Personal Narrative: Growing Up In A Multicultural Home

    Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman.  Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as “so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness” (Conrad 94), as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life, but he also manages to depict Africans as though they are not worthy of the respect commonly due to the white man.  At one point the main character, Marlow, describes one of the paths he follows: “Can’t say I saw any road or any upkeep, unless the body of a middle-aged negro, with a bullet-hole in the forehead, upon which I

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, is a short but powerful novel about a sailor named Marlow who is recounting of his life experiences with the beloved Mr. Kurtz. Marlow 's point of view in this story is a rather imperialistic view by the way he describes the congo. For example, he says, “It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind -- as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. 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.” (Conrad, 7). Though not kind to think about, this is his justification of imperialism because

In the above extract from Conrad’s book, Marlow states that the Africans are indeed human. This is an interesting statement coming from a man employed by the Company, who are doing everything possible to exploit and even

Including Conrad’s arguably most memorable line (“The conquest of the earth […] is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much,”) this passage conveys the contrast between the illusion the public had of colonialism in the Congo with the reality. Earlier in the book, Conrad went on to list various “great knights” who were the English imperialists, thus glamorizing the way in which Europeans colonized all of Europe. Furthermore, the passage emphasizes that the colonialists had been abusive and brutal towards people who were just like them apart from having a “different complexion and slightly flatter noses.” Conrad,

Growing up, I was usually surrounded by white American culture and as a result was often the person that added an element of diversity. As a part of a small group of students from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, I ended up with the unenviable task of representing the country of India to my fellow classmates and peers. Despite the fact that I was born in Brooklyn, I was the token Indian friend, fielding questions on the acceptability of wearing bindis and applying mehendi for fun.

Conrad revealed his ideas through his character, Marlow, when we read his experiences traveling down the Congo when he sees the natives and their land that has been untouched by colonialism. Conrad’s lack of concern for the natives may have been a result of his experiences with them during his journey in Africa. Assuming Heart of Darkness’ character Marlow is a representation of Conrad himself, he did saw the native people in both conditions. He experienced them in the Belgium Congo, beaten and broken from the harshness of the colonists and he saw them in their natural state before the effects of colonialism had reached them. One may argue that his lack of concern for the natives was because he had seen them in their homeland and before their home had been changed, and maybe he chose to believe that there was hope left in Africa for its tribal tradition. This statement is simply not true; Marlow fully experienced the devastation left by colonialism in Africa, yet his animosity towards colonialism was still due to the concern for his own people, the white colonists.

I believe that pointing out this ideal of Imperialistic discrimination was one of Joseph Conrad’s missions to portray in his novel, Heart of Darkness, and in using Marlow (an imperialist)’s account of his journey along the river toward Kirtz to depict the close-mindedness of the western imperialistic view on non-eurocentric cultures and civilizations. This depiction takes three forms within the novel, the first in the rhetoric used to refer to the landscape of Africa, the second being the renouncement of the native’s practices and ideals by the pilgrims, and lastly the the third form is that of the imperialists’ self-righteous ideal of bringing Africa and its natives into the light of western

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.

I find myself very lucky to have such a diverse cultural background. My mom was born in Nicaragua, and lived there until she had to move due to the revolution. Her father's parents moved from Lebanon to Nicaragua, in search of opportunity. We treasure, not only the Nicaraguan culture but the Lebanese culture as well. My dad was the only one of his sibilant to be born in the United States. His parents moved to Miami from Cuba, also in search of opportunities. All of my grandparents, and their parents, made extremely hard decisions for their families.

Marlow refers to the Africans as ‘it’, ‘phantom’, and ‘creature’. They are in such a dire situation and so malnourished that Marlow doesn’t even consider them to be human beings. Conrad’s choice of diction here is questionable and demeaning, to say the least. We’re left to seriously sympathize with the tragic situation of the natives.

His perverse honesty leads to his downfall, as his success threatens to expose the evil practices behind European activity in Africa. Imperialism in Heart of Darkness treats the Africans as objects. Marlow refers to his helmsman as a piece of machinery, and Kurtz's African mistress is at best a piece of statuary. These derogatory remarks about the Africans also give light to the racism in the text. The racism actually helps prove Conrad’s view of imperialism.

Marlow says that, "They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force-- nothing to boast of."(p.58 Heart of Darkness) . Marlow compares his subsequent tale of colonialism with that of the Roman colonization of Northern Europe and the fascination associated with such a voyage. However, Marlow challenges this viewpoint by illustrating a picture of the horrors of colonialist ventures as we delve deeper into the novel. White Europeans are used as symbols of self-deception, and we find that Marlow sees colonization 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 darkness."(p.58 Heart of Darkness) This shows how Conrad feels about colonialism through Marlow, because Marlow feels strongly adverse to the actions of the whites in the Congo.

Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness has been the cause of racial arguments debating whether it should be read nowadays. The way Conrad describes African Americans troubles several critics, Achebe in particular. Achebe disagrees with Conrad’s novel so much because in it Conrad dehumanizes African and Achebe won’t let anyone lower his humanity.

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

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