Heart of Darkness Final
Bolanos 1
Brigitte Bolanos
Eng 110
Johanna Scheffer
October 15, 2014
Post-colonialism Criticism Joseph Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness is about the character Marlow venturing off to Africa to meet the famous Kurtz that everybody in Europe praises. In the novella, a shadowy second figure is narrating Marlow’s telling of his life-changing journey in meeting Kurtz to a crew of men. In his journey Marlow encounters the demand for ivory, colonial dehumanization and overall the effects of imperialism. Due to the hazy point of view critics looked at Conrad’s novella through the lens of Post-Colonial Criticism, which can also be identified as “post-imperialist criticism” that refers to any time ensuing the establishment of colonial rule. There have been many ongoing arguments questioning Conrad’s perception of race; however, I couldn’t agree more with Patrick Brantlinger’s perspective in his “Heart of Darkness: Anti-Imperialism, Racism, or Impressionism?” criticism. Brantlinger believes Conrad offers a powerful examination of imperialism and racism within the era, even though his faulty, racist language was a product of the late Victorian period. In the novella, the Africans are portrayed as quiet, violent savages in which critic Achebe feels dehumanized and claims Conrad a racist. Having discredit Conrad’s work, Achebe downplays the art of Heart of Darkness. However, if art, in the form of literature, is supposed to rise above the prejudice of the artist’s time, can we
Bolanos 2 say Conrad lacks this artistic element or does it depict his personal mindset? Although Conrad offers his anti-imperialist view, there is no exact evidence proving he is not a racist. The recurring theme in the novella is the contrast between light and dark, which is intractably swapped back and forth blurring Conrad’s perception of good. When Marlow is arriving at Kurtz’s camp he starts describing, “I assure you that never, never before, did this land, this river, this jungle, the very arch of
Brigitte Bolanos
Eng 110
Johanna Scheffer
October 15, 2014
Post-colonialism Criticism Joseph Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness is about the character Marlow venturing off to Africa to meet the famous Kurtz that everybody in Europe praises. In the novella, a shadowy second figure is narrating Marlow’s telling of his life-changing journey in meeting Kurtz to a crew of men. In his journey Marlow encounters the demand for ivory, colonial dehumanization and overall the effects of imperialism. Due to the hazy point of view critics looked at Conrad’s novella through the lens of Post-Colonial Criticism, which can also be identified as “post-imperialist criticism” that refers to any time ensuing the establishment of colonial rule. There have been many ongoing arguments questioning Conrad’s perception of race; however, I couldn’t agree more with Patrick Brantlinger’s perspective in his “Heart of Darkness: Anti-Imperialism, Racism, or Impressionism?” criticism. Brantlinger believes Conrad offers a powerful examination of imperialism and racism within the era, even though his faulty, racist language was a product of the late Victorian period. In the novella, the Africans are portrayed as quiet, violent savages in which critic Achebe feels dehumanized and claims Conrad a racist. Having discredit Conrad’s work, Achebe downplays the art of Heart of Darkness. However, if art, in the form of literature, is supposed to rise above the prejudice of the artist’s time, can we
Bolanos 2 say Conrad lacks this artistic element or does it depict his personal mindset? Although Conrad offers his anti-imperialist view, there is no exact evidence proving he is not a racist. The recurring theme in the novella is the contrast between light and dark, which is intractably swapped back and forth blurring Conrad’s perception of good. When Marlow is arriving at Kurtz’s camp he starts describing, “I assure you that never, never before, did this land, this river, this jungle, the very arch of