Welcome to our first blog. Please read all the information below and comment with a well thought out paragraph by Friday, August 23rd. One paragraph per part.
Part I: In The Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad attempts to bring to light the evils of imperialism, specifically those promulgated by British society. We experience the motivations behind imperialism from several different perspectives, albeit through the eyes of one man, Marlow, our protagonist. We are also privy to the realizations of each view; what really happens in the real world. For example, we learn that Marlow's aunt belongs to a "help the savages type of society" which sends Englishmen to Africa with the goal of "civilizing" the people. While this "help" might be well intentioned, it nonetheless strips the natives of their own culture and forces an unknown culture upon them, often times in a very brutal fashion.
Choose a character from the novel that represents one of the following groups:
The Company
Company workers - this includes all Steamboat workers
Idealists
Write a paragraph explaining the Imperialistic motivations for this character. Were they self-serving motivations, were they altruistic, etc...? Did they change their beliefs once experiencing Africa? If yes, why? If no, why?
Part II: Why would Conrad write a novel concerning imperialism during this particular time in England's history? This might require you to do a little research. You only have to write one paragraph, so do not spend a lot of time researching. You just need to get the basic facts.
Choose a character from the novel that represents one of the following groups:
The Company
Company workers - this includes all Steamboat workers
Idealists
Write a paragraph explaining the Imperialistic motivations for this character. Were they self-serving motivations, were they altruistic, etc...? Did they change their beliefs once experiencing Africa? If yes, why? If no, why?
Part II: Why would Conrad write a novel concerning imperialism during this particular time in England's history? This might require you to do a little research. You only have to write one paragraph, so do not spend a lot of time researching. You just need to get the basic facts.
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness radically challenges the motives behind Western civilization’s imperialistic domination of Africa. The protagonist, Marlow, experiences both a tangible and psychological journey as he travels into the unexplored depths of Africa. Marlow serves as a sort of intermediary between the two opposing views about imperialism. Some, like The Company, are motivated by greed and selfishness to conquer, at any cost to the natives, the available wealth in Africa. Others, such as Marlow’s Aunt have pure motivations but are simply misinformed about the reality of Imperialism. Marlow is purely motivated to journey to Africa to satisfy his sense of adventure. When Marlow leaves for Africa he is a bit of a free spirit. He recognizes the self-serving motivations of the company, yet is not completely opposed to the ideal of imperialism. Yet as His journey progresses Marlow comes the conclusion that the savages of Africa are indeed men, in some way related to the very men who comprise the Company. He says, “It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—the suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity—like yours—the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly. Yes, it was ugly enough; but if you were man enough you would admit to yourself that there was in you just the faintest trace of a response to the terrible frankness of that noise, a dim suspicion of there being a meaning in it which you—you so remote from the night of first ages—could comprehend. And why not?”. Armed with his enlightened view, Marlow begins to understand the true implications of the cruelty inflicted on the natives. This understanding is what compels him to share his story with others. In the beginning of the novel, when the reader first meets him, he appears to be an extremely introverted and meditative character. After learning of his travels, we can assume that the mental journey Marlow experienced has caused him to change his view on both humanity and the benefits of imperialism.
ReplyDeleteVery well written. You answered the question fully and with great diction and syntax.
DeleteAs relevant as “Heart of Darkness” is to society today, the reader cannot help but wonder how the imperialistic English culture surrounding the author influenced his formation of the novel. Blackwood’s magazine originally published the tale in three installments during February, March, and April of 1899. In 1902, the story was later republished in a novel called "Youth: a Narrative, and Two Other Stories". During these times of publication, England was implementing an extremely aggressive, imperialistic policy towards several foreign nations. While China, Turkey, Belgium, Ashanti, France, and Venezuela, all experienced, in some form, this aggressive domination, South Africa received the brunt of England’s expansionary attention. The second Boer war, a conflict between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers, lasted from October of 1899 to May of 1902. The cultural tension between the expanding British Empire and the firmly established Dutch was prominent long before physical conflict erupted. Many Europeans foretold this issue long before it developed into physical violence. In June of 1899 Wilfred Scawen Blunt, English poet and writer, stated in his series of essays called “Britain's Imperial Destiny”, that, “The Boers, however, will fight, and there is some chance of a general war between the Dutch and the English in South Africa, which may alleviate the condition of the only people there whose interests I really care for in the quarrel, namely the blacks. It will also be a beautiful exposure of our English sham philanthropy, if at the very moment the Peace Congress is sitting at The Hague, we flout its mediation and launch into an aggressive war. Anything is better than the general handshaking of the great white thieves and their amicable division of the spoils....” It is no wonder that imperialism was a topic of interest to Joseph Conrad. As the world approached the twentieth century, the never-ending conflict between domination and morality increased to heightened levels.
