ipl-logo

Belgian Imperialism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

1167 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impacts of colonialism on africa

“‘Exterminate all the brutes!’” (Conrad, 25), Kurtz writes on his report. What is the sentence trying to tell? This single sentence from Heart of Darkness indicates that there are a number of themes in the story. It describes how a European of the 1890s views himself as a superior being above Africans, and how a man has become a cruel monster when separated from a civilized world. Then, what themes does the whole book talk about? Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness considers both the themes of the social injustice produced by imperialism and effects of living conditions on a man in a religious way, in which James 1:13-15 in the Bible supports. In the 1890s, Belgian imperialism has caused a serious social injustice problem in the Congo Free State. During the time period, the Congo has been merely a private possession of King Leopold II of Belgium. There has been an extreme contrast between the state of Congo natives and that of European colonists; colonizers have enjoyed wealth from the labor of natives, whom they have forced to work for the sovereign Leopold and left when suffering from malnutrition and health problems. …show more content…

One, with his chin propped on his knees, stared at nothing, in an intolerable and appalling manner: his brother phantom rested its forehead, as if overcome with a great weariness; and all about others were scattered in every pose of contorted collapse, as in some picture of a massacre or a pestilence (Conrad, 26). The European exploration into “unexplored” Congo has not only destroyed natives’ lives but also the voyagers’ in spiritual ways. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad reflects his pessimistic views of human nature through the negative changes characters go through as their conditions change. In other words, he emphasizes how every man becomes overwhelmed by his inborn evil spirit that comes out as he gets closer to “the darkness”, separated from a civilized

Show More
Related
666 Words | 3 Pages

In the age of imperialism, which was said to last from 1870 to 1914, was another one of those time periods where nations would compete for international power. As such, there were plenty of atrocious events that almost every imperialistic nation is responsible for, that would define this time period as one of the most gruesome time periods of mankind. At the time, it was Europe who was leading this new revolution of imperialism, and almost every country within Europe wanted a piece of this power that was waiting to be obtained, even countries as small as Belgium. The King of Belgium at the time of imperialism was King Leopold II.

Read More
913 Words | 4 Pages

When Belgium colonized Congo, the Congolese people’s world quickly changed from the past, influencing their lives heavily. Ten to twenty-three million people died during Leopold’s rule from 1885 to 1908 (Kenneth). The Congolese people weren’t treated fairly and faced many hardships. Most Congolese people died because of King Leopold’s treatment, including war, starvation, forced labor and disease(Bland). This goes to show how poorly King Leopold treated the people and how he didn’t care about the Congolese people, only the reward.

Read More
536 Words | 3 Pages

When the rubber vines became scarce, the workers had to go further into the forest and if they officials were not satisfied they would cut the hands or heads of the workers. In addition, the officials would participate in slave-raids in which they would wage unjust wars with the natives as an incentive to acquire slaves. Through these practices it becomes clear that Leopold was not motivated by imperialism nor the civilized mission but rather motivated by desperation. With the failures and financial struggles, Leopold sought lucrative means to acquire wealth as well as compete with other imperial powers. It is notable that he did not enact on his promise of accomplishing the civilized mission as he failed to integrate a system of industrialism, or fund the creation of hospitals and educational systems.

Read More
1063 Words | 5 Pages

“No matter how full the river is, it still wants to grow,” is a proverb from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as the Congo Free State while under King Leopold II’s rule. In short, this proverb describes the king of Belgium’s rule of the Congos in Africa; he wanted more control despite already ruling his own country. King Leopold II colonized the Congo by claiming it as his own property in hopes of gaining power, gaining more land mass, and obtaining natural resources for his own use and profit. The Congo was eventually annexed to Belgium. Given the size of the Congo, and the amount of untouched resources, King Leopold II deemed the land as desirable for personal rule; the Congo was later voted by the Belgian parliament to

Read More
1217 Words | 5 Pages

During King Leopold’s rule of the Congo, many harsh and violent actions caused many Africans to suffer immensely. As a Belgium official once said, “It is blood-curdling to see them (the soldiers) returning with the hands of the slain, and to find the hands of young children amongst the bigger ones…”. As punishment, Belgium soldiers would cut of the hands and feet of Africans. The soldiers claimed they did this because they didn’t want to waste bullets on “game hunting.” The amputated body parts were usually kept as trophies, to show bravery in battle.

Read More
1195 Words | 5 Pages

He loved to explore new territories which led him to a journey into the heart of the Congo. What Conrad would experience in the depths of the Congo would, as Ray Bradbury said, “Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper”. Conrad’s personal experiences significantly influenced his writing of Heart of Darkness. Conrad’s first hand experience of the cruel rule of King Leopold II influenced his writing of Heart

Read More
1044 Words | 5 Pages

(Conrad 6), which is a reminder that this piece of literature is told using a frame narrative. This interruption and the numerous others present in Heart of Darkness bring the reader back to the concept that the true narrator of Heart of Darkness is just a listener on board the Nellie. Everytime this realization occurs, it only furthers the idea that what actually happened during Imperialism is not relevant in the eyes of many. Conrad uses these subtle hints to satirize the ignorance of society in respect to the actions of Europeans during this time

Read More
97 Words | 1 Pages

Hunt Hawkins presents the controversy that Joseph Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness, encounters, as its contents portray Africans as dehumanizing, savage, and uncivilized beings. In order to provide a sufficient amount of information with regards to the controversy, Hawkins introduces the analysis of distinct scholars to describe racism, imperialism, and human nature. As a result, an analysis of the characters are provided to the audience and allow an individual to understand why Conrad decided to write Heart of Darkness the way he did. Thus, during this process, Hawkins describes the manifestation of the darkness that eventually consumes Kurtz.

Read More
1772 Words | 8 Pages

With the imperialistic drive being a bigger motive for Europe, he could depict the harshness of the Victorian Era class system in his novel Heart of Darkness. Not only were the effects of the class system that made it dangerous, but also how easily it can spread. These themes are present in Heart of Darkness due to the Victorian Era being one of the worst time periods for class diversity. Also, Conrad presented the story from the point of view of a white man, or Middle Class worker, just so the reader can see what goes on directly below and above him in the social hierarchy. While there has always been a class system for all types of societies, the Victorian Era may be the worst since the poverty problems at the time gained little attention, yet a numerous amount of people fell victim to it.

Read More
1315 Words | 6 Pages

New Criticism View of Imperialism in Heart of Darkness In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the imperialism of Africa is described. Conrad tells the story of the cruel treatment of the natives and of the imperialism of the Congo region through the perspective of the main character, Marlow. Throughout the novel, Marlow describes how the Europeans continuously bestow poor treatment to the native people by enslaving them in their own territory. Analyzing the story with the New Criticism lens, it is evident that Conrad incorporates numerous literary devices in Heart of Darkness, including similes, imagery, personification, and antitheses to describe and exemplify the main idea of cruel imperialism in Africa discussed throughout the novella.

Read More
821 Words | 4 Pages

Heart of Darkness reveals multiple themes about mankind living in this type of setting. In his novel, Conrad uses the literary elements of symbolism, characterization, and setting to illustrate the theme that when humans are surrounded by darkness, they can become blind to the truth. The literary element of symbolism is

Read More
1066 Words | 5 Pages

Racism in Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Polish- British writer Joseph Conrad in 1899. Since it was written Heart of Darkness has been criticized as a colonial work. One of the critics who condemn Joseph Conrad and his work has been the Nigerian authors and critics Chinua Achebe in his work "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad 's 'Heart of Darkness". Achebe considers Conrad as “a thoroughgoing racist” (Achebe 5) for depicting Africa as "the other world" (Achebe 2). The aim of this study is to examine Heart of Darkness referring to the Achebe’s ideas in his 1977 essay.

Read More
962 Words | 4 Pages

(Conrad, Part II) The defense against Achebe’s aforementioned conclusion that racism exists covert within the ornately nautical imagery of Heart of Darkness relies chiefly upon Conrad’s assumed authorial intent: it asserts that Conrad 's dehumanized portrayal of indigenous Africans aims to underscore the inhuman brutality imposed by the imperialistic goals of European civilization. This is evident, for example, when Conrad illuminates, through protagonist Marlow, the thematically maddening futility of imperialism as he recounts a story about Frensleven, a Danish colonizer who kills a native chief in an effort to “[assert] his self-respect in some way.” (Conrad, Part I) Accordingly, the Africans encountered within Heart of Darkness are not inherently savage, but rather are made so by the forces of imperialism, ultimately rendered “nothing but black shadows of diseases and starvation” because of

Read More
1343 Words | 6 Pages

“Man Jeete Jag Jeet” in Japji Sahib by Guru Nanak is a world famous teaching of controlling over the desires of mind lest one gets corrupted by them. It means, one can win the world but one cannot easily win over the mind/ desires. Therefore, a man who has controlled his mind is greater than the one who has conquered the world. The characters – Marlow and Kurtz – in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness display such contrast. The present study is aimed at understanding the symbolic darkness in the novella in the light of above given line by Guru Nanak.

Read More
915 Words | 4 Pages

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a story that centers around Marlow, an introverted sailor, and his treacherous journey up the Congo River in search of a man name Kurtz. Unfamiliar with the terrain and natives, Marlow faced many different obstacles that made his journey even more tough. Obstacles like the Congo River and the dense jungles that surround it not only limited the crew progress, but also aroused confusion as well. Joseph Conrad amazing use of descriptive wording and imagery help the readers understand why their surrounding was giving them uneasiness throughout their expedition to meet up with Kurtz. The readers can understand why nature was truly an adversary to Marlow and his crew.

Read More

More about Belgian Imperialism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

Related Topics

Open Document