Portrayal of “Civilization” in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
To be civilized, according to the dictionary is to be, “educated in the usages of organized society”, but in Heart of Darkness Conrad compares an image of Africa with the view of Europeans in order to establish their superiority as a “civilized” nation. Conrad’s way of representing Africa and portraying natives as niggers and common savages shows how indigenous Africans are considered “uncivilized” through the use of harsh words to them. They were treated brutally by the Europeans and were treated as slaves.
In the book Heart of Darkness Conrad shows how the natives were depicted as savages by the Europeans that colonized the area. European discrimination against the Africans is clearly described in this book, as the protagonist, Marlow in travelling through Africa. He states that the natives he encounters are savages and he compares them to animals in the wilderness. An example of this is the phrase: “They were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation” (Conrad, 1899). This happens when Marlow discovers the death pit and an open grave where natives go and die. This line shows the natives as “shadows” and weak “creatures” instead of dying men. The men are described with no humanizing characteristics to distinguish from one another, this shows that …show more content…
Heart of Darkness makes the readers question the values of white civilization. They gain their values from exploiting a continent in the name of ‘civilizing project’. Likewise, Conrad describes that the civilized white people are greedy because they are obsessed with the natives’ wealth which is ivory. The character Marlow also reveals the darkness existing in civilized whites instead of black people of the Dark Continent. The book Heart of Darkness shows how ignorant the civilized people
To be civilized, according to the dictionary is to be, “educated in the usages of organized society”, but in Heart of Darkness Conrad compares an image of Africa with the view of Europeans in order to establish their superiority as a “civilized” nation. Conrad’s way of representing Africa and portraying natives as niggers and common savages shows how indigenous Africans are considered “uncivilized” through the use of harsh words to them. They were treated brutally by the Europeans and were treated as slaves.
In the book Heart of Darkness Conrad shows how the natives were depicted as savages by the Europeans that colonized the area. European discrimination against the Africans is clearly described in this book, as the protagonist, Marlow in travelling through Africa. He states that the natives he encounters are savages and he compares them to animals in the wilderness. An example of this is the phrase: “They were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation” (Conrad, 1899). This happens when Marlow discovers the death pit and an open grave where natives go and die. This line shows the natives as “shadows” and weak “creatures” instead of dying men. The men are described with no humanizing characteristics to distinguish from one another, this shows that …show more content…
Heart of Darkness makes the readers question the values of white civilization. They gain their values from exploiting a continent in the name of ‘civilizing project’. Likewise, Conrad describes that the civilized white people are greedy because they are obsessed with the natives’ wealth which is ivory. The character Marlow also reveals the darkness existing in civilized whites instead of black people of the Dark Continent. The book Heart of Darkness shows how ignorant the civilized people