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness
http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1899
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1899blunt.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfrid_Scawen_Blunt
Great research and reporting, however; you need to connect your facts to author's motivation for a complete AP test answer, even if that motivation is assumption. For example, the read can assume that Conrad has serious issues with imperialism. That being said, he utilizes his writing ability as a platform for making a social/political commentary. Overall, excellent job!
ReplyDeletePart I
ReplyDeleteIn "The Heart of Darkness", Joseph Conrad explores the issues surrounding imperialism in many complex ways. Throughout Marlow's journey in Africa, he witnesses many scenes of torture and cruelty. The men that work within the Company describe that they are attempting to "civilize" the native Africans and that what they are doing is "trading." Kurtz, on the other hand, did not have any restraints in the retribution of his domination. Kurtz forcefully took the ivory and brought fear upon the natives. To save order and his power, he showed the penalty for anyone who questioned his authority. The decapitated head's of the rebels was one example of Kurtz establishing his authority and power over the natives. His motivation while in Africa was purely one of selfishness. He showed no signs of reverence towards the natives and their homeland. Instead, he only cared to preserve his power and obtain all of the ivory. Kurtz leaves Africa on the steamboat so that he can receive the medical attention he needs. However, Kurtz dies on the steamboat while repairs are being made. His beliefs about Africa and his respect for the natives did not alter at anytime throughout the story.
Part II
Joseph Conrad, author of "Heart of Darkness," writes about what can be assumed as his personal experience in Africa. About eight and a half years prior to writing the book, Conrad was appointed to be the captain of a steamboat on the Congo River. During Conrad's time on the steamboat, African and Asian countries were being "colonized." The people of the European countries thought to be the first race of the world, therefore they held a sense of superiority and arrogance. Europe's colonial expansion policy was a way to find new jobs for the European people and especially to defend and control the colonies for the resources they obtained. On the other hand, some Europeans were driven by the church's idea of mission. Although they believed their intentions were pure, the European countries started to take over and exploit less developed countries. Joseph Conrad most likely wrote "Heart of Darkness" in order to show his discontent with the imperialism he witnessed firsthand during his time in Africa.
Sources: online-literature.com/conrad/
ReplyDeletefresno.k12.ca.us/divdept/science/history/imperialism_colonialism.htm
Your Part II answer is right on! Your Part I answer misses the altruistic beliefs that Kurtz held. Yes, he was focused on obtaining as much ivory as possible; however, he had a strong attachment to the African people whom he lived with. They loved and held Kurtz in high esteem. One must assume they would only do so if he had a good relationship with them.
ReplyDeleteOverall, good job. Your Part II answer might have been due to missing the complex part of Kurtz that is subtly revealed throughout Marlow's excursion.
When Marlow travels to Africa, he meets the Company’s chief accountant in an intermediary station. Ironically, this man is described as being very clean and well groomed even though he lives in a hot and dusty environment, and that his orderliness is due to the work of a trained native woman. He focuses almost obsessively on his accountant work and disregards any distraction. He does not care for the native people working and dying all around him, and he does not even care for a fellow white man and employee of the Company. Because he ignores the pain and suffering going on around him in favor of paperwork and numbers, it can only be assumed that he is there for his own benefit. Even when he was no doubt faced with the affliction of the natives when he arrived there, the accountant chooses to continue to only look after and care about no one but himself. He could not let anyone else’s interests steal his attention away from his own profit.
ReplyDeleteGood observation. I like that you chose a more obscure character. Make sure going forward that you state your opinion/observation and then defend you answer.
DeleteDuring the time Heart of Darkness was being written and published, Great Britain was in the age of New Imperialism, and Conrad had already taken a trip to the Congo. He had first-hand experience of the evils of imperialism. Most likely, he wanted to discreetly impress upon the English people the true facts about Imperialism: that without checks and balances of power, authority will undoubtedly be corrupted. It was not only the natives of invaded countries who were suffering; it was also the ambassadors sent from England who risked their lives to disease and violence for nothing more than a shaky hold on an undermanned territory. English control was stretched thin to accommodate its growing empire, but it could not adequately police those outlying countries. Because he wrote it from a non-English point of view, Conrad was able to present his ideas to the people of Great Britain without immediately being rejected due to fear of criticism.
ReplyDeleteSource:http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/heart/context.html
I love the phrase "nothing more than a shaky hold on an undermanned territory." You should continue to replicate this style in your writing.
ReplyDeleteYour answer is correct; try and go a little deeper. For example, the results of imperialism that Marlow witnesses in Africa has a very profound affect on him, an almost indescribable affect. Why is that?