The language expressed was common in the context of it’s publication, and it may be reflective of the greater society’s ignorance to the native African’s, with Marlow too, being constructed as a product of his society, therefore his views and opin... ... middle of paper ... ...the character of Marlow who is a product of his time. Although Achebe, among many others may be correct in saying that Conrad portrays the natives as the ‘other’, it’s the manifestation of Conrad, and the society of the time which leads to this portrayal. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua [An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed.
...ss." Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1994. 1-137. Guerand, Albert J. Conrad the Novelist.
It is evident that Marlow is one of the few white men on the journey that questions the belief at the time that the natives of Africa are "inhu... ... middle of paper ... ...ch open up the readers mind. Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", raises many questions about society and the human potential for evil. Works Cited and Consulted: Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness 3rd Ed. Ed.
. I realized that I was one of those savages jumping up and down on the beach. Once that kind of enlightenment comes to you, you realize that someone has to write a different story" (Gikandi 8-9); Achebe openly admits that he wrote Things Fall Apart because of the horrible characterization of Africans in many European works, especially Heart of Darkness. In many ways, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart can be seen as an Afrocentric rebuttal to the Eurocentric depi... ... middle of paper ... ...t of Darkness. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua.
Campbell, Horace. Rasta and Resistance: From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney. Africa World Press Inc.: New Jersey (1987) Chevannes, Barry. Rastafari: Roots and Ideology. Syracuse University Press: New York (1994) Lewis, Rupert.
"(Page 29 HOD), and this is a clear evidence that proves how Marlow’s morals have been destroyed as he moves to each station. In conclusion, Heart of Darkness de-humanizes Africans, denies their language and culture and under estimates them by calling them with humiliating names. Heart of Darkness reveals the absolute hypocrisy of Europe. In Europe, colonizing Africa was necessary because it would not only bring wealth to Europe but it would also civilize and educate the “savage” African natives. It shows that the European colonizers used the high ideals of colonization as a cover to allow them to collect whatever wealth they could from Africa.
“Natural resources inspire the most unnatural greed”. Natural resources account for the primary reason that Europe deemed it necessary to lay claim to Africa. As Cesaire points out in his essay Discourse on Colonialism there were many surface excuses given by Europeans for traveling to Africa, like missionary work, extending the rule of law, and curing diseases. Cesaire argues, “no one colonizes innocently” (Cesaire 39). This statement holds especially true for the Belgian colonizers of The Congo.
Conrad depicts his ideas about Africa in this way as well as through the character of Marlow. As author Gary Adelman comments on this in his book Heart of Darkness Search for the Unconscious "Africans, in their free state, as described by Marlow, epitomizes not only the primitive condition of humankind, but also an actively demoralizing influence, which a white man coming to Africa must challenge." (p. 69) In many description located in the novel Conrad depicts Africa and it’s people as being dark and of inhuman nature. "It was unearthly, and the men were -No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it -this suspicion of t... ... middle of paper ... ... Darkness is that he meant the darkness and wickedness that he saw and associated with European colonialism and imperialistic rule of Africa.
The African Elites have always been the puppets in which the West uses in controlling the peoples of Africa. This is self-evident during the colonial period. As history has showed, African countries have fallen into one label or the other for example “failed states” , “Less economically Developed countries”, “corrupt nations” etc. Nayar (2010) discusses this in his essay but looks at it from the third world view in a whole. Thus, with these labels often given to African countries, the “West” often propose solutions in which they can help the African countries escape from the label and it’s disadvantages.