Apocalypse Now

Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness follows a young man named Marlow during his travels through the Belgium Congo. Throughout the novel there are countless mentions of the native Congo people being inferior to the white man along with many mentions of the white man’s abuse of the natives. The seemingly constant symbols of light and dark can be interpreted to represent the complicated relationship between the two races, however there is a lot of ambiguity in the specific scenes. Contrary to…

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad has many negative views on imperialism. There are two reasons why the novella judges imperialism so critically. Imperialism has two goal and both are not met in the novella. The first goal the novella does not meet is the economic goal. Many workers are not doing there job effectively and the company is mainly run inefficiently. The other goal the novella does not meet is the goal to civilize the natives. Instead of civilizing the natives the company abuses and…

The "Heart of Darkness" focuses on a critique of colonialism in Africa shown through the eyes and the storytelling of a colonist himself. Throughout the use of this narration by the main character Marlow, a story develops that combines the events of his trip to the Congo along with a deep inner thinking of right and wrong in the world. Imagery and symbolism function as the main ideas that push the understanding of "Heart of Darkness" and Conrad's overall theme throughout the story that man is…

There are a various ways to consider the meaning of the title (Heart of Darkness) on its own or as it relates to the story. The title implies that Africa is the Heart of Darkness, where white people (Marlow and Kurtz) go there to save Africans. Black natives are depicted living in darkness, needing to be brought into the light of civilization and white people seemingly have this enlightening knowledge. In the time of colonialism, Africa was frequently referred to as the "Dark Continent.” The…

The Nature of Blood in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the African Political Space By Segun Omosule Ph. D Department of English, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye.08052037088; jala1964@yahoo.com/omosulesegun@gmail.com/www.scholarsviews.com ABSTRACT The preoccupation of this paper is to prove that Macbeth and the orgies that are associated with him are borne out of fear and that the series of killings that are recorded during his reign are meant to prove that he is a fearless soldier and…

In Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman and “Metamorphosis” by Kafka, a heavy (and sometimes overwhelming) theme is alienation and dehumanization. While both texts discuss different topics and scenarios, their pivotal theme is what ultimately tie the stories together. Both authors use very different strategies to showcase the alienation and dehumanization based upon their story’s genre. Maus I & II is a very real and intense comic that gives a snapshot of what it was like to be a Jew in World War II…

The novel Things Fall Apart, the author Chinua Achebe illustrates and portrays the idea of the Igbo society in Africa. The setting takes place in an African village of Umuofia, when the main protagonist, Okonkwo is the a well known Igbo man also a tragic hero. He wrestles Amalinze the Cat, and overall defeats him which leads him to be a successful man. He also is married to three wives which shows him that he is a great man in the village. However, he is also portrayed as a tragic hero, by…

Pan’s Labyrinth, directed by Guillermo Del Toro, is a visually striking, dark fantasy film compiled of a range of gruesome and intriguing scenes that address themes of choice, gender and coming of age. In the ‘Final Task’ scene, the camera techniques, colour scheme, lighting, and sounds are the primary techniques used to express the ideas of good vs. evil, reality vs. fantasy, the effect of war on children and resistance. The scene begins with a high angle over the shoulder shot of Captain…

In Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, there is a recurring doubt that surrounds the true grounds for which colonization stands. Is colonization inherently evil? Conrad presents various stances on the revealing nature of colonization through the antithesis of Europe and Africa. This distinct juxtaposition of the two civilizations is deliberate in its validation of the violation of Africa. As a result, it highlights the continent’s vulnerability and exercises its right to dominate whilst…

The novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad published in 1902 is regarded as the best writing in English and it about imperialism. It is about Marlow’s journey to find Kurt an ivory-trader in Africa and bring him back to civilization. He was traveling through the Congo River by steamboat. He got attacked by the Natives who were ordered by Kurt, Kurt was worshipped by the Natives because he has power and he was brilliant. Kurt was supposed to bring civilization in Africa but he eventually…