Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness and the European’s Claim...

Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness and the European’s Claim to Superiority Incomplete Works Cited Just beyond the â€Å"biggest and greatest town on earth†, four men sit patiently on their boat, waiting for the serene waters of the Thames to ebb (65). One of the men, a Buddha, breaks the silence, saying, â€Å"and this also†¦has been one of the dark places of the earth† (67). This pensive and peaceful idol, Marlow, explains to his apathetic listeners how a great civilization is blindly made out of a darkness, remarking, â€Å"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. What redeems it is†¦show more content†¦Marlow’s ironic comments on the degradation of the African people continue as he describes a â€Å"useful† fireman who had been instructed to fire a boiler properly, lest an â€Å"evil spirit...take a terrible vengeance† (110). By referring to this man as, â€Å"†¦an improved specimen† and by describing his appearance as, â€Å"†¦a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hind- legs,† Marlow suggests that the man is in a much worse state now than when he had been a â€Å"barbarian† (109). Marlow bitterly remarks that, â€Å"He ought to have been†¦on the bank, instead of †¦full of improving knowledge†¦A few months of training had done for that really fine chap† (109-110). In effect, the white men, who possessed the â€Å"civility† to teach the â€Å"savages† properly, choose to reduce them to â€Å"parodies† who live in fear and degradation. When Marlow describes the dying Africans in the â€Å"grove of death,† he does not mean to dehumanize them, but suggests that the inhumanity of colonialism has reduced them to their present state. Striking an obvious blow to European colonialism, he narrates, â€Å"[The Africans] were nothing earthly now†¦Lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest† (83). By describing the Africans as an inefficient work force, Marlow does not demean their humanity, but ironically refers to the inhumanity of the Europeans responsible for the Africans’Show MoreRelatedThe Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad968 Words   |  4 PagesJoseph Conrad’s novella The Heart of Darkness has been under controversy because of racial interpretations. The race factor in this novel has made some scholars and professors question the function the novella has in the classroom. However, Joseph Con rad had another view when writing the novel; to demonstrate how prejudice and dehumanizing the European culture is towards African Americans and their culture during this time period. European’s superior authority over African Americans is portrayedRead More The Lie of Imperialism Exposed in Literature Essay3048 Words   |  13 Pagesnations during the colonial period had far-reaching and detrimental affects on the language and identity of traditional societies. Derek Walcott’s postcolonial poem, â€Å"The Season of Phantasmal Peace† (1981) presented in dialogue with Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1910) and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) brings to light the powerful role that language played in executing the lie of imperialism on colonized peoples and the implications that this exertion of power has had and continues toRead More Colonialism and Imperialism - A Post-colonial Study of Heart of Darkness3270 Words   |  14 PagesA P ost-colonial Study of Heart of Darkness         Ã‚  In this paper, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness will be examined by using a recent movement, Post-colonial Study that mainly focuses on the relationship between the Self and the Other, always intertwined together in considering one’ identity.  Ã‚   The Other is commonly identified with the margin, which has been oppressed or ignored by Eurocentric, male-dominated history.  Ã‚   Conrad is also conscious of the Others interrelated status with the SelfRead MoreThe Nature Of The African Landscape10552 Words   |  43 PagesThe Landscape: In this section, I seek to investigate how the nature of the African landscape has been depicted in Heart of Darkness. Questions such as 1.) How the Orientalist others the foreign landscape 2.) What is the psychological influence of the African landscape on the European colonisers? 3.) Does the psychological influenceon the Whites similar to that of the Blacks? 4.) And, what are the consequences of that psychological influence on the White invaders and the natives? These arguments