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Race And Power In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

1605 Words7 Pages

There are a various ways to consider the meaning of the title (Heart of Darkness) on its own or as it relates to the story. The title implies that Africa is the Heart of Darkness, where white people (Marlow and Kurtz) go there to save Africans. Black natives are depicted living in darkness, needing to be brought into the light of civilization and white people seemingly have this enlightening knowledge. In the time of colonialism, Africa was frequently referred to as the "Dark Continent.” The darkness of the continent could refer to its unknown quality or the darkness of the people who resided there. The story takes place during a period of colonialism and great racism, and "darkness" in this context might very well have racist overtones. We are narrated through the trip upriver, and the source of a river might be considered its "heart," hence the destination might be the source or heart of the darkness of Africa or the men who colonized it. The story is about a man named Marlow, who is hired by The Company, which is a shipping company located in England. Although Marlow had sailed before, he had never sailed to Africa. In this essay, my focus will be to discuss the relationship between race and power in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Power can be understood as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do, whereas Weber (1978) views power as dominance, and the capacity to enforce compliance, exemplified by the coercive corrective

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