In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the main character, Marlow travels through the Congo, witnessing scenes of torture, cruelty and near-slavery. The incidental scenery of the book offers a harsh picture of colonial enterprise. The book is regarded as an attack on imperialism and criticizes the immoral treatments of the European colonizers in Africa in the 19th century. However, the dehumanization of the Africans, and use of Africa as a backdrop setting for Marlow’s thought process, rather than an important focus has to do with hypocrisy inherent in the rhetoric used to justify imperialism.…
He outwardly castigates Conrad’s novel as being racist and demeaning to non-white cultures. Chinua Achebe criticizes Conrad’s depiction of Africa as being stereotypical in the views of Western culture. One of Achebe’s fundamental arguments is that Conrad is advertising a false version of the African continent and its people. He portrays them as being hostile and uncivilized through the accounts of the main character, Marlow. Achebe is infuriated at this notion because Conrad’s style of writing covers up the true nature of its meaning. He believes that this form of writing emanates from Conrad’s own racist beliefs and upbringings as a child. Specific citations from the story indicate that Conrad put the Europeans on a higher pedestal as he characterizes them as being “illuminating”, and “twinkling” with brilliant ideas (Achebe 3). Conrad’s racism is delineated perfectly when there is an encounter with a black man and he describes his feelings as being “blind, furious, and unreasoning rage” when he encountered this man (Conrad 11). This vast disparity of descriptions of the two races show his inner thoughts and his hatred towards non-whites. According to Achebe "Conrad appears to go to considerable pains to set up layers of insulation between himself and the moral universe of his story”(Conrad 14). This is exactly how Conrad uses his stylistic form of writing to cover up these feelings of hatred and detest towards the African continent and its population. Achebe also points out that Conrad’s depiction of the rivers is a symbolic sign of his inherent racism. He states in his story that "going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world” (Conrad 9). This is referencing the Congo River that led to Africa and Conrad uses a negative connotation in describing…
Through out the book,we can see many examples of where the Europeans are racist towards the African-Americans. It is easy to see how the Europeans could think that they are better than the African-Americans. For instance Conrad states, "the thought of their humanity-like yours…Ugly". That is a prime example of when Conrad is compared to a African American; he thinks he is too…
He wanted to fill out the dark spots on the map that no one has explored before. Through his journey to Africa and his experience there was where he discovered the unfortunate side of Imperialism. Throughout his journey through Africa he witnesses the how unlawful and atrocious Imperialism is. He witnesses many things such as prisoners that were chained to one another, starving Africans, witnessed a handful of dying natives, and he also witnessed beheaded african heads on poles. He witnessed all the negative sides to Imperialism and how gruesome it was. Marlow states, “Just as though I had got a heavenly mission to civilize you” (Conrad 7). This portrays ideas from the White Man’s Burden where Marlow believed that it was his duty to conquer and educate the conquered. He believed that his race was superior and that it was his duty as the superior race to educate and civilize the barbaric natives. However his naivete came to an end as he spent more time in Africa. The more time he spent in Africa the more he realized how cruel they were being to the natives that were living there. He witnesses more and more cruel acts of the White abusing their powers and harming the natives and treating them crudely. It slowly came to his realization that what they were doing wasn’t right and that he didn’t want to believe in this form of…
In Neil Bissoondath’s “I’m Not Racist But…” the narrator intends to bring awareness to his readers on the connection between stereotyping and racism and condemns such acts against one another, while in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness, the protagonist informs his audience on the consequences of African colonization. Bissoondath’s work is oriented to educate the reader in the different types of racial acts leading to hatred, abuse or enforcement of power toward any given group of people. He condemns their use whether ignorantly or intentionally. Conrad’s work however, informs the reader of how the goals of the European settlers in Africa, such as ….., led them to exploit the Africans and their raw materials for the purpose of earning profits.…
Racism is extremely prevalent in current times, yet society tends to turn a blind eye towards it. By ignoring racism, society essentially condones it, and teaches future generations to do the same. Authors often choose to incorporate the belittlement of their characters based on ethnicity to address social problems. Joseph Conrad utilizes racism in his literary works to bring to light this widespread issue. In his novel, The Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses verbs connoting animalistic traits to create an apathetic tone towards the dehumanization of natives, demonstrating how racism is inevitably ignored in society.…
Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, was written around 1890 in a time where imperialism was common practice. The subjugation of other countries and nations was common for countries to do and was accepted as a normal process by the people of the dominant countries. From this society Conrad’s main protagonist emerges, Charles Marlow. Marlow is in essence a normal man from England, but as the story progresses he becomes anything but normal. Throughout the book the reader can see Marlow's "change," as caused by his exposure to the harsh and primal world that is the Congo. This change is minimally on a physical level and mostly on physiological and intellectual levels. Conrad emerges from the jungle a changed man, with new…
Throughout Heart of Darkness, the reader receives Joseph Conrad’s portrayal of Africa and its people under a remarkably demeaning light. When the author was born in 1857, racial tensions were at a heightened point in history and Conrad used the novel as a vehicle to advance his innately racist views. During the late nineteenth century, Imperialism struck Africa, leaving harmful effects on many of the native people and marking a dark moment in human history. The colonization of Africa, which had significant economic incentives behind it, ultimately led to intensely strained relationships between white Europeans and black natives, especially in Central Africa. Charles Marlow, the protagonist, is regularly confronted with the racism that stained…
Conrad explores the element of not belonging to a great extent through the presence of cultural barriers dictated by the European exploitation of the natives. Contextually, Africa was seen to be the ‘antithesis to Europe’, hence the natives were seen to be ‘less civilised’ and inferior, hence were unable to express their own personal opinions due to their oppression in the hierarchical structure, hindering societal and cultural belonging. Throughout the novella, they are referred to as ‘negros, savages and rudimentary souls’ who work for the Europeans, yet get nothing in return except mistreatment. The list of ruthless descriptions creates a detached tone that conjures a sense of isolation. The horrific sensory imagery of the natives with ‘iron collars around their neck tied together with a chain’ symbolically represents the subjugation…
1: Achebe is right in saying, Conrad's portrayal of the african civilizations and africans is just as damaging. Conrad looks at them in a negative light. He writes “ the men were inhuman”, and “ They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces on the shore of the river; but what thrilled you was the thought of their humanity-the thought you may be related to them and their wildness in some way. Conrad sees their culture as strange, because it is new and different. He does not attempt to show the good side of the culture, like Achebe when he writes about the peoples beliefs and festivities.…
Hawkins argues that Conrad implements the evolutionary trope in Heart of Darkness, but also exposes the downfall of Europeans by showing their desire for merciless control and inhumane actions to control the African colonies. An evolutionary trope is a developmental logic that white civilization is more advanced than African civilizations (Lecture 2/16/17). Kurtz himself is a representation of Europe because he is a civilized man who becomes barbaric and savage after living in Africa. In addition, Hawkins noted that in Heart of Darkness, racism explicitly occurred as “Conrad likely didn’t show more of the Africans because he wanted to focus on the Europeans” (370). Much like Kurtz himself, Conrad and Marlow conceal a lot in their use of sophisticated words and diction. In addition, their high-strung eloquence is very underrated; people will do anything that the voice asks them to do, including the African people. Ultimately, by denying the humanity of Africa, Europeans are destroying their own humanity, and therefore, Europe is destroying…
Conrad brings his readers deep into his story through painted images as if we are there with him. He uses specific word choices, metaphors, and smooth transitions. The darkness of human conscience developed from the European’s hunger for ivory.…
Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrad 's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad 's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad used Africa as a background only, and how he "set Africa up as a foil to Europe,"(Achebe, p.251) while he also "projects the image of Africa as 'the other world, ' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization."(Achebe, p.252) By his own interpretations of the text, Achebe shows that Conrad eliminates "the African as a human factor," thereby "reducing Africa to the role of props."(Achebe, p.257)…
Joseph Conrad's book, Heart of Darkness, is a book that has been written with a lot of hidden meaning in it. Chinua Achebe has claimed that Heart of Darkness is an "offensive and deplorable book", that reflects the imperialism against Africa. However, Conrad's view is quite the opposite of what Achebe says Conrad's views are. Through his writing in Heart of Darkness, Conrad is trying to convey to his readers that Imperialism is immoral and degrading.…
In Heart of Darkness, the Congolese are portrayed as savages, primitive and animalistic, and the Congo is represented as the antithesis of Europe. Conrad doesn’t comprehend them on either an individual or cultural level; he cannot identify with their language, their world-view, or their history. He can only describe what he sees when he looks at them through the filter of a European way of ordering and interpreting the world because it’s the only frame of reference he knows, and the only knowledge he’s capable of expressing.…