Essay On Inhumanism In Heart Of Darkness

On the island free from authority the boys lost their identity and direction. Left alone, the boys were free to do as they please and ran wild. Their actions on the island represented the

Although Tarzan himself is not African, he has spent most of his life living in the jungles of Africa. Eventually, scientists come to study the gorillas that inhabit the jungle. Jane, one of the scientists on this expedition, happens upon Tarzan. She is surprised that he can communicate with her, saying “And all this time I thought you were just a big, wild, quiet, silent, person-thing.” Deducing that he is less than human because he does not communicate with her right away. When talking to her father, she refers to Tarzan as a “Wild Man” and “Ape Man” Clayton; Jane and her father’s bodyguard, refers to Tarzan as a “savage,” because he does not speak English. All of this, furthering the idea that Tarzan is less than human, because he is unlike them in his mannerisms and way of life.

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.

The native African people and the African setting are both metaphors for darkness to enable Conrad to reveal the evil in all of humanity. Kurtz’s book stated that “we whites... ‘must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings’” emphasizing the European viewpoint before journeying into Africa (65). Marlow also believed that these natives were savages until he too went into Africa, but upon all the chaos and uncleanliness of Africa, the Accountant maintained “an unexpected elegance” (21). The Accountant preserves his appearance among the untidiness because he clings to his ideals of civility and organization. However, the natives are mistreated and one even “had tied a bit of white worsted round his neck” (20).

of Darkness: the chain gangs, the grove of death, the payment in brass rods, the

Kurtz acts as an emblem of the imperialist, taking possession of not only the native people of the Congo, but also everything around him. Marlow notes Kurtz’s ignorance in thinking that he can own all of these things, expecting to hear “the wilderness burst into a prodigious peal of laughter” (Conrad 1989). Kurtz’s privilege and, therefore, lack of understanding of the native people leads to his corruption by the heart of darkness. Losing his morality and sanity, begs the question as to whether or not Kurtz was moral to begin with and questions the standards of Victorian and Imperial England.

Some critics believe that in Heart of Darkness Conrad illustrates how ‘’the darkness of the landscape can lead to the darkness of the social corruption.” This statement means that if the environment is dark, then the people in that environment will match the surrounding feeling, which is dark and depressing. For example, if it is a gloomy rainy day, most people feel tired and not as happy. If it is a bright sunny day, the most people feel motivated to get things done and joyful. Yes, this statement is believable because I have noticed that the weather, my surroundings, and even other people’s behaviors around me affect my mood. Today, for instance, it rained all day and the sky was dark, as a result I slept throughout the whole

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

Psychoanalytic criticism originated in the work of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who pioneered the technique of psychoanalysis. Freud developed a language that described, a model that explained, and a theory that encompassed human psychology. His theories are directly and indirectly concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind. Through his multiple case studies, Freud managed to find convincing evidence that most of our actions are motivated by psychological forces over which we have very limited control (Guerin 127). One of Freud’s most important contributions to the study of the psyche is his theory of repression: the unconscious mind is a repository of repressed desires,

On one hand, Marlow’s disillusionment with life can be seen as a result of European imperialism, which induces greed in the colonialists involved. This could be seen as the case for Kurtz, previously a “very remarkable” “genius”, whose condition deteriorated, under the influence of colonialism. Thus, Marlow’s disillusionment may stem from the disappointment he feels between the rhetoric and the reality of colonialism, as well as his original image of Kurtz, and the reality of his demeanour. In contrast, under a resistant postcolonial reading, it could be said that Africa is unfairly used as a backdrop for Kurtz’s downfall. However, a psychoanalytical reading infers that Marlow’s disillusionment is caused by his realisation that Kurtz had no substantial identity in the first place. The visual image of “a tree swayed by the wind” refers to the malleable nature of Kurtz’s self, as does the statement “[Kurtz] could get himself to believe anything – anything.” Both examples imply the ‘nothingness of self’. This idea explains Kurtz’s extreme shift from ‘proper’ behaviour in Europe to ruthlessness and brutality in Africa - as he is void of any identity. This differs from dominant and postcolonial readings which argue that Kurtz is filled with a hidden darkness. In this way, a psychoanalytical reading leads to existentialist notions. This is seen in the bathos of Marlow’s journey, which subverts contemporary reader expectations of a conquest narrative, as the fulfilment of his childhood dream to explore Africa, “the most blank space [on Earth]”, was anticlimactic- what he found was indeed, a land filled with hollow men. Thus, Marlow’s journey is a metaphor for his discovery of the vacuous nature of self, demonstrated by his own summation of his search for Kurtz, “something altogether without purpose.” Also, Marlow himself labels life as “that mysterious

