Blog Assignment #2

      In Chinua Achebe’s essay, “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”, he discusses the acts of racism throughout the novella.  Achebe criticizes Conrad’s take on racism in this book. He even dares to call Conrad himself a “bloody racist ”.  Achebe crosses the lines between Marlow and Conrad. He meshes the two into one person.  He uses the book itself to say that Conrad used it as a real life depiction on events. Though the book was written with some real life intent, it is not clear as to whether Conrad meant for it to be autobiographical.

       In J. Hillis Miller’s essay, “Should We Read ‘Heart of Darkness’?”, he discusses whether or not Heart of Darkness is even worth reading.  He starts off is essay asking a series of rhetorical questions whether or not it should even be taught to students to begin with. He ventures to ask if it should be burned at the risk of being taught to students. Each person who reads Heart of Darkness  “must read for him or herself and testify anew”  (Miller 463).

      Both of these men were passionate for this novella. Whether it was that the book revealed Conrad to be a racist, or that the book is not even worth reading, they were still passionate about what they had to say about the book. Though it is controversial about whether Conrad himself was a racist as stated by Achebe, it must be admitted that his points were good ones. Achebe’s strength in his essay was within his accusations about Conrad as being a racist. It was a bold accusation to make in the first place. He even mentioned the merge of Marlow as being a reflection on Conrad’s personal views. Being that Achebe was African born could have played into account. It is possible that he views the book in a completely different way than an American born citizen.

      In The essay by Miller the weakness is that he starts off his essay with a good many rhetorical questions. It causes one to think about just that part of the essay rather than moving onto the rest of the essay. It can cause one to spend too much time thinking on the rhetorical questions rather than going to read the rest of the essay. It is not a great idea to start an essay with questions. Especially with so many of the questions being similar, it was a definite weakness to the essay.

      Each person’s view of this book will be different. Perhaps that is the way Conrad had intended it to be. It cause one to question their own views and what is acceptable and the traditional roles races are put into.

    

Achebe, Chinua. “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”.

              Armstrong 336-349.

Armstrong, Paul B. Ed. Heart of Darkness. New York: W.W. Norton and Company,

                2006.

Miller, J. Hillis. “Should We Read ‘Heart of Darkness’?”. Armstrong 463-474.

Heart of Darkness Essay

Emily Wheeler

English 105

Professor Timmons

September 27, 2010

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: Company vs. the Jungle

  

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        In the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, there is a cruelty throughout the company, which contrasts with the beauty and majesty of the jungle. There is a grace about the jungle that is disrupted by the colonization of the Company. The colonial image depicted by Joseph Conrad is not a positive one. Throughout the novella Conrad gives the image that the jungle is being corrupted by the colonial enterprise. A good example of this is when Marlow, the Narrator of the story, goes to visit the accountant of the company.  While visiting the accountant Marlow notices that the man is wearing unnecessary European fashion.  The man is dressed in a suit with a high European collar, and he is in the middle of the Congo.  This itself contrasts with the jungle, due to the fact that that attire is not appropriate for any kind of jungle.  This contrast stands out to Marlow and disturbs him. The man in the suit reminds him of the destructive behavior of the company. The company is there to colonize the Congo. They have divided the people and plan to conquer it. It is the Congo versus the invading Europeans.

          Marlow is the novella’s narrator. The story follows him on his journey as a riverboat captain through the African Congo. Marlow uses clever words in order to describe the devastating effects that the European company he was working for had on the natives of the Congo. England was the hierarchy of the time.  They believed that whatever they wanted was theirs. Marlow described it as a “fascination of the abomination”(Conrad 6). It was the fact that the company being in the majesty of the jungle which made t so fascinating.  What Marlow said was in fact a contradiction in every

possible way. The use of words causes the reader to think and evaluate the truth and

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meaning behind the overpowering Europeans.  The jungle is fascinating, but the company in the jungle is an abomination. This is what Marlow was stating.

