The Evils of Colonialism and Racism During The Victorian Era

1001 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Short note on reform act 1832

When you hear of the Victorian Era, what crosses your mind? One of your first thoughts is probably of Queen Victoria herself, one of the longest ruling monarchs in the history of England. You might also think of the architecture and houses that became popular in that era. You might believe, like many, that the Victorian Era was one of progress and improvements. This is true. Many advances were made during the Victorian Era. For example, between 1809 and 1839, exports grew from £25.4 to £76 million . Great Britain also made advances in communication, using the steamship, railway, and electric telegraph. James Watt and Matthew Boulton improved Britain’s core industries by using steam power in coal mining. The First and Second Reform Acts enabled all men in the country to vote, and this eventually led to women voting in 1918. The first illustrated weekly newspaper was founded in 1842, allowing the working class to stay informed on the news . The list of the improvements that came about during the Victorian era goes on and on.
Despite the advances in Britain’s economy, the souls of the people were not similarly enhanced. While the Victorian Era was one of progress, there was much evil and cruelty as well. The Victorian weaknesses were especially noted by Joseph Conrad, who lived during this era. He knew from first-hand experience the evils of colonialism and racism. He was able to see the hollowness of civilization in the world, and he viewed that hollowness as a great evil. This became the theme of his book, Heart of Darkness. Conrad demonstrated the hollowness of man in the descriptions, actions, and thoughts of his characters.
Character descriptions are important to readers. A reader must understand what characters like and disli...

... middle of paper ...

...pearances and on gaining as much wealth as possible. Meanwhile, they are hiding a dark, hollow soul. But, “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul”? Conrad was right in drawing attention to this hollowness, but he was unable to provide a remedy to the problem. In Christ, we are given that remedy. The only way to fill the hollowness within us is to let Christ fill us with Him. Only then can a hollow soul live a fulfilled life.

Works Cited

1. LitCharts Editors. "LitChart on Heart of Darkness." LitCharts.com. LitCharts LLC. 2014. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
2. Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Oxford University Press, New York. 2008.
3. “King James Study Bible.” Thomas Nelson, Inc. Liberty University. 1988.
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/victorian_technology_01.shtml
5. http://listsoplenty.com/blog/?p=12243

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • Menacing Forces in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    The mind is a wonderful thing. It allows us to think on three very different levels. One we choose to express, one we don’t choose to express, and one we do not even know exists. All these stages of thinking are clouded over in Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness. Three menacing forces occur that completely take over the white man to act inappropriately. They accuse others of acting savage, when they violently act against people of other cultures. They conform to specific beliefs, and push aside their subconscious thoughts. These men also have an abundance of ignorance that makes them feel false superiority. The Heart of Darkness reaches into the minds of readers, to prove that all of civilization is surrounded by an abundance of forces that can fog our mind, and darken our hearts.

    Read More

  • Comparing Mary Anne in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong and Kurtz in Apocalypse Now

    2598 Words  | 6 Pages

    Watts, Cedric. 'Heart of Darkness.' The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad. Ed. J.H. Stape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 45-62.

    Read More

  • Savagery in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness shows the disparity between the European ideal of civilization and the reality of it, displayed by the domination, torture, exploitation and dehumanization of the African people.  Conrad often emphasizes the idea of what is civilized versus what is primitive or savage.  While reading the novel, the reader can picture how savage the Europeans seem.  They are cruel and devious towards the very people they are supposed to be helping.

    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

  • A Freudian Perspective of Marlow in Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Conrad, Joseph. "Heart of Darkness." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams et al. 6th ed. vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993. 1759-1817.

    Read More

  • The Cruelty of Colonialism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    1807 Words  | 4 Pages

    A nation of tortured slaves with bodies so emaciated one could count the ribs, death lingering in every corner as overworked natives line the ground with their lifeless forms, a people so scarred that evil men are allowed to rule as gods. Unfortunately, the gruesome description reigns true for African tribes that fell victim to the cruelty of colonialism. Pointing out the abhorrent evils of the imperial tradition, Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness to expose the possibility of malevolence in a human being. Throughout the novella, Conrad illustrates sickening images of the horrendous effects of colonizing African tribes while incorporating themes such as a reversal of black and white imagery, the “fascination of the abomination”, and the inherent evil within humanity. Uniquely, Conrad often describes good and virtuous situations or people using the commonly negative description black. Likewise, Conrad also uses the word “white” to describe negative, evil, or unfortunate events and people. Another use of theme arises as Conrad’s main narrator, Marlow, becomes fascinated with the savage people and the cruelty under which they live. Although the situations and people are described as wild, Marlow pays special attention to the details of these people because they are all human, like him. Lastly, the protagonist, Kurtz, falls into deep evils as his soul is consumed by power-hungry and greedy ambitions. Conrad often discusses the possibility of evil within every man if the environment is unrestrained and open to a dictatorship-like control. Despite the main idea of the novel being the evil within man, a native Nigerian professor, Chinua Achebe, greatly criticizes what he believes to be both obvious and subtle racist undertones through...

