Heart of Darkness as a Racist Novel
Because of Conrad's constant use of light and dark imagery in this
novel, it can be difficult at times to ascertain whether his use of
this imagery is meant in a racist manner, or whether he is using it
simply to show how the Europeans actions are bigoted because of their
naivety, or their seeming overwhelmed ness due to the new and strange
landscape they have conquered, and their actions are a result of over
eagerness on their behalf to civilize the blacks.
The River Congo is compared to the River Thames in the book because
Marlow is telling the story while they are sitting at the bottom of
the Thames, yet his story takes place on the Congo. Right off, there
is a comparison between two different rivers. The Thames is suggested
as a peaceful, tranquil river while the Congo, considered the
antithesis of the Thames, has quite a different atmosphere. We are
told that "Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest
beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the
big trees were kings." (1982)
Conrad worries not about the differences of the two rivers, but about
their common ancestry. "And this also," said Marlow suddenly, "has
been one of the dark places of the earth." The Thames has conquered
its darkness and now it's peaceful.
Unfortunately, in saying this, Achebe is missing the point. Africa is
the darkness, on the outside, but it is an irony in that the
Englishmen who go to Africa and are colonizing there are the ones who
are dark and barbarous. They are greedy and have become dark, like the
appearance of the Africans. Perhaps the "darkness" of the Congo ha...
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...ropean conquest, and the
bloodthirsty remorselessness that the Europeans show towards the
Africans
However the fact still remains that Conrad's main message here appears
to be 'who are we to judge'. This can be seen with his reference to
the Romans. It can also be seen in the change in Kurtz. He goes from
an idealist to an exterminator, because he has the power to kill from
afar, rather then get closer and colonize them in a more peaceful way.
This is the typical view of Conrad. I believe that he did not intend
this novel to be a racist one. I believe that it was written to show
how the naivety of the Europeans has led them to take extreme measures
against the blacks. The whites are constantly appearing overwhelmed by
the events that unfurl in the Congo, and this leads to their extreme
actions rather then racism.
The most obvious contrast found in Heart of Darkness is between that of light and dark. In the beginning of the novel when the sun set upon London, the city began to light up yet the narrator describes the light as a "lurid glare under the stars" (Conrad 6). The lights from the city illuminated the Thames River. Because London is described as being light, the light then symbolizes civilization, or at least Conrad's view of civilization. Conrad's view of civilization is one of great despise. Civilization is a place where evil is ever present but ignored and people believe they know everything. The light is the knowledge that we have gained through exploration and the civilizing of places that have not yet been civilized. In contrast there is the darkness. Represented in the novel by Africa and the Congo River, the darkness is the evil that lurks in the unknown. The darkness is full of savages and cannibals. It is the uncivilized and uninhabited part of the world where people eat people and the savages lurk in the trees and in the darkness. Africa is the "heart of darkness," the place where man's inner evil is brought out in the open and is displayed through their thoughts and actions, such as those on Marlow's boat, letting the bullets fly into the jungle without reason or need.
Fiction usually based on what happened in real life. This novel, Harper Lee based on what she seen and writes about it. Racism was quite popular that moment. At the start of the story Harper doesn’t want to go directly into the problems but wanted it grows slowly through a vision of a little girl – Scout. It begins with the memories of a child “when he was nearly thirteen”. This is another interesting way from style of writing, beginning slowly and calm yet deeply meaning in the end. In this novel and all above 15 first chapters, racism exist in people’s mind, on actions and mostly from dialogue, questions they’ve been asked by people around. Relationship in social also causes the problems like this to happen too.
racist ideas in the novel. In some cases the novel has even been banned by
Joseph Conrad is the author of the novel, The Heart of Darkness, along with many other profound works. Compared on any scale, Conrad is nowhere near average. Joseph Conrad is a very interesting character who sees the world through wide eyes. By traveling the world and exploring the many walks of life he is able to discuss common global views and habits that include injustices which are explained in his renowned novel, The Heart of Darkness.
The novel has no plot to mention. ... The book is highly sensational, loud, blatant, ugly, pointless. There seems to be no reason for its existence Harvey Eagleton (Dallas Morning News, May 10, 1925).
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, almost all of the racism is directed towards the Africans. However, there is one example in which there was racism towards another person. Marlow overhears a conversation one night and discovered that the manager thought the Russian trader, who was a friend of Kurtz’s, should be hanged. The manager wants to kill this man only because he is not exactly the same as him, which is similar to the fact that the Europeans thought they were better than the Africans because they were different (pg 72).