     It was said in the novella that it was possible to loose ones mind once in the Congo. It could drive a person mad all for the, “ noble cause” (Conrad 9), the noble cause being the colonization of the Congo. There are even some casualties, such as the previous riverboat captains. They all inherently went mad. The ‘cause of progress’ is said to have caused the other riverboat captains to go mad (Conrad 9). So many would succumb to the “mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungle, in the hearts of wild men.” (Conrad 6). The question is why? Why would it drive a person mad? One explanation could be that the difference in surrounding could affect the psyche of a person negatively. A more plausible reason would be that the Europeans did not belong in the Congo, therefore going mad as a result.  The jungle belongs there so absolutely, and when the Company came in it disrupted that harmony.  The natives became slaves, or at least were persuaded to work for little to no pay.  It is said that karma, the belief that “what come around goes around”, surrounds all things. The Company invaded space that was not theirs to invade, so karma came around when the natives fought back.

         Marlow did not go to the Congo to get involved with the Congo versus the jungle battle; he simply came to make a living.  Like most in those days, and even still today, most are just trying to make a living regardless of the consequences. At the time that people are trying to make a living not much else matters other than a way to live and support oneself. Marlow mentioned at one point about what men would do for a few

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‘francs’.  The Company would stop at nothing to make money, even at the cost of pushing out the natives.

      On page fifteen Marlow describes a dead animal on its back. This can most definitely imply that colonialism could possibly be failing in the Congo. The natives most certainly do not want the Europeans there. He does not view them as equals, which is evident by the derogatory term he associates with the native people. However, he does try and understand their predicament with the Europeans.

     Marlow views this world as strange and unnatural to him. Almost like a hallucination. Nothing seems quite real to him. The wonder and majesty of the jungle prevent him from feeling fear towards it. When Marlow encounters the cannibals, instead of fearing them like most would, he is in awe of them. He is fascinated that they have the restraint to not eat the rest of the crew even in a time of extreme hunger.  Marlow even hopes that he looks appetizing to the cannibals! As unbelievable as it may seem Marlow feels like he would be honored in some way if they had the want to eat him. (Conrad  33-34)  Marlow admires the restraint of the cannibals. He admires and respects them. Something the company doses not share in common with Marlow.  Marlow has a respect for the natives, and the Europeans have no concept for their lives nor to they care to take the time to find out.

           Conrad challenges the traditional ideal of Europeans and East Africans. Traditionally the natives were looked upon as savage, this is evident of the cannibals Marlow speaks of. They also were known for having no restraint when it came to boundaries, they could be barbaric. There was a loss of control associated with the Native

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Africans as well. However, these traditional thoughts were challenged in this novella. The Europeans became the savages when they tried to settle in the land that had already

been settled. They attempted to take what was not theirs, thus making them have no self-control. The fact remains that there is a change in roles depicted by Conrad in this novella. Europeans become the savages and the natives become the more civilized.

       On page thirty-six Marlow speaks of a native helmsman that resembled a trained circus dog.  He described him looking like a dog on its hind legs, wearing pants and a feathered hat.  The absurdity if this is what catches the reader’s eye. The fact that the company has influenced the natives so much as to have them looking like trained animals. The idea of this obviously disturbs Marlow. Later when the helmsman dies Marlow misses him.  He had begun to think of the man as his equal, they had a subtle bond between them. The helmsman steered the boat for Marlow, he was forced to trust the helmsman. He became more than a worker he became a colleague. Something the Company itself rarely saw.  They thought of the natives as nothing more than workers. They were not persons of interest to the Company.

       England was the dominant power in this time period. It was the superpower bent on colonizing as much as it could, as fast as it could. It wanted to promote its profit through use of the African products. They saw it as a perfect opportunity for enterprise. The Congo would be a perfect place to trade from. It was rich with mystery and culture. They took little time in considering the natives who inhabited the area. To gain power in this time, it was necessary to be the biggest trader, England saw this opportunity through many places, however the Congo just happened to be on that Conrad chose to expose.

