African American Imperialism

In Achebe’s essay, he writes, “Heart of Darkness, projects the image of Africa as “the other world,” the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where man’s vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality.” Conrad says to juxtapose Africa to Europe and how they are different from one another. By using

Even when Conrad gives Africans the power of speech, he does them a disservice in that this granting of power exists not for the sake of Africans but for the sake of Conrad performing “lip service”. More instances of inherently racist descriptions take place in Heart of Darkness, such as the description of Congolese on the brink of death when Marlow arrives to his first camp. Marlow describes some of them as “creatures” or “bundles of acute angles”. (Conrad, p. 19) Clearly, racist tendencies prevail in the narration of the

The author of the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, asserts that Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, portrays Africa as the antitheses and foil to Europe. I disagree with Achebe’s claim. As I have read Heart of Darkness, that is not the tone or mood that I sense. I see a man who wants more in life, but finds himself in the midst of a possible conspiracy. One example of this is in paragraph 2 on page 8, “I felt somehow I must get there by hook or by crook.” This quote supports my position of disagreeing with Achebe’s claim that Conrad’s novel subtly displays Africa as the antithesis and foil to Europe by explaining that Marlow was a driven man with the self-motivation to get anywhere he wanted in life. He didn’t concern himself with other

Conrad’s depictions of the African natives and the operations being carried out in the stations of the Congo seem to vary throughout the entirety of The Heart of Darkness. At times there are condemnatory statements made about the so called savages, while at other times, Marlow develops a friendship of sorts with his African helmsman. Ultimately though, Conrad’s portrayal of the ivory trade and overall imperialistic policies employed by European countries upon Africa is one of denouncement. This novella is written with an unmistakable denigration for the so called civilization mission and for the ill treatment of the natives. Far more superior technology paired with the sense of duty to spread civilization resulted in the abuse of the people

In the novel Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad illustrates the issue of racial dilemma through the novel's protagonist Marlow. Heart of Darkness tells the story of a young seaman named Marlow and his journey up the Congo river to meet the mysterious Kurtz who has fallen into the evil of imperialism. In the novel Conard’s excessive use of defamatory language and the comparison of the African population with nature depersonalizes the race. Heart of Darkness displays the theme of evil when imperialism is placed upon an European individual and in the process neglects and glorifies this idea that the nature of Africa is apart of this evil. The natives are displayed as being animalistic with the use of grunts and short phrases in the novel.

Throughout Heart of Darkness, there are blatant acts of brutality that transform Marlow’s perception of humanity. These barbaric experiences lead Marlow to question the expectations and moral standards existing at that time. As Marlow explores the area around the Company’s station, he recognises that the natives “could by no stretch of imagination be called enemies.” It is in this moment that he understands the full extent of the mistreatment and exploitation of

Sadly, even though he expresses a bond or connecting line between the British and the Africans, Marlow goes on to tell his listeners that the bond is not a good one. When the book first began, Conrad made it seem as if Marlow was the good guy in this story. He made it seem like Marlow would be the one to go to Africa and see the beauty of it, and show others a better way to treat the native Africans. Instead, Marlow joins the European group of people in Congo to participate in mistreating the Africans there as well.

In Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, Conrad uses the depictions of the natives as Marlow goes down the river to portray how human nature is with different levels of power. He uses color imagery to correlate the darkskin of the natives to the name of the continent the natives live on, “the Dark Continent”. He portrays Africa, or “the Dark Continent” to be a place of primitiveness and savagery. The nature of the natives are primitive and savage too. In the same way, he aides the superficial meanings of his description with words that have negative connotations to further his depiction of the natives as primitive and savage.

Since the publication of Heart of Darkness, it has been the center of a great deal of controversy that revolves around its depiction of the natives of the continent of Africa at the height of European Imperialism. J. Miller argues that we must first read Heart of Darkness if we are to decide whether or not we should read Heart of Darkness. He also believes that Conrad himself is not racist, but rather he is ironically portraying the prevailing thought in Europe at the time of the novel. Chinua Achebe, however, argues that we do not know if Conrad is being ironically racist or not, but nevertheless his racism is present and is perpetuating the ignorant view that African society is inherently more primitive than that of Europe. This thought has rationalized the Imperialism in Africa and the world for centuries, which makes the novel inherently problematic, especially through his portrayal of African characters in the novella.

Conrad’s description of the native Africans comes from the point of a colonizer who spends a majority of the book on a steamboat with the Congo River and a vast jungle separating him from the subjects of which he speaks of. His primitive, and what some believe to be racists description of Congolese is one of Achebe’s main concerns with the novel. “I had to look after the savage who was fireman. He was an improved specimen; he could fire up a vertical boiler. He was there below me, and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hindlegs”(Conrad 13). Using words such as “savages” and comparing them to dogs gives a negative and animalistic view of the people. Conrad never

Throughout his novel, Conrad establishes his argument that all natives are reckless creatures. Through the perspective of Marlow, one can see that Europeans viewed Africans as uncivilized animals in comparison to themselves. Marlow describes this foreign creature by claiming that the natives, “...Howled, and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces...” (Conrad 43). Since the natives have a drastically different way of life compared to the Europeans, the latter cannot possibly comprehend these foreigners as the same species as themselves. Marlow seems fascinated by these so-called human beings and says, “...but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity – like yours – … Ugly” (Conrad 43). Marlow

Darkness. It pervades every corner of this world, casting literal and metaphorical shadow over everything. Creeping in the hearts of humans, drifting across the night sky, under the bed, darkness is a terrifying, yet quintessential concept in our human mentality. And, as such, it presents itself in cultures and stories around the world to explain the unknown and the terrifying. Through the presentation of the struggle with internal and external “darkness,” both Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart draw upon contrasting viewpoints and cultures, as well as an ironic play of “darkness” between the Europeans and the Africans, to construe the tragedy unfolding in Colonial Africa.

Throughout his novel Conrad establishes his argument that all natives are uncivil; Achebe believes that natives can be equally as civilized as men like Conrad’s white protagonist, Marlow. Through the perspective of Marlow, one can see that the Europeans viewed the Africans as uncivilized animals; they were not human in the same way that white men were. Marlow describes to his audience this foreign creature by saying the natives, “...Howled, and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces...” (Conrad 43). Since the natives have such a drastically different way about life compared to the Europeans, the latter can not possibly view these foreigners as the same

One event in the novel that displayed darkness was when the Europeans was cruel to the Africans. The main character, Marlow, went on a voyage to the Congo River. When Marlow arrived in Africa, he recognized that the Africans were being treated in an evil manner. In the novel, Marlow states, “They were dying slowly-it was very clear. 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” (Conrad, 82). This displayed that the Africans were in harsh conditions that caused the majority of the Africans to die. The Africans were put under these conditions because the Europeans had imperialistic behaviors and wanted to take over their land. In order to accomplish their goal, the Europeans forced the Africans into slavery, which definitely presented that the Europeans had hearts of

Throughout his novel, Conrad establishes his argument that all natives are reckless creatures. Through the perspective of Marlow, one can see that the Europeans view Africans as uncivilized animals in comparison to themselves. Marlow describes this foreign creature by claiming that the natives, “...Howled, and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces...” (Conrad 43). Since the natives have a drastically different way of life compared to the Europeans, the latter cannot possibly comprehend these foreigners as the same species as themselves. Marlow seems fascinated by these so-called human beings and says, “...but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity – like yours – … Ugly” (Conrad 43). Marlow thinks too highly of himself to be associated