In the present era of decolonization, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness presents one of fictions strongest accounts of British imperialism. Conrad’s attitude towards imperialism and race has been the subject of much literary and historical debate. Many literary critics view Conrad as accepting blindly the arrogant attitude of the white male European and condemn Conrad to be a racist and imperialists. The other side vehemently defends Conrad, perceiving the novel to be an attack on imperialism and the colonial experience. Understanding the two viewpoints side by side provides a unique understanding that leads to a commonality that both share; the novel simply presents a criticism of colonialists in Africa. 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.
Friedrich Nietzsche once provided one of the truest opinions on power that the world has ever heard when he said, “All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth”. The promises and truths that those who gain power spread to their people are not always for the greater good. The worst leaders of people are the ones that put more effort and thought into jerking off their own ego rather than putting any real heartfelt effort into helping their people. These sociopathic evil dictators use their power to try and brainwash the minds of people who have to live under them with their own beliefs and hidden agendas, foolishly believing that they are a “savior”. There has yet to be a situation with a leader of a community who has this type of unchecked power and influence with a happy ending. Perhaps the greatest story ever written about good vs. evil, madness, abuse of power along with influence, and nature just might be Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad tells the story of an agent named Marlow, who experiences hellish conditions and behaviors whilst trying to rescue a man named Kurtz, who turns out to be quite a handful. Throughout this journey the moral ramifications of both Kurtz and Marlow’s actions are left to be interpreted by the audience after Kurtz goes mad and becomes the catalyst of the events that transpire throughout the plot. Conrad uses his real life events along with themes of greed, power, and obsession to show what causes Kurtz who acts a symbol for the leaders of the real world to go mad and abuse power.
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.
Heart of Darkness was based on Conrad’s personal experience in the Congo in 1890, during this time King Leopold of Belgium colonizes Central Africa and forms the Congo Free State. Leopold 's original purpose for colonizing Congo was to harvest Ivory. As a consequence, King Leopold, who was a tyrant used his powers and weapons to force the Congolese’s to work to death. In the same way, that the Hearth of Darkness unfolds; it shares the similarity in which the people of Congo were treated under the authority of Leopold. “The work as going on. The work! And this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die: “They were dying slowly—it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now,
To Joseph Conrad, the Africans were not just characters in his story, but rather props. After reading Achebe’s famous essay and Conrad’s novella, I’ve come to a side with Achebe. Conrad “was a thoroughgoing racist”; Heart of Darkness platforms this clearly. Throughout the novella, Conrad describes and represents the Africans and Africa itself in a patronizing and racist way. Constantly throughout the novel, Joseph Conrad was describing Africans by using words bearing a negative connotation.
Later, Marlow encounters cannibals who are characterized by restraint. They outnumber the whites “thirty to five” and were “big powerful men, with not much capacity to weigh the consequences.” Marlow describes them as being utterly capable of simply overpowering and consuming the Europeans. He even considers that he would have as soon expected such restraint fro...
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.
Things Fall Apart was written in response to Heart of Darkness in 1958, therefore, Things Fall Apart automatically has contrasting themes, symbols, and characters that are meant to oppose those set in Conrad’s novella. With the growing popularity of African literature, critics began to question the realism portrayed in each work. Viewing this situation through this lens raises questions about what would be a truthful depiction and what would be a biased depiction. Analyzing this situation through mimeticism and realism, is one way in which this could be observed. In Susan Andrade’s novel, A Forum on Fiction 42.2, she states:
“ The Marxists hate imperialism and consider it as the highest stage, the peak of capitalism and coincidently Heart of Darkness has been considered as an anti-imperialist work, so the work invites a Marxist approach in itself.” (Sardar) The natives were basically stripped of their agency and were forced under the European influence to do hard labor with the ivory. “This imperial relationship between Europe and the underdeveloped world as defined by Lenin is certainly detectable in the historical setting of Heart of Darkness.” (Sardar) They weren’t given the same opportunities as the others. “European imperialism would suggest that this is a utopia considering they can exploit the African masses for maximum gain and they believe that they bring civilization and light to a dark and savage area…” (Rodarte101litcrit 1) And this is kind of topsy turvy because Marlow dreamed of having a utopia. Now that he has met Mr. Kurtz and has seen, and personally worked with his many wonders that he so powerfully possessed, he’s convinced that what he is doing is right. Marlow was naive and hopeless, and Mr. Kurtz seemed all powerful and glorified. Yet we see through the hands of Mr. Kurtz, power is not to be dealt with people who do not know how to control