King Leopold's Ghost tells a story of the Belgian King Leopold II and his misrule of an African colony, named (at the time) the Congo Free State. It is a wild and unpleasant story of a man's capacity for evil and the peculiar manifestation of it. In telling this story, Hochschild does a wonderful job of giving detailed descriptions, especially of the colorful individuals involved, both good and bad. His analysis of the situation is very solid, starting with the movement when the Congolese hero (Morel) finds out a very terrible fact and moving on through his (Morel) analysis and actions, all the while telling the story of a treacherous monster. Set in the palaces and boardrooms of Europe and in the villages of central Africa, it tells the story of the tragedy that took place during Leopold's so called rule, a tragedy that is so familiar to African-Americans, being told of our African brothers residing in the homeland.
Jeanie Peterson Prof. McKnight Hum. 414 5 December 2011 Reign of Terror: 1885-1908 “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.” King Leopold II is known to the Belgians as the “builder king.” He is known to the Congolese as a tormenter, rapist, and murderer. At the start of his reign, Leopold II proclaimed, “My ambition is to make Belgium greater, stronger and more beautiful.” Elevation of Belgium was a way for him to elevate himself. Leopold, like his father, believed that having a colony was the key to achieve greatness for King and country. His father, King Leopold I, made over 50 attempts to colonize, all unsuccessful.
In fact, Joseph Conrad provides a more realistic image of Africa in his 1899 novella Heart of Darkness – a story about a young man’s journey to Congo. Unlike the positive atmosphere that “The Lion King” settles, Heart of Darkness describes the other side of Africans and reveals that white conquerors use brute and unnecessary force to surmount the aborigines, who unfortunately display no resistance. They allow the captors to treat them as those of a lower class, and the captors cease the opportunity to exploit poor Africans for their personal service. The Africans also accept humiliation that comes with the white conquerors – which predominantly formed because of African looks – and this accepting leads to their further negligence. However, not all of the Africans are defenceless.
Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, explores the enlightenment of Marlow, an explorer who ventures into the Belgian Congo. He is led through a chthonic journey, witnessing humanity at both its darkest and lightest and emerging from the jungle reborn. While both Conrad and his characters make it clear to the audience that Marlow has reached an enlightened state, what precisely he is enlightened about is never explicitly states. A common, easily reached interpretation has Marlow lamenting the evils of European imperialism in Africa. Superficially, this interpretation is well-supported by the text; however, if one goes beyond the surface, the interpretation becomes far more universal and ambiguous.
How does Joseph Conrad portray nature in Part II of Heart of Darkness? Nature is portrayed throughout Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as a force combatting the white man’s imperialistic ambitions and dominates the imagery and thematic concerns throughout the novella. Part Two of the book gives vivid descriptions of the Congo’s natural envczironment through Marlow’s narrative as he travels in the repaired steamer downriver deeper into the African continent towards the Inner Station and Kurtz himself. In the middle chapter of the book, nature plays a key role in setting the scene and providing a backdrop to Western imperialism. Conrad creates this image through his portrayal of the environment as an extremely foreboding and overbearing setting, a disease spreading force hostile to colonisation and as the precursor to civilization.
Eric Arthur Blair, whose pen name was George Orwell, was a British author, novelist, essayist, and a critic. George Orwell is a British Christian name, and Orwell is the name of a small river in East Anglia. As a wanderer from time to time Orwell plunged the depths of society like an explorer. These experiences in poverty inspired him in many of his publications. On January 21, 1950 Orwell died from tuberculosis (Abcarian 1406).
The natives, for no apparent reason ambush the steamer, further confirming the barbaric nature of the Congolese peoples. Through their rash behavior, words, and lack thereof the natives are evidently a
Congo; Past and Present From the 1800’s to present day the Congo has changed substantially, and today still continues to change. The French, and Belgium both had a substantial effect as to how the Congo has ended up today. People such as David Livingston, H.M. Stanley, Leopold II, and Joseph Conrad all had their own influences towards the Congo whether it is negative or positive. Under these three locations and the different people the Congo has experienced changes in imperialism, colonialism, trade, the coming of missionaries, atrocities, ivory, and native populations. Leopold II is known for being the sole founder and owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken by him ("Leopold II of Belgium").
The heart of darkness JOSEPH CONRAD Analysis Marlow’s story of a voyage up the Congo River that he took as a young man is the main narrative of Heart of Darkness. Marlow’s narrative is framed by another narrative, in which one of the listeners to Marlow’s story explains the circumstances in which Marlow tells it. The narrator who begins Heart of Darkness is unnamed, as are the other three listeners, who are identified only by their professional occupations. Moreover, the narrator usually speaks in the first-person plural, describing what all four of Marlow’s listeners think and feel. The unanimity and anonymity of Marlow’s listeners combine to create the impression that they represent conventional perspectives and values of the British establishment.
Europe, Africa, the river, and Kurtz are all plausible candidates for the heart of darkness within Joseph Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness. Marlow may refer to Europe when mentioning the heart of darkness for numerous reasons. The European governments and trade organizations have been the primary reasons for the infiltration and development of Africa. The Europeans have been the ones to enslave the African people and bring misery upon them. Marlow encounters much of this misery when first being introduced to the Chief Accountant of the Trade Company.