Dehumanization In Heart Of Darkness

Throughout Heart of a Dog and Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad and Mikhail Bulgakov depict the dehumanizing effects of oppression––specifically slavery and discrimination––on both the oppressed and their oppressors. Dehumanization, as portrayed by these texts, is the unjust stripping (of oneself or others) of human dignity and respect; it is also a subjugation to needless attack, physical or verbal. In Heart of a Dog, Philippovich is dehumanized as he descends from a state of prestige to bumbling mental chaos, losing his own dignity as his beloved manners disappear from his own conduct. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow and his fellow ivory hunters suffer in a way uncannily similar to the native Africans, wrought with starvation and deadly violence. The initially well-mannered and respected surgeon Philippovich, whom Sharik reveres for his generosity and Bormenthal adores for his intellect, is degraded into a brusque, rude figure. The unfathomable results of his experiment spur this, as his mistreatment of Sharikov becomes his own undoing. Philippovich critiques Sharikov’s

On page 104, Bormenthal suggests poisoning Sharikov with arsenic and justifies the idea to Philippovich, saying “after all, he is your own creation, the product of your experiment” (Bulgakov 2012). As he belittles Sharikov, Bormenthal forfeits his own humanity by falling into a state of disrespect for Sharikov’s human life. Later, Bormenthal resorts to more violent means of killing Sharikov and attempts to choke him, “[grabbing] him easily and confidently by the throat” (Bulgakov 2012). Respect for the lives of others is intimately tied to humanity, so Bormenthal is dehumanized as he loses this respect. He suffers dehumanization not through an outward sense of being attacked, but an inward assassination of