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Morality In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The mind of the man is cable of anything.” These are the words Joseph Conrad uses to describe the potential of each human being, a potential that can be limited based on a person’s ideal of what is right and what is wrong. Conrad makes this ideal visible in his piece of literature “Heart of Darkness,” in which he describes Marlow’s, the novel’s protagonist, journey to the center of imperialism, Africa, where he encounters the dehumanizing treatment of white Europeans towards the African civilization. During his expedition, Marlow learns that morals are individual perceptions of what is right and what is wrong.

    Read More

  • Politics in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anyone can read Heart Of Darkness and easily sense the attitude of Conrad toward English politics. Many times throughout Heart Of Darkness Conrad points out the pointlessness and savagery of English colonization. Conrad also comments a bit on society as a whole. With these two ideas added to the book, there is no wonder of why Heart of Darkness is such a touching novel.

    Read More

  • Cultural Ignorance in Heart of Darkness, By Joseph Conrad

    2121 Words  | 5 Pages

    Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Norton Anthology of British Literature. 7th Edition. Vol. B. Ed. M. H. Abrams, et. al. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001.

    Read More

  • The Characters, Setting, and Symbols of Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beyond the shield of civilization and into the depths of a primitive, untamed frontier lies the true face of the human soul. It is in the midst of this savagery and unrelenting danger that mankind confronts the brooding nature of his inner self.  Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, is the story of one man's insight into life as he embarks on a voyage to the edges of the world. Here, he meets the bitter, yet enlightening forces that eventually shape his outlook on life and his own individuality. Conrad’s portrayal of the characters, setting, and symbols, allow the reader to reflect on the true nature of man.

    Read More

  • Modernist Style in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    393 Words  | 1 Pages

    Heart of Darkness describes a voyage to Africa, common for the British still, despite the horrific treatment which was apparent of colonization.  The chaotic, stream-of-consciousness style Conrad took on helped to display the confusion, and made the reader have to interpret for themselves what they thought the writer meant.  Conrad experiments with this style, leaving some sentences without ending: "not a sentimental pretense but an idea;…something you can set up…and offer a sacrifice to…." (Conrad, Longman p. 2195), a very choppy form of literature and causes the reader to fill in the holes and interpret themselves, alone.  Conrad skips about from talking of the "two women knitted black wool feverishly" at the gate of the city (of hell), to his aunt which he feels women are "out of touch with truth," to how the British are as "weak-eyed devil(s) of a rapacious and pitiless folly" (Conrad, Longman pp. 2198, 2199, & 2202).  Conrad's mind moves about as ours do along a large duration of literary monologue to convey to the reader the author's ideas, as interpreted by the reader.

    Read More

  • What Does Kurtz Symbolize

    873 Words  | 2 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” (The Norton Anthology, 21). The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is about Marlow, the protagonist, and his journey through the heart of Africa, up the Congo River, searching for rich and wealthy European businessman Kurtz. Conrad, through the character Marlow, exposes his experiences and nightmares during his journey up the Congo River, as he witnessed the brutal torments and merciless murders of the natives. This time period of the 1900s brought forth improved technologies, weapons and global connections, this sociohistorical era gave rise

    Read More

  • journeyhod Spiritual Journey in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad may be a narrative about colonisation, revealing its drawbacks and corruption, but it may also be understood as a journey into the depths of one’s psyche, if taken at a symbolic level.

    Read More

  • Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness - A Modernist Novel

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a great example of a Modernist novel because of its general obscurity. The language is thick and opaque. The novel is littered with words such as: inconceivable, inscrutable, gloom. Rather than defining characters in black and white terms, like good and bad, they entire novel is in different shades of gray. The unfolding of events takes the reader between many a foggy bank; the action in the book and not just the language echoes tones of gray.

    Read More

More about The Evils of Colonialism and Racism During The Victorian Era

Open Document