Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
On first reading, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness appears to summarise the attitudes of the Europeans, and in particular, the English, at the turn of the century. The central narrator and character of the text, Marlow, presents his views on the issues of race and gender in a manner which grates against the reader's modern ears. However Conrad does suggest that he does not share the point of view of his character Marlow, and in doing so is able to present a post-colonial critique of the ideology of his time, and in particular, racism and sexism.The focus of the story, an exploration into the mysterious and dangerous African continent, certainly provides an adequate stage for sexist views, as it implies bravery and ruggedness, both supposedly exclusively male qualities. Indeed, all of the explorers, representatives of the ambiguously named "Company", are male, and the one female referred to is a native, "savage", and therefore doubly inferior, at least in the eyes of the white men, including Marlow. The main narrator and character first shows his attitude towards women when commenting incredulously on the fact that he uses his aunt's influence to obtain employment: "Set women to work! Charlie Marlow!" . As is so often
Conrad's post-colonial critique is revealed with great subtlety by the undermining of his narrator's views through the use of irony and the theme of appearance versus reality, in particular with the reversal of the connotations of white and black, "civilised" and "savage" and the roles of males and females. While initially appearing to be a text typical of its historical context and the attitudes of society at the turn of the century, it is not to be judged on face value. The story, to use Conrad's own words, is not one of "a direct simplicity", its meaning, his critique does not "[lie] within the shell of a cracked nut" - it is not "inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illuminations of moonshine", in other words, it is not made apparent by brute force, but by examination of the text and its context.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Fresleven Black, Kurtz's Intended, Charlie Marlow, Heart Darkness, Europeans Africa, heart darkness, attitude towards, knitting black wool, , reader assume conrad, journey heart darkness, narrator character, sexist views, journey heart, female referred, attitude towards women, black white, beautiful world, marlow views, racist terms,
Approximate Word count = 1891
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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