Jane Campion's The Piano - A Metaphor for European Domination

The Heart of Darkness represents all humanity because whether or not humans are industrialized, or still following the same barbarous beliefs, they contain an equal amount of darkness within themselves. Through this novel, Conrad displays the impacts of imperialism through the philosophy of europeans stemming from the effects of a Nationalist surge and Industrial revolution, and where the real darkness occurring from imperialism originates. The start of the novel begins in one of the great centers of civilization of the era, London. While Marlow begins his journey to the land of the unknown, but ponders on what the swamps of London were like to those that first discovered it. To them, they believe that they “live in the flicker...but darkness was here yesterday”(Conrad 3).

In the novella, Kurtz is the symbol of European colonialism because his approach to keeping order and producing profits are brutal. This cruelty is symbolized in the heads of the rebels placed on spikes surrounding Kurtz’s cabin. Marlow disrespects Kurtz for abusing the natives rather than educating and civilizing them as they were supposed

This battleship displayed the flag of the United States, representing fifteen states. At first, the frigate was used for commerce before Commodore Truxtun charged it for the upcoming war. During the Quasi-war, the USS Constellation of 1797 took its first battle mission to attack the French pirates in the Caribbean Sea. From this time, this ship was able to surrender the L’Insurgente frigate in 1799. The La Vengeance ship challenged it in return, so the American schooner shot down this ship in the year, 1800.

The silences of the story, involving Antonio being ... ... middle of paper ... ... values demand restraint, controland self-discipline (as seen later in Prospero's warnings to Ferdinand and Miranda) and the text equates indigenous values as barbaric and violent. In essence the European colonialist has invaded a new country, taken possession and set up their systems of values as the only legitimate code of behaviour. Through this Caliban has been dispossessed and forced to give up his ways of living and language. Caliban is constructed as innately inferior and savage because of his race. This is articulated by the supposedly sweet and tender Miranda: 'But thy vile race -/Though thou didst learn - had that in't which good natures/Could not abide to be with ..'(31) In these lines Caliban's race is seen as the reason for his barbaric behaviour - it is his very nature that makes him savage and dangerous.

In his essay, "The Best Way to Kill Our Literary Inheritance Is to Turn It Into a Decorous Celebration of the New World Order," Greenblatt argues that recognizing the presence of issues such as colonialism and slavery in The Tempest will deepen the pleasure of the ordinary reader. He explains that it is very difficult to look at The Tempest without thinking about imperialism. The play, which is set on a mysterious island inhabited by natives and taken over by a European prince, is filled with allusions to the process of colonization. For example, one can f... ... middle of paper ... ...rtin's, 2000. 119-20.

Conrad uses the character of Marlow and his original justification of imperialism so long as it was efficient and unselfish that was later transformed when the reality of colonialism displayed the selfishness of man, to show that colonialism throughout history displaces the needs of the mother country over the colonized peoples and is thus always selfish. Understan... ... middle of paper ... ...stry. Conrad displays a respect for the African’s culture, strongly denouncing the European interference that disordered their way of life. The colonizers fail to identify completely with the native people and culture and instead are attempting to better them according to their own conception while robbing civilizations of their natural resources. Attempting to answer the question of Conrad’s view on imperialism is an impossible task, as comparing the dominant views of the time that supported imperialism with the dominant views of today that oppose imperialism is contradictory.

Even as he attempts to demonstrate the invalidity of 'Tobair Vree' as rightful place-name through its seemingly... ... middle of paper ... ...ng the illusions of colonisation to merely "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves" by means of "forgotten and brutal instincts". In summation, while Friel's Translations successfully reveals to the audience that the enforced supremacy of an Imperialist agenda forever alters, in this case literally, the landscape, Conrad too summarises the disillusionment of Imperialism through the death of Kurtz. He entered the jungle with the ideals and altruistic intention of civilising the indigenous peoples, but his last words "The horror! The horror!" express his realisation of the true, tragic nature of Imperialism: "to tear treasure out of the bowels of the land", "with no more moral purpose at the back it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe."

Here we find that Marlow sees colonization as "robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as it is very proper for those who tackle darkness." Further, he sees such conquests as taking land and materials away from those people who "have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses." As he understands it, colonization is only successful if there lays within it a "devotion to efficiency" and a creation of civilization, not exploitation (Conrad, 4). In the novel, as seen through the eyes of his narrator Marlow, Conrad offers a frank critique of European imperial colonialism be alluding to the poignant differences between black and white and dark and light. Through the usage of individual characters, Conrad illustrates the differences between dark and light and black and white created by colonialism.

Rudyard Kipling shows this type of irony behind imperialism in one of his most famous works, “The White Man’s Burd... ... middle of paper ... ...wever, why are the people simply listening to what they have been told by society without noticing what is actually occurring? “The White Man’s Burden” served as a message for the western world to no longer accept imperialism as their “burden”. With his medley of sarcastic and ironic language, Kipling shows how imperialism hurts both the colonizer and the colonized. The vile deeds conducted by the westerners on the natives for labor was brutal, while the colonized often rebelled violently against the colonizer. This poem could have be seen as an encouragement for the westerners to go against the norm and create a better world to live in; a world without imperialism.

Postcolonialist critics attempt to view the limited views and biases of colonialized countries. They continue to analyze a colonized culture and examine it in a manner of different ways: the culture that existed before the colozination; the culture that exists after the colonization; and the hybrid creations of the two (Bressler 268). By using Postcolonialism Hemingway is able to create characters that represent the features manifested in a colonized society. Hemingway uses Nick’s character to embody untainted innocence. Hemingway wanted to portray the cruel treatment of the Native American’s in a way that would substantially impact his readers.