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       Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness in 1899, and published it in 1902.  He wrote based on his own life experiences. Conrad saw the destruction of culture England was having on the Congo at that time.  The Congo was innocent and became under siege when the English arrived.  The came to make an enterprise out of the Congo, by using the natives for labor and slavery in essence. It is not clear if there was an intent to change the actual culture of the Congo, but the thought was definitely there.  The book is not an easy read. This was intentional on Conrad’s part. The book is meant to cause one to question the roles society had placed on the people of England and the people of the Congo. At what point does one consider that the Africans are more civilized than the English? This question can be answered in numerous ways. You can argue that the England was only using the Congo purely out of business  aspects. On the other hand, you can argue that England was out to broaden their land to make them a bigger world power. The natives had no choice in the matter of the colonization. They became the savages only after the invading English arrived. It can be argued that the natives only became savage after the English forced them into it. They came to settle to make a profit. They divided the people between those they could control to raise their profit, and those who rebelled making them the savages. They in fact did divide and conquer the Congo, to a certain degree.

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Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. W.W. Norton: New York,

           2005.

Opening paragraph for HOD essay

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: Company vs. the Jungle

      In the novella by Joseph Conrad, there is a cruelty throughout the company, which contrasts with the beauty and majesty of the jungle. There is a grace about the jungle that is disrupted by the colonization of the Company. The colonial image depicted by Joseph Conrad is not a positive one. Throughout the novella Conrad gives the image that the jungle is being corrupted by the colonial enterprise. A good example of this is when Marlow, the Narrator of the story, goes to visit the accountant of the company.  While visiting the accountant Marlow notices that the man is wearing unnecessary European fashion.  The man is dressed in a suit with a high European collar, and he is in the middle of the Congo.  This itself contrasts with the jungle, due to the fact that that attire is not appropriate for any kind of jungle.  This contrast stands out to Marlow and disturbs him. The man in the suit reminds him of the destructive behavior of the company.

Blog Assignment #1

     Traditionally when a colony settles on a place they completely take over.  Usually the colonies do not come to visit, they come to dominate. The Belgians came into Africa and took it upon themselves to be in charge. The Belgians came into the Congo for trading purposes. The company is brutal, and is inefficient.

   The company is not a friendly presence in the Congo.  There is a cruelty throughout the company, which contrasts with the beauty and majesty of the jungle.

The colonial image depicted by Joseph Conrad is not a positive one. Throughout the novella Conrad gives the image that the jungle is being corrupted by the colonial enterprise. At one point Marlow’s boat is under siege by the natives. The reason for the attack can only be assumed to be that they were a part of the company, and the natives associated the company with evil.  It only seemed appropriate for them to attack the trading vessel.

     Marlow is not considered a part of the company. In the novella he is described as the only man who “followed the sea”.  Though he worked for the Belgians he was not considered one of them. He worked for them, and followed their rules. However, he was his own person. Kurtz, a former company employee, left to be with the natives. He was the cause of the attack on Marlow’s cargo ship, giving the order “exterminate all brutes”, the company being the brutes.

    Due to the way Conrad approaches the situation of the company in Africa, it can be assumed that the colonization is not a good thing.  He believes the colonist to be imperialistic and poor businessmen. Though Conrad never puts the words into Marlow’s mouth that he dislikes what the company is doing, it can be determined that he is not in favor of the companies actions. They take and expect to get more for it. Conrad gives the visual depiction as to why the natives are frowned down upon on page seven. He states, “those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves”. Since this is in diary form of that of Marlow, it would seem that Marlow thinks the same way as his fellow co-workers. This was the way of the era; he was stating fact not opinion. Conrad gives Marlow a gives him the ability to be indifferent in the situation in the Congo. After the natives attack the cargo ship, Kurtz’s final words are, “the horror, the horror”. When Marlow is confronted by Kurtz’s fiancée she asks what his final words were. Unable to break her heart Marlow responds with, “the last words he pronounced was-your name”.  This proves Marlow’s kind nature; he is Conrad’s light in the darkness.  He is the light amidst the horrors of the invaded Congo.