Kidd was a Social Darwinist, who were theorists that attempted to apply Darwin's theories of natural selection and evolution to the development of human society but only ended up misapplying his scientific notions for racist ends, proposing that the dominance of white Anglo-Saxons was the result of inherent genetic or racial traits (two immensely different things, the distinction of which Social Darwinists failed to understand) and not more well-developed methods of violence and conquest. Kidd states as much when he claims that "the Anglo-Saxon has exterminated the less developed peoples with which he has come into competition even more effectively than other races have done in like case; not necessarily indeed by fierce and cruel wars of extermination, but through the operation of laws not less deadly and even more certain in their result," because according to Kidd's ludicrous reasoning, "the weaker races disappear before the stronger through the effects of mere contact" (Kidd 231)
" Where Kidd's essay offers some insight into the racial ideologies of the nineteenth century, Morel's work provides a look at the devastating effects of these ideologies. Morel discusses the systematic destruction of trade in the Congo, which began with a relatively equitable relationship between the native residents and the newly arrived white traders and explorers but which devolved, through the use of force and theft, into what Morel terms "the New African Slave Trade" (Morel 170)
Although this essay necessarily disagrees with the latter possibility, Bratlinger's statement is important to note because it hints at the linguistic difficulty of opposing imperialism when the only language available is that of the imperialist. This difficulty (or impossibility) is regarded in greater detail by Edward Said in his essay "Two Visions of Heart of Darkness," when he notes that "Conrad could probably never have used Marlow to present anything other than an imperialist world-view, given what was available for either Conrad or Marlow to see of the non-European at the time," with the result that "if we must therefore depend upon the assertive authority of the sort of power that Kurtz wields as a white man in the jungle or that Marlow, another white man, wields as narrator, there is no use looking for other, non-imperialist alternatives; the system has simply eliminated them and made them unthinkable" (Said 423)
We must help them to stay in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours gets worse. Oh, she had to be out of it" (Conrad 115)
In Things Fall Apart, Obierika, one of Okonkwo's friends recounts, "They were locusts, it said, and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain. And so they killed him" (Achebe 50)
Unlike Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now in which the natives are regarded as savage, in Things Fall Apart, white men are considered to be savage because of the death and destruction they left in their wake. While many contend "history is written by the victors," Things Fall Apart allows readers to understand history from the perspective of those that were forcibly conquered and thus allows the reader to understand the destructive nature of imperialism and conquest (Churchill)
Like many imperialistic countries that sought to expand their territories for political and financial gain, Kurtz seeks out to explore as much of Congo for personal gain. Kurtz asks, "What was he doing? exploring or what?," to which a response of "Oh, yes, of course,' he had discovered lots of villages, a lake, too -- he did not know exactly in what direction; it was dangerous to inquire too much -- but mostly his expeditions had been for ivory…'To speak plainly, he raided the country" (Conrad 31)
Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart ...
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Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness retells the story of Marlow's job as an ivory transporter down the Congo. Through his journey, Marlow develops an intense inte
Read Heart of Darkness by author Joseph Conrad, FREE, online. (Table of Contents.) This book and many more are available.
Heart of Darkness (Dover Thrift Editions) [Joseph Conrad, Stanley Appelbaum] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Although Polish by birth ...
Heart of Darkness study guide contains a biography of Joseph Conrad, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full ...
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Polish-born writer Joseph Conrad. Before its 1902 publication, it appeared as a three-part series (1899) in Blackwood's ...
Heart of Darkness (1899) is a short novel by Polish novelist Joseph Conrad, written as a frame narrative, about Charles Marlow's experience as an ivory transporter ...
Heart of Darkness follows one man's nightmarish journey into the interior of Africa—but don't worry. No one's going to get eaten by a lion. It all takes place in ...
Tense journey to find ivory trader gone rogue in Congo. Read Common Sense Media's Heart of Darkness review, age rating, and parents guide.
Marlow's story in Heart of Darkness takes place in the Belgian Congo, the most notorious European colony in Africa for its greed and brutalization of the native people.