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Heart Of Darkness American Imperialism Analysis

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In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses contrasts and ironies between the native Africans and the intrusive Europeans to prove that Civilization is not truly civilized. The Europeans claim to be in the Congo to “civilize” the “savage” natives, yet they are far from paragons of civility. The Europeans are violent, greedy, and extensively lazy while the natives show restraint, non-violence, and reluctant yet exemplary work ethic. Although the Europeans have enslaved the natives of the Congo, they themselves are slaves to greed. Marlow describes them best when he refers to them as “greedy phantoms” (137). The pilgrims and the company employees share a common goal, profit. They drift about day to day, unorderly, collecting ivory from their …show more content…
Surely violence may arguably be necessary in certain situations. Self defense is the most justifiable instance. However, the Europeans are not the ones who are threatened and therefore have no need to defend themselves. The natives are the ones who are threatened and intimidated by the Europeans and their antics. Knowing this, the Europeans continue to threaten them unnecessarily. Marlow notices this upon arrival in the Congo when he observes the “incomprehensible, firing into a continent” (60). There is no justification for this shelling. They are shelling the continent to intimidate the very group that they claim to be there to help. Marlow’s time spent with the drunkard reveals more of the company’s true colors to us. The entire company is supposed to be altruistic, yet of the drunkard Marlow says, “He was very anxious for me to kill somebody” (68). Indeed, the man is drunk, but his haste to turn to murder as revenge for a scraped nose is no doubt excessive. As well, he was not even anxious for the culprit to be murdered; he wanted payment in the form of blood from somebody. This indifference is unjust and far from civilized. The natives outnumber the Europeans and could seek out revenge for their oppression the same way the drunk intended. Despite their harsh labor and poor treatment, the natives are not …show more content…
The laziness of their “civilized educators” dehumanized them until “they were nothing earthly now, -- nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation” (64). The company claimed to be in the Congo to transcend the savages to civilization. This raises the question: “what does civility look like?” Perhaps it looks like the Chief Accountant with his “high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots”(65). This description sounds more like civilization than the former, yet the same man that was described is the one responsible for the treatment of the natives in that station. The same man that holds the appearance of civility admits to forcing a native woman to cater to him. “’I’ve been teaching one of the native women about the station,’” he tells Marlow, “’it was difficult. She had distaste for the work.’” One may argue that at the time the novel was written, this was woman’s role in society and that this had been the status quo for centuries since the idea of women’s right and women’s suffrage had just been raised to light by NAWSA. However, society has moved past that because such roles no longer fit in with modern civilization. Perhaps the absence of these roles today proves people are more civilized than before. If people were less civilized then, and more civilized now, is mankind ever truly

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