Marlow tells his shipmates on the boat (the Nelly) that the natives passed him “within six inches, without a glance, with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages” (16). Marlow’s story of his experience exhibits how the Europeans captured the natives and forced them to work; to strip their homeland of its resources and natural beauty. When the Europeans colonize Africa, they do not want to help the African people, but exploit them and put them to work for their own desire of obtaining ivory, rubber, and other resources and goods. As the Europeans imperialize the area, they do not build culture or assist in the development of the Congo region, but break down culture as they enslave the natives and take away their rights, along with stripping the area of resources and natural, earthly beauty, which is conveyed through the cruel physical treatment towards the natives. This treatment is also presented through the literary devices that Conrad decides to use to reveal the experiences of the natives to the

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness does not explicitly deal with a struggle between war and peace: the conflict is a psychological, moral one; however, the text’s implications that society is a thin veil over our innate savagery, the darkness at the roots of Western civilization, reveals disturbing truths about the peaceful, orderly lives we take for granted. The key to understanding Conrad’s novella lies in ascertaining the metaphorical significance of the “heart of darkness,” a search which may yield an answer as complex and obscure than any geographical, sociological or psychological solution.

In Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, Conrad creates a frame story depicting a man named Marlow recounting his voyage up the Congo River into the heart of Africa in search of ivory and a man named Kurtz. During this time period, colonialism and imperialism are thriving, and oftentimes the slaughter and demise of humans are justified by the richness brought by the demanded goods, such as ivory. Kurtz, a former worker for the Company, a business operating in the ivory trade, represents the darkness and evil of humanity and the colonialists’ true intentions. He started as a righteous European man, but then his time in the jungle turned him savage and evil. The physical, arduous journey Marlow embarks upon in order to reach Kurtz delineates the instances of casual cruelty of the colonial

Joseph Conrad published his novel, Heart of Darkness, in 1902, during the height of European Colonization in Africa. The novel follows Marlow, a sailor, on his journey deeper and deeper into the Congo on a mission to bring the mysterious ivory trader, Kurtz, back to “civilization”. Both the topic and language of the novel elicit debate over whether or not the text is inherently racist, and specifically, whether or not the novel supports certain historical texts from around the same time period. Around 1830, G.W.F Hegel published an essay entitled “The African Character.” Hegel’s essay illustrates racial essentialism, the idea that there are certain traits that are essential to the identity of one group, or race, Hegel presents what he deems

Although, as a society, we discourage the process of not judging a book by its cover, we have all been guilty of doing it at some point. The first item we look at when we pick up a new book is the title and the cover as a whole. These are two key components when it comes to using our heuristics to decide if a book is worthwhile reading or not. With only two items to judge by, each has to hold significant importance in order to draw a reader into reading the novel. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad represents a mysterious title to draw readers into reading the novel, but hold a much more significant underlying meaning which represents many elements in the novel, while also symbolizing external concepts in the overall plot. The title represents many important elements such as the character of Mr. Kurtz and others, to the setting of Africa in the novel, and to the concept of the evil nature of imperialism outside of the novel. Through the title, Conrad has created significance for elements of the novel creating a very large impact on readers of the book.