The novel Heart of Darkness
The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a very powerful piece of writing that discusses the importance of human society and its good and bad affects on men. This novel took place in two very different places the so-called "civilized London" and the "uncivilized Africa" which had conflicting cultures. Joseph Conrad illustrates through his intense novel that although one may claim to be in a "civilized" society but when compared to a different culture they may be at the same level of civilization or as "uncivilized" as the other culture may be. There is no one clear definition of what a civilized society is but there is a clear definition on the effects that the society has on its men. Society greatly reflects on the lives of the man because it plays a major role in leading their lives towards a specific direction. This may range from either end, towards wealth or poverty, towards life or death. It is all based on the society in which the man is constantly exposed to and affected by. Civilization lacks innocence, which strips people of their humanity. According to Joseph Conrad human society should aid the man in pursuing the right direction during the course of life which is consequently derived upon the idea that the man
Joseph Conrad makes good use of his characters to tell his story. The character that we saw the comparison of the African culture and the culture of London as illustrated through the storyteller a journeyman, a wanderer, named Marlow. Marlow was the person who spun his yarn of the clash between two cultures. The culture of the whites in London was sent to explore Africa in order to expand their trades and riches. The natives regarded these white men as god and instead of being equally treated these white men showed them their inhumanity. They enslaved these natives and made them their laborers and stripped them of their freedom. These white men were cruel and very harsh to these people of a different culture where they regarded the natives as though they were "savages" when compared to their so-called "civilized" society. The natives were chained up and forced to go to work by these heartless whites in their own society, their home. "Six black men advanced in a file, toiling up the path. They walked erect and slow, balancing small baskets full of earth on their heads, and the clink kept time with their footsteps... [Marlow] could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bright swung between them, rhythmically clinking... [They resembled the] deathlike indifference of unhappy savages." The people that are shaping their society were "these... strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men-men." The white men shaped these natives' life and society, this was the bad that happened to the lives of the natives. They were so naive in the way they saw the white men. Although they praised these white men, the white men took advantage of them and enslaved and made them a part of their evil schemes of self-prosperity. "Brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legality of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest." The white men saw the natives' weakness and they made them all workers/slaves of their company, influenced by the cruelties of their corrupted society. Joseph Conrad illustrated
Some common words found in the essay are:
Joseph Conrad, Marlow Marlow, Kurtz Kurtz, Africa Kurtz's, Marlow Africa, civilized society, Heart Darkness, joseph conrad, so-called civilized, human society, so-called civilized society, dehumanized society, innocence africa, society shapes, london civilized, conrad illustrated, society bad, ,
Approximate Word count = 1513
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
