I'd say he is hero, the examples you have of why he isn't are perfectly valid, and definitely include them in the essay, but I don't think they dismiss his heroism. He broke at the end and loved Big Brother but this was due to O'Brien's torture and mind control, he always knew this would be the outcome from his diary entries, conversations with Julia and his observations of Jones, Aaronsen and Rutherford at the Chestnut Tree Cafe. Breaking his only promise to Julia, not to betray her, was unavoidable, see his rantings after his visit to room 101, and the brief encounter with Julia when he is released, she betrayed him too, everyone betrays, this is the purpose of room 101, to remove anything you love more than the party and replace it/them with Big Brother. He sneaks around instead of engaging in open revolt because this is the only way any dissent and subversion can take place, the reactions of people during the ten minutes hate, telescreens, hidden microphones, a militarised society and scared/brainwashed spying neighbours giving you up at the first opportunity to save themselves make open revolt instantly futile rather than eventually futile, he took this approach not out of cowardice because it had the potential to subvert the cause of the party more effectively and because it was the only way. His rebellion does further his own desires, but his primary goal is to undermine the goverment, at first he is revolted by Julia, his initial act of sleeping with her was done not out of sexual desire, but out of a desire to rebel against and weaken the government, in his and Julia's opinion doing something for yourself and only yourself WAS the act of rebellion, it was central in their purpose to revolt as it went against the only reason for the party's existance, control and power (see Winston and Julia's conversations in the flat, and O'Brien's explanation of
Uncas is the symbol of a people who have died out. He has the nature of an Indian, but is exceedingly more gentle than the stereotype that Europeans hold in their mine. A noble, proud, self-possessed young man, Uncas falls in love with Cora Munro and suffers tragic consequences for desiring a forbidden interracial coupling. Noble Uncas thwarts the evil Magua’s desire to marry Cora. Uncas also functions as Hawkeye’s adopted brother and learns about leadership from Hawkeye.
They have been wronged by being overshadowed by the white man’s inaccurate account of events. From what we can understand about their customs, we should respect the indigenous population of America. American Indians were more logical than the white men who came over to the “new world.” Ortiz points out the hypocrisy of the white men for regarding the natives “as without any laws or government” when the white men themselves were “people who ignored their own laws and governments” (Ortiz
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Marlow parallels Robert Warren’s All the Kings Men Jack Burden in their philosophical attributes, although they use their knowledge to face several situations through their passage, which makes them alike in their recondite nature, their motive and drive of intellect is what makes them distinct. In Heart of Darkness Marlow the protagonist of the book, lives a rather obtuse life in the Congo of Africa. Despite his savage surroundings, Marlow maintains a calm composure towards his decisions in the native land “But Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be excepted), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel, but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine” (Conrad 9). Showing affection towards humanity he was already portraying traits that didn’t quite match his peers. In comparison Jack Burden in All The Kings Men lives a polar opposite lifestyle than what his family and circumstances permitted and accepted.
Douglass states that he does not know the reason why he decided to stand up for himself. However, his self esteem and value most likely increased subconsciously as an outcome of his education on slavery. After the exhausting altercation, Covey showed a sign of defeat for the first time. Covery did not punish Douglass for the insurrection and stopped trying to whip him for the rest of his ownership. If he punished Douglass it would be a confession of his failure to break a slave, his reputation would be ruined.
It may be this delusion of great superiority that causes the colonizers to believe that it is nothing wrong with them forcing their ways upon the natives. Upon interpreting Heart of Darkness, it gives off the message that colonizers in general genuinely believe the civilizations that they colonize are inferior compared to their own society. In the story, a European trade company, referred to throughout the story as “the Company”, pushes their enterprise into Africa creating an imperialistic relationship with the natives. They leave practically no barrier between their business and the society of the native, leading to the inevitable abuse of the inhabitants. However, the excuse of civilizing the natives is used.
He slowly discovers through his observations that “business” in the Congo and his ideas of how his own “civilized” world is actually the savage one. The hypocrisy lies in the fact that the European’s attitudes towards the Congo’s inhabitants were that they were uncivilized and that the white man’s purpose there was to bring culture to their land. A true to life “white man’s burden” if you will. The rhetoric used throughout by the story’s characters make it abundantly clear what their ill-conceived notions of the colonized lands were and what their
3. “But the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken on him a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion. I think it had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception till he took counsel with this great solitude—and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating” (56) This quote personifies the wilderness as being wise and having knowledge. This use of personification demonstrates the wilderness’ ability to reveal and inner understanding about themselves that they had not known about until being alone in the wilderness. 4.
He then establishes a system of forced labor that keeps the people of the Congo in a condition of slavery for ivory and rubber. So, we can deduce that the novel itself, its excerpt to Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness, and journalism within the Free Congo State portrayed the situation with the darkness it deserved. In the novel, Hochschild shines light on the darkness of the situation in Belgium Congo. Hochschild captures the essence of Leopold’s true intentions and the darkness of his nature when he says, “What mattered was the size of the profit. His drive for colonies, however, was shaped by a desire not only for money but for power”.
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.