Heart of Darkness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

content of Darkness - Essay ExampleAt this point the fact to be admitted is that when Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness, and even at the time presented in the story, the British colonial empire was at its zenith. It enjoyed colonies in Hong Kong, Malaya, India, and Africa. On the one hand, the work allows the reader to look into Congo through the eyes of an imperialist. For example, the very beginning of the unused points protrude that Thames is a waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth (Conrad 6). Thus, some critics argue that this point itself reveals how racialist Joseph Conrad is. However, the mere fact is that the novel puts forward the message that even the notion of civilization is an illusion. To illustrate for Marlow, range Congo is a realization of the hollowness of his own notion of civilization. He fails to understand why the cannibals utilize on his ship should not eat the other passengers (Conrad 57). Also, he feels that the cannibals possess no mor ality and moral sense so that they can control their own basal animal desires. However, in the same situation, Marlow reaches the conclusion that the heap along with him on the ship must not look so appetizing. It is ironic here to abide by that the same civilized Marlow who believes that the cannibals have no moral values proves that if he were in the position of the Africans, he would do the same, too. In other words, Conrad effectively portrays that the concept of civilization and enlightenment are rather dilettantish in nature. Despite the so-called civility, there is an underlying beast in humans that just comes out in the right circumstances. In other words, in the case of Marlow, the trip to Africa made him understand the basic animal-like tendencies in humans that thrive in the wild. Also, he realizes the fact that the civility the Europeans try to introduce in the wild is rather phony in nature because the cruelties of the wild are not crueler than the cruelties of impe rialism. Admittedly, one cannot forswear the fact that Conrad was an imperialist. It becomes evident from the fact that Marlow is highly careful to ensure that he does not fall feed in to the charms of the wild as happened to Kurtz. While Kurtz admitted the rules of the wild, Marlow is not ready to descend into that darkness. Thus, one gets the insight that instead of rejecting western culture and ideals, the purpose of Conrad is to point out that most of the time the Western society is not military operation in the way it is supposed to function. In other words, the Western ideals fail to perform in a more human way than the ideals of the savages. Another perfect example is the way the slaves are treated by the West. He says they were dying slowly---it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now (Conrad 42). Again, one has to recommend the fact that Conrad resorted to such a statement at a time when imperialism was at the zeni th of its power approximately the world. Though it is possible for critics to claim that one can find fragments of imperialist ideologies in the work of Conrad, they cannot stuff the fact that Conrad expresses in clear terms as to how ones morality and conscience will condemn the savagery committed by European imperialism as much as one condemns the savagery of the wild. Here, one gains the insight that Marlow - the conscience of Conrad - is in constant conflict with the