Heart of Darkness Futility of European Presence in Africa

Heart of Darkness: Futility of European Presence in Africa Joseph Conrad s Heart of Darkness is both a dramatic tale of an arduous trek into the Belgian Congo at the turn of the twentieth century and a symbolic journey into the deepest recesses of human nature. On a literal level, through Marlow s narration, Conrad provides a searing indictment of European colonial exploitation inflicted upon African natives. By employing several allegoric symbols this account depicts the futility of the European presence in Africa. One of the first glimpses into the frivolous occupation of Africa by the Europeans is seen when Marlow recounts his journey to Africa aboard a French steamer. The immensity of Africa is describe as The edge of a colossal†¦show more content†¦The sheer guise of philanthropical charity scarcely conceals the colonist’s true objective, the hunt for ivory. The colonists attempt to extinguish any and all forms of African culture in their wild quest for ivory. One night while at the camp, Marlow witnesses a fire engulf a shed housing trading goods. â€Å"One evening a grass shed full of calico, cotton prints, beads, and I don’t know what else, burst into a blaze so suddenly that you would have thought the earth had opened to let an avenging fire consume all that trash.† In a somewhat symbolic retaliation, the African culture seizes its revenge on the imposing imperialist culture. As the flames ravish the shed, Marlow watches as a man attempts to put out the fir e â€Å"†¦[he] dipped about a quart of water and tore back again. I noticed there was a hole in the bottom of his pail.† This hopeless effort signifies the futile efforts to suppress the overbearing strength of the African culture. As Marlow ventures deeper down the river, the â€Å"pilgrims† aboard his boat undergo a battle with the African wilderness. In fear of attack by the natives, the Europeans begin to blindly fire shots into the darkness. â€Å"The pilgrims had opened with their Winchesters, and were simply squirting lead into the bush.† Once again, Marlow uses words like â€Å"squirt† to exemplify the uselessness of firing into the jungle. This depiction is yet another representation of the little effect EuropeanShow MoreRelated Degeneration of Kurtz, Colonialism, and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness1025 Words   |  5 Pagesand Colonialism in Heart of Darkness       Kurtz was a personal embodiment, a dramatization, of all that Conrad felt of futility, degradation, and horror in what the Europeans in the Congo called progress, which meant the exploitation of the natives by every variety of cruelty and treachery known to greedy man. Kurtz was to Marlow, penetrating this country, a name, constantly recurring in peoples talk, for cleverness and enterprise. Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness is a portrait of theRead MorePoor Assumptions and Flawed Conclusions of Conrads Heart of Darkness2481 Words   |  10 Pages     Ã‚   During the period when Joseph Conrads novel Heart of Darkness was written, a common theme in literature was the testing of the moral life through actual experience.   One could not realize an ethical principle without it being justified through the outcome of some practical conflict.   This idea of testing morality through experience is exactly what is presented in Conrads novel as Marlows journey results in a trial that not only defines his own beliefs but allows him to make a rather pessimisticRead More Restraint in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay3965 Words   |  16 Pagesprogresses in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness is paramount to any understanding of the work. The storyteller Marlow first believes that restraint is what separates civilization from chaos and society from savagery. As his journey into the heart of darkness progresses, however, he learns that such a conclusion is rash, and that there is far more to the matter than simply that. Literary critic Cedric Watts comments upon the ambiguity of the title of Heart of Darkness. In Watts view, the phraseRead MoreHeart of Darkness Active Reading Guide Essay3809 Words   |  16 Pages1. * Fifteen days after leaving the outer station Marlow â€Å"hobble[s] into the Central Station†, which was being run by â€Å"the flabby devil†, referring to the greed of the Europeans. There he finds out that his ship had been sunk when they tried to take off before he got there. He also meets the manager of the Central Station who is only employed because he never gets sick, and the brick maker who doesn’t actually make any bricks. He overhears a conversation between the manager and his uncle, whoRead MoreA Dance of the Forest4738 Words   |  19 Pagesmusic and masquerade and are also greatly influenced by such diverse Western dramatic and theatrical modes as classical Greek drama, Shakespearean and Jacobean theatre, and modern European and American antirealist and avant-garde forms and techniques. Keywords: Theatre, Rituals, Myths, Soyinka Wole Soyinka is, no doubt, Africa ´s leading playwright, but the African audiences for his major plays are very small indeed. He addresses himself to the reflection of an African sensibility and the creation ofRead MoreA Passage Of India And The Relations Of Power10531 Words   |  43 Pages[has] to be subjected (Said, 2003: 207). The English club therefore, stands for the chauvinistic narrow-minded people. It is a vexing rule that rings a bell of the same colonial practices that prevented Mahatma Gandhi from riding a train in South Africa in the same compartment with the English people and forced to move to the third class. This incident makes him take the first act of disobedience towards the white racial discriminating system in the colonial territories (Jespersen, 2014: 165). AccordingRead MoreCritics of Novel 1984 by George Orwell14914 Words   |  60 Pageswhich he lives and therefore, the society that Orwell most condemns. The Setting The setting of 1984 is Oceania, a giant country comprised of the Americas; the Atlantic Islands, including the British Isles; Australia; and the southern portion of Africa. Oceanias mainland is called Air Strip One, formerly England. The story itself takes place in London in the year 1984, a terrifying place and time where the human spirit and freedom are all but crushed. In the novel, war is constant. The main characterRead MoreThe White Man s Burden By Rudyard Kipling10612 Words   |  43 Pagesattached to analyse the text. Having an eye on these approaches, this section offers a critical thinking about the nature of the relationship between the British and the Indians. 2.1 The Indian Landscape and the Sense of Displacement As in Heart of Darkness, the Indian landscape appears very hostile to the colonisers as if it conspires and plots against them. It depicts their socio-psychological dilemma in the foreign land and the traumatic influences of their colonial system. It resists and fightsRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 PagesLabor-Management Cooperation 358 Public Sector Unionization 359 Unionizing the Nontraditional Employee 359 DID YOU KNOW?: Is There Addition by Subtraction? 360 International Labor Relations 360 Differing Perspectives Toward Labor Relations 361 The European Community 362 Summary 362 Demonstrating Comprehension: Questions for Review 363 Key Terms 363 364 HRM Workshop Linking Concepts to Practice: Discussion Questions 364 Developing Diagnostic and Analytical Skills 364 Case Application 14: â€Å"Save Money