Corruption Of Imperialism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness, describes a life-altering journey that the protagonist, Marlow, experiences in the African Congo.  The story explores the historical period of colonialism in Africa to exemplify Marlow's struggles.  Marlow, like other Europeans of his time, is brought up to believe certain things about colonialism, but his views change as he experiences colonialism first hand. This essay will explore Marlow's view of colonialism, which is shaped through his experiences and also from his relation to Kurtz.  Marlow's understanding of Kurtz's experiences show him the effects colonialism can have on a man's soul.

There is an abundance of literature in which characters become caught between colliding cultures. Often, these characters experience a period of growth from their exposure to a culture that’s dissimilar to their own. Such is the case with Marlow, Joseph Conrad’s infamous protagonist from ‘Heart of Darkness’. Marlow sets off to Africa on an ivory conquest and promptly found himself sailing into the heart of the Congo River. Along the way he is faced with disgruntled natives, cannibals, and the ominous and foreboding landscape. Marlow’s response to these tribulations is an introspective one, in which he calls into question his identity. This transcending of his former self renders the work as a whole a

While Cecil Rhodes is without a doubt an intelligent man, his understanding of human nature and personhood is irreconcilably damaged by ungrounded assumptions and his own personal biases. On the contrary, Joseph Conrad exhibits a rather clear conception of human nature and how it relates to imperialism. Rhodes argues in “Confession of Faith” that imperialism is morally required as it is a means to utopia-like end. In his novella Heart of Darkness, Conrad illuminates the greatest fallacy in Rhodes’ argument. As this untrue premise is brought to light, Rhodes’ argument based on morality crumbles.

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness leaves his readers squirming in their seats as he brings up the most taboo of subjects: barbarism in human beings. It is something people do not want to discuss because we all want to believe that we live in a bliss world where it is our Christian mission to love thy neighbor and turn the other cheek. But what if the notion of goodness simply was not in our DNA? Are we perhaps all inherently evil? Conrad argues that whether we come from civilization or from the jungle, there is darkness that lies within all our hearts. He uses Kurtz to demonstrate the craziness that can be evoked in all of us when we are living away from our native societies.

Like Marlow, Kurtz began his employment with the ivory company with noble intentions: he wants to create a better way of life for the natives. However, because of extreme hardships placed upon him by the manager, Kurtz becomes the "dark" half of the soul: he symbolizes what Marlow may have become if placed in Kurtz' position.

Inherent inside every human soul is a savage evil side that remains repressed by society. Often this evil side breaks out during times of isolation from our culture, and whenever one culture confronts another. History is loaded with examples of atrocities that have occurred when one culture comes into contact with another. Whenever fundamentally different cultures meet, there is often a fear of contamination and loss of self that leads us to discover more about our true selves, often causing perceived madness by those who have yet to discover their own self.  Joseph Conrad’s book, The Heart of Darkness is a story about Man’s journey into his self, the discoveries to be made there and about

In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the imperialism of Africa is described. Conrad tells the story of the cruel treatment of the natives and of the imperialism of the Congo region through the perspective of the main character, Marlow. Throughout the novel, Marlow describes how the Europeans continuously bestow poor treatment to the native people by enslaving them in their own territory. Analyzing the story with the New Criticism lens, it is evident that Conrad incorporates numerous literary devices in Heart of Darkness, including similes, imagery, personification, and antitheses to describe and exemplify the main idea of cruel imperialism in Africa discussed throughout the novella.

Kurtz, who has an obsession to power is included in the novella by Conrad to symbolize the greediness for ivory and the immoral values of the Europeans. Initially, Kurtz was out to explore and actually benefit the natives, but that changes when he becomes powerful. Eventually, Kurtz makes it obvious that he is out for one thing, and that is ivory. Unlike the Company, he actually displays his greediness for ivory by threatening his own employees. Kurtz “[declares] he would shoot [the harlequin] unless [he] gave him the ivory” and then commands him to leave the country (126). This presents how he utilizes force to achieve his goals. Kurtz represents the unconcealed avarice of the Company. Kurtz is also another one of the characters that knows that he is harming others, but still desires to get as much ivory as he can. Ivory “was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were

In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, the interpretation of pre-colonial times is interesting in a way that supersedes other books I’ve read because it’s very honest with how the world worked it that era. The central aim which the shipmates in Heart of Darkness are pursuing is the expansion of their home countries’ empires. Yet many people are hurt in this enterprise, and it’s not only the colonized territories that are impacted negatively by imperialist Europe. Europe’s explorers that go to the Congo are constantly dying of sickness. Compare the ways in which the consequences of imperialism affect the different groups of people in the book, the more one can understand about characters’ actions.

  In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, challenges a dominant view by exposing the evil nature and the darkness associated with the colonialist ventures. It is expressed by Marlow as "robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as it is very proper for those who tackle a darkness." The European colonialists are portrayed as blind lightbearers, people having a façade of progress and culture, yet are blind of their actions. They think they are brining a light to a darkness, yet they are the real darkness or evil. Conrad's critique of European colonialism is most apparent through the oppositions of light and darkness, with the

The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a frame narrative which creates a clear and organized structure. This structure helps emphasize upon the hypocrisy of imperialism in the novel and Marlow’s journey to discovering his true identity. The orderly and systematic nature of the structure corresponds with the Company in the novel and how it seems so structured on the outside while their mission is actually extremely chaotic underneath as displayed by Kurtz. The cyclical structure of the novel outlines Marlow’s journey in finding himself and his true identity. As the chaos of the journey is uncovered, Marlow delves deeper and deeper into uncertainty regarding the things going on around him in his life.

Imperialism and its oppressive processes have affected societies as well as individual lives for centuries. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, oppression through imperialism demonstrates how a certain civilization, the Congolese, is affected negatively by imperialism. By focusing on Africa, it allows for a graphic recount of the many years spent reigned by foreign oppressors and tyrannies. In Heart of Darkness, the Congo is oppressed by the imperialists economically and geographically. As well, the oppressed people are taken advantage of spiritually. Conrad describes how the ruling tyrant is affected by the process of conquering a local people and this draws a parallel to the ruling empire. Conrad, through his novel, attempts to

Joseph Conrad’s short novel, Heart of Darkness, is a story of imperialism in the Congo that depicts the mistreatment of the african natives by european imperialists. Conrad’s tale is often seen as controversial for its racist use of slang and image of Africa and its people as a whole. However, Conrad wrote the book as a means of viewing the horrid actions of imperialism, through the eyes of a european.

Across many countries, authors have showcased how societal structures such as imperialism and colonialism can affect the way in which an individual experiences the world. Those born into the so-called “First World” countries have been privileged in that they have not felt the burden of such societal structure, as compared to those born into those “Second World” countries. These individuals have dealt with the pressures of Westernized society in such a way that their entire way of life has been transformed. Those whose countries hold values of imperialism and colonialism have only imposed their ways of life onto the “Second World” countries, whose citizens have lived in those shadows for centuries. These different worldviews can also impact

Joseph Conrad's work shows us this phenomenon in great detail. The way the corruption happens and how the corrupted mind behaves in the character of Kurtz. Also, we can see counterpart too as Marlow, how can one sustain sanity and keep the humane part, resist the corruption and to show restraint.