Documents one, four, and seven are examples of people being scared and doim=ng what the Europeans wanted. Documents five, six, seven, eight, and nine are examples of people taking action and fighting the Europeans. Documents two and three show respectful rejection. One document that would help further analyzation of the documents would be a personal record of the Niger River delta dealings, because it would show how easily the rulers signed. Many Africans were threatened by the European power and just gave into the Scramble without fighting back.
“I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire, but, by all the stars! These were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils.” The repetition of ‘devil’ highlights Marlow’s animosity towards the men who have enslaved the Africans. Following Britain’s motives the men perceive their actions benefit the natives, however realistically as Marlow describes, they were “pretending, weak-eyed devils.” As we read on, Marlow’s recount of the natives as “erect and slow, with limbs like knots in a rope,” provides a confronting perspective of their welfare, and through the use of simile the reader is able to truly understand how
Chinua Achebe’s Lens Chinua Achebe’s brilliantly written novel, Things Fall Apart, carefully tells the story of an organized Umuofian society who stumbles and falls apart mostly because of its inner struggles dealing with certain key members of the tribe. Achebe approaches Things Fall Apart with a redeeming and caring eye, as the main purpose of the novel is to change the primitive and spiteful image that Africa had gleaned from various documents written in the past. Many “Westerners”, such as Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness appeared to see Africans as unintelligent and primordial. Achebe made it his duty to prove them wrong, and shed a whole new light on the intellectual capability of African tribes. Both novels involve the colonization of Africa, but each has its own perspective of the native’s response to it.
Was there any idea at all connected with it? It looked startling around his black neck, this bit of white thread from beyond the seas” (Conrad 24). In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, there is an evident distinction between the African natives and the Europeans. This distinction is often interpreted as Conrad’s way of portraying his racism. However, the inequality between the two cultures actually reveals the horrific impact of European imperialism throughout Africa.
Kurtz Analysis – Heart of Darkness The character of Mr. Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness is one made up of symbols and curiosity. The central idea of this novel, “darkness is the true nature of our world,” reaches deep into the veins of the story. This type of darkness will break humans, as it did to Kurtz. Through Marlow’s narration, we can see how Kurtz, who came to Africa full of hopes, deteriorated physically and eventually, spiritually. Kurtz, an ivory trader, was sent by a Belgian company into the heart of the Congo.
‘Heart of Darkness’ is a novel that intertwines many images of both light and dark to help describe Marlow’s journey in Africa but more importantly they serve a much greater purpose. Conrad’s use of light is significant and is symbolic of the European ‘emissaries of light’ (79) who disguise their greedy and murderous intentions in divine garbs; the epitome being the manager a ‘flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil’ (83). Equally significant is Conrad’s darkness which is man’s true capacity for evil seen through palpable forms of horror and murder throughout the story. Kurtz is neither light nor dark, he is the ‘white fog’ both light and dark at the same time or in other words a devil with a deceptive and unrestrained evil whose pulse emanates from the Heart of Darkness. Light, usually seen as an incarnation of all that is good instead finds itself depicted as a deceptive evil fueled by pure European greed, as Marlow bluntly states-‘sunlight can be made to lie too’ (152).
It was of considerable importance to him. That reputation was at stake; and had he sent me-a boy about sixteen years old-to the public whipping-post, his reputation would have been lost; so to save his reputation, he suffered me to go unpunished” (page 395). 3. Frederick Douglass spoke of the advantage of having a non-religious master. “I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,-a justifier of the most appalling barbarity,-a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds,-and a dark shelter under which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find
Orwell should be sympathized with With the British colonial domination in Burma smashing, natives had actually gotten rid of the British oppression to a great extent. Though natives could see the dawn of freedom, there were a group of people still struggling shattered lives—— the ruling sahib. Orwell is one example and deserves sympathy because of his contradictory political standpoint and the ironic fact of being controlled by the natives. Orwell is a wretch as his real political stand contradicts his occupation as a dominating policeman. According the first two paragraphs of the essay, Orwell expresses how bitterly he hates imperialism and feels guilty since he can “see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters” such as the evil oppression against natives, and he is “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors”.
This fits in with the colonial history that occurred in that particular time period whereby Africa was colonised by England. “Heart of Darkness” is a novel based on the times of colonialism and “Seasons of Migration to the North” is based on post-colonialism. In that sense, Africa and England somewhat reflect each other due to the certain similarities and differences that both cultures demonstrate. Africa has a symbolic underlying meaning which is identified through the identity of characters. Marlow and the unnamed narrator are ultimate characters in both novels who are in search for the true identity of Kurtz and Sa’eed.
Marlo Posadas Rodolfich AP English IV, 3rd 7 Mar 2012 Imperialism and Race in Heart of Darkness In the late nineteenth century, European trade companies had penetrated deep into the heart of Africa, establishing outposts for trade while claiming to aid the local African tribes by enlisting them for employment. However, those companies define ‘employment’ differently for those blacks than for their white workers. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness the racial contrast between Europe’s “white gods” and Africa’s black “brutes” fuels the machinery of European imperialism. This quest to civilize Africa ironically portrays Europe’s savagery in its attempt to bring light into the darkness. The arm of the Company that hires Marlow in Heart of Darkness reaches deep within the jungles of Africa, colonizing the natives of the land and trying to develop the uncivilized world.