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Literature & Language
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English (U.S.)
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Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: Colonial Oppression and Scorn in Today’s World

Essay Instructions:

The topic of your essay should be a comparison between British colonialism and our contemporary world (the US or other parts of the world): what has remained the same and what has changed since the days when it was considered OK to invade another country/culture and drain its resources? Do we still do this today, or have we made enough progress that you think we’re not capable of doing that again? Give evidence/support for the point that we are, or are not better than the British Empire at that time. Do we still have racism? Do we relate better to foreign cultures? Are other cultures more imperial than the US? Is Kurtz still possible today? (can you give an example of a Kurtz-ian figure somewhere in the world today?)
Think of Heart of Darkness as an argument about what it means to be part of a colonizing empire. Ask yourself if Marlow endorses colonialism and if he approves or disapproves of what he finds Kurtz is involved with in the “heart of darkness.” First, you need to show an understanding of what colonialism is, and how it’s different from plain imperialism (with the example of the Roman Empire). What are the most disturbing issues Marlow reveals about British colonialism, especially when he encounters Kurtz? For each point you make, make sure you support it with textual evidence.
You can use, in your discussion, some of the symbols that appear in the book: the river, the drums, the boat, the jungle, etc, and how they help us understand the impact that Africa and the Congo cultures had on Marlow. Pay special attention to Marlow’s perception of an incomprehensible and dangerous, yet strangely appealing culture. What, in our contemporary world, appears to us as dangerous but appealing? Give specific examples from the text and analyze the quotes that you give, and find some comparisons to our contemporary world and how we relate to other cultures.
Structure: You need an introduction that states what argument you will make about the book vs. contemporary society. Then, write several body paragraphs that address different aspects of the book and different points of comparison with our current society. Give quotes from the book and compare them to specific examples of events in today’s world (such as wars, examples of negative/positive aspects of our society, racial issues or progress made in relation to race, etc). In your conclusion, you should put things in perspective and not bring up any new points.
Format: Use MLA style format, which includes proper MLA citation. Every quote has to be integrated in sentences of your own, either flowing naturally with your text, or using some transition words to introduce the quote (e.g. In Conrad’s narrative, “Marlow looked up from his work”). At the end of the paper, you’ll give information for the source material (the book and any other source you may be using), under Works Cited.

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Colonial Oppression and Scorn as Manifested in Today’s World through the Lens of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
This paper is about Colonialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. It covers the idea of imperialism in the novel Heart of Darkness. In the cutting-edge age, the system of broadening and holding authority over an expansive space of the world was regular among more noteworthy nations. This was reflected in writing, and incredible writers brought this thought into their artistic works. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is one of these works and is the centralization of this study. The paper intends to clarify how colonialism is addressed in the Heart of Darkness and reveals insight into the idea of oppression and scorn as given in the novel in today’s society.
Heart of Darkness through Marlow, who needs to cover the indecent activities of the white individuals in Africa, colonizers see that they are the ones to set models for individuals of color. They consider the colonized to be as other, unique, and inferiors to the purpose of not exactly wholly human. The end of the novel uncovers the dark side of Europe, that is, isolating the world into two unique parts, the cultivated ones "us" and the savage ones "them” as portrayed by Conrad “suppression of Savage Customs” (49). The elaboration proposed that Europeans are more socialized and illuminated of knowledge and capacity than the Africans.
In the wake of arriving in Africa, Marlow feels the spot that is Africa shores are disheartening and dull: while going to Kurt and the organization’s station, he saw disconnected