Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) was written during a time period where both modernism and imperialism were societally pervasive. Inherently, these cultural contexts and epochs influenced literature and arguably Heart of Darkness. In order to evaluate how Heart of Darkness reflects and challenges the spirit of these two time periods and historical contexts, its narratological and thematic framework should be considered, to reach the synthesizing conclusion that the literary epoch of modernism is reflected extensively in Heart of Darkness, whilst the context of imperialism is fundamentally challenged throughout.
The typical modernist focalisation perspective is continuously utilized in Heart of Darkness as through the employment of …show more content…
Marlow describes his reaction to the dehumanization and exploitation by the Europeans as “horror-struck” and does not, glorify this violent behaviour, which challenges the racist paradigm of the 19th century. Despite paternalistic and condescending discourse and tones being inherent in the novella, despite Marlow describing a native fireman as “a dog in breeches”, he never actively condemns or criticizes the natives or their behaviour, unlike the Europeans, and a juxtaposition in the context of discourse is created as he refers to the Europeans as “devils” and “pilgrims”, and the tone employed is never used in relation to the natives.
Arguably, this not only challenges the imperialist hegemony but also reflects the modernist theme of destruction, as it “destroys” and challenges the dominant social hierarchy through its frequent critiques of imperialism.
To synthesize, the epochs of modernism and imperialism are both reflected and challenged in Heart of Darkness, through its narrative structure, its thematic approach, and its
The typical modernist focalisation perspective is continuously utilized in Heart of Darkness as through the employment of …show more content…
Marlow describes his reaction to the dehumanization and exploitation by the Europeans as “horror-struck” and does not, glorify this violent behaviour, which challenges the racist paradigm of the 19th century. Despite paternalistic and condescending discourse and tones being inherent in the novella, despite Marlow describing a native fireman as “a dog in breeches”, he never actively condemns or criticizes the natives or their behaviour, unlike the Europeans, and a juxtaposition in the context of discourse is created as he refers to the Europeans as “devils” and “pilgrims”, and the tone employed is never used in relation to the natives.
Arguably, this not only challenges the imperialist hegemony but also reflects the modernist theme of destruction, as it “destroys” and challenges the dominant social hierarchy through its frequent critiques of imperialism.
To synthesize, the epochs of modernism and imperialism are both reflected and challenged in Heart of Darkness, through its narrative structure, its thematic approach, and its