Blindness And Lack Of Morality In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

A single story can be dangerous for the simple fact that we miss the whole story. The one-sided view on life can lead to stereotypes and judgement of others. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is an example of this single story. This Polish-British writer is claimed to be a great author, with Heart of Darkness being his most popular work. In this novel he speaks through his main character Marlow about white settlers colonizing Africa, harming, exploiting and, portraying the natives in many inhumane ways.

Conrad Joseph’s Heart of Darkness is a novel that explores both the physical and psychological journeys of the characters. The novel is set on a river which runs through Congo. The journey reveals the darkness of Africa and the darkness in the individual psyche. Marlow, the main character takes on the journey and discovers more than just the beauty of the landscapes. The novel explores the damage that colonization does to white colonizers such as the character of Kurtz.

Throughout the novel, we see Conrad gives us idea about how deceiving one could be. For example when Marlow talks about the map unfamiliar Africa and where unknown part are drawn which turns out white on the map of Africa. Africa appears to be dark through exploitation, colonization and exploration of the rest of the continents. Conrad even uses the idea of light and dark to gives us more idea of the inner status of some of the specific character. In the novel ‘Heart of Darkness’ Mr. Kurtz who is an Caucasian man, who has white skin, but who has the darkest and most corrupt soul in the novel.

Narrative Chapter One Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative, is a special case of literature history. Years before the writings of Fredrick Douglass, it spoke of the horrible truths of slavery to persuade its readers to listen to its reason. Though Equiano’s authenticity to his story being that of his own life can be questionable at times, his writings still strive for the greater purpose of “promoting the interest of humanity” (688). Equiano starts the first chapter and the beginning of his story explaining the life he had in Africa.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin powerfully strengthened abolitionist views, angered the South, and offered a true look into the lives of

Fitzhugh attempts to weave a dishonest and malicious narrative about the benefits of slavery and the negatives of freedom. He spouts logical fallacies that further show his lack of understanding and his weak argument base. How can a system of equality and liberty be less prosperous and beneficial than Fitzhugh’s system of dominance, control and subjugation? It cannot be. Through Fitzhugh's System people are kept in mental darkness and treated no better than cattle, and in most cases worse.

To justify Apartheid in South Africa Geyer points out that despite the freedoms enjoyed by native Africans they have not accomplished any major landmarks of civilization, thus guidance by White Europeans is a necessity for native Africans to flourish. This is an extremely common narrative colonizers establish in order to justify their actions; the colonizers appear as the “saviors” that will lead the disillusioned “savages” to true enlightenment. However, as we see time and time again throughout history these so called “saviors” actually operate to the extreme detriment of the

Walker speaks with distinctive honesty and passion about the cruelty of slavery. An Christian himself, he signals out white Christians for their double standards in supporting slavery, and society that treated most people of African origin as non-human possessions to be bought, sold or disposed of at will. He debates that, compared with slavery at other times and in other places, slavery in the United States is the most awful in history. Walker begs Black

Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man is a novel that centers itself on conspicuous inauthenticity. The present duality in conjunction with essentialism within the novel echoes the ironies of inherent racism within our society. Trueblood’s dichotomous role within society serves to emphasize the dynamics within the cultural structure. His incestuous transgression results in his ostracism from the black community and simultaneously the white community rewarding him, Trueblood is surprised by their reaction he says “they gimme more help than they ever give any other colored man, no matter how good a nigguh he was.” (67).

Indeed, Africans are depicted as funny beings incapable of speech and only exchanging “short grunting sounds” (Conrad 56). Such description may refer to the fact that Africans are seen as being so primitive that they are even unable to communicate amongst themselves. What is more interesting is that Achebe seemed to believe that in the novella Africans are just as onlookers on their own continent and that they are attributed speech only in two occurrences. He reports that the first one is when “cannibalism gets the better of them” (6) and the Nigerian writer supported his claim by quoting a passage in which the Africans are described as barbaric, eating human flesh. Indeed, Marlow recounts his discussion with the headman who explains to him that the hungry natives were preparing to attack savages in order to eat them “Catch 'im" he snapped with a bloodshot widening of his eyes and a flash of sharp teeth—"catch 'im. Give 'im to us."

Walker’s statement on the bottom of page 69 and the top of 70,”what now masquerades as World History is largely fictitious.” raises a serious topic that causes extremely heated debates. Agreeing with the statement, I understand that Walker wants the truth of Africa and its people to be heard and believed. European historians seized and intentionally manipulated history in order to create the idea of them being the founding fathers of the African civilization. When Europeans first began their journeys to Africa they were completely baffled in the discovering of something they were intimidated by. Africa was not a place that was meaningless and worthless, but instead to their surprise it was a place that was rich in culture.

The Poisonwood Bible and Heart of Darkness are set in the Congo where each plot has a similar structure; white characters from a highly civilized and industrial Western country venture into the heart of darkness and become significantly changed by their environment and experiences. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, follows the story of Marlow, an English sailor who is sent by the Belgian Company into the Congo in order to find and retrieve Kurtz, a man who has deteriorated into savagery. Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible is about Nathan Price, a desperate missionary, who forces his wife and four daughters to leave their comfortable life in Georgia to go to the Congo. Although each story takes place in a different time period, both

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a gripping tale that follows the main character, Charlie Marlow, on his journey through Africa. Not only does Marlow go on a physical journey, but a mental one as well. Throughout the story we see him change as a person, and the other characters of the novel largely affect how he changes. One of the characters of Conrad’s story is known as the Harlequin. Although the Harlequin seems to play a minor role in the plot, he does affect Marlow’s journey.