Imperialism In Heart Of Darkness Analysis
How does Heart of Darkness comment on the theme Imperialism?
Imperialism in general refers to the power of a country over another country or the power of a person over another person. According to Evans the Scramble for Africa (1880-1900) was the era of imperialism. The Europeans leaders were fighting among themselves to colonize the African continent because Africa was rich in ivory. In 1884 Berlin Conference was held to decide the future of Africa. They finalized to create free trade in the Congo region, free navigation and created rules to divide Africa among themselves. Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness during this period so, those historical backgrounds on colonization help to portray the theme of imperialism in this novel. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad portrays themes of imperialism in three different views through his main character Marlow. Therefore, this essay argues on how Heart of Darkness comment on Imperialism based on the power of the colonizers, the power of Mr. Kurtz and imperialistic view of Conrad over women.
In Heart of Darkness the Europeans have the
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This is not true because Conrad is raising some gender biases by portraying women as an inferior character and minor character. He rarely mentions any woman character in his novel, however the role given to them is insignificant. For example, in this novel Marlow’s aunt is referred to as a caricature. Especially when Marlow says, “They live in the world of their own, and there had never been anything like it, and never can be” (Conrad, 2015, p.22).It shows us Conrad’s strong believe in women’s inferiority. The words such as “world of their own”, is more like women’s lack of contribution towards practical world and women lost in their fantasy. The words “never can be”, also portrays women’s lack of potential in doing meaningful
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1315 Words | 6 PagesNew 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.
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