in Europe (i.e. England, France, Germany, et al.) had gotten to a point where expansion within Europe was no longer foreseeable, so for financial, political, and egotistical reasons, these countries looked south to their neighbor Africa, the "black continent." "God-forsaken wilderness." Marlow says of Africa. (Page 73) Trade routes were established and the home countries found reliable executive willing to travel and develop relations in the country. In Conrad's novel, Kurtz was this man. He started out with a noble goal, i.e. to modernize Africa, but suffered the effects of a deadly disease, greed. "It was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage." Said Marlow (of what Kurtz and the ivory company had done to Africa.) (Page 102.)

    Read More

  • Ambiguities Explored in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    One interpretation of Marlow's relationship to colonialism is that he does not support it. Conrad writes, "They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now,-nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom" (p. 27-28). Marlow says this and is stressing that the so-called "savages", or Africans, are being treated and punished like they are criminals or enemies when in fact they never did anything. He observes the slow torture of these people and is disgusted with it. Marlow feels sympathy for the black people being slaved around by the Europeans but doesn't do anything to change it because that is the way things are. One can see the sympathy by the way that he gives a starving black man one of his biscuits. "To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe" (p. 54). This statement by Marlow conveys that he doesn't believe that the Europeans have a right to be stripping Africa of its riches. He views the Jungles of Africa as almost it's own living, breathing monster.

    Read More

  • Heart of Darkness and Wide Sargasso Sea: Depiction and Effect Due to Colonization

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad points to the hypocrisy and horrors associated with colonialism. The half-English, half-French Kurtz is the main vehicle used to convey his theme of European colonialism, as “all [of] Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz” (Conrad 164). It was Kurtz who goes to Africa for the "sake of loot, and thus becomes a great literary symbol for the decadence of colonialism" (Zins 63). With his help, Marlow dissects the reasoning behind colonialism, eventually seeing its evil nature.

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness Greed Quotes

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marlow who believes in the Europeans mission says, “I had got a heavenly mission to civilize you” (7). Towards the end of the novel, Marlow comes to see the hypocrisy is his mission to civilize when he exclaims, “There had been enemies, criminals, workers—and these were rebels” (59) as he refers to peaceful looking heads on sticks. Whereas in the beginning Marlow would hear and smell the word ivory here he is starting to see the corpse where the smells and sounds are coming from. Greed causes the subject of the ivory trade to be whispered and sighed about because the smells and sounds are covered up by the mission to civilize, but Conrad shows us what is actually happening in the end. Professor Stephen Tabachnick from the University of Memphis suggests, “Conrad keeps us focused on Kurtz’s ideas rather than on his actions, as a warning that that is where the real dangers in the tale lie—in hypocrisy and greed masquerading as progress” (Tabachnick 198).

    Read More

  • Critical Race Theory In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1989 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tenets of this theory that can be acted upon in interpreting text are questioning the system of values that support imperialism, questioning how imperialist colonizing powers are expanding, and focusing on victims of racism, military expansion, and exploitation. (Bertens, Hans) The text “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad was placed back in colonial times. The text is about a man who learns the truth about colonization and what the colonizing powers were really up to. A man named Marlow goes on a journey from England to Africa to find another man named Kurt, whom the colonizing powers (also known as the company) assume is being held captive by the natives and/or probably dead. Marlow discovers that the company did not actually send him and the ship’s crew out there to look for Kurt, but to steal ivory. When he finally reaches Kurt he soon discovers that Kurt has sided with the natives and the more Marlow learns about the company, the more he agrees with Kurt. (Conrad,

    Read More

  • Colonialism, Imperialism, Symbolism, and Materialism in Heart of Darkness

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imperialism, Symbolism, and Materialism in Heart of Darkness. 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 have got a heavenly mission to civilize you," he expresses his good intentions to help the Africans progress and advance.

    Read More

  • Imperialism in Heart of Darkness

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the novel, Marlow is traveling the jungle and the many scenes of life can be seen. Africa has seems to be taken over by many travelers which makes one wonder what is there ulterior motive? Africa is a third world country, which makes it easy for someone to come in and talk on their soapbox. It is very easy to tell that these men are not the biggest fans of colored people, so it is plausible that they have come to instill a sense of imperialism. As Marlow passes through the waters of the Congo it is easily visible the trouble of the natives. “Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth half coming out, half effaced with the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair.” (20) Show that the holding of these colonies has started. The soldiers have come in and taken the inhabitants and are destroying them and taking from them the one thing they deserve over everything, life. The imperialists seem to not care about the Africans and are just there for their land.

    Read More

More about Heart Of Darkness Imperialism Analysis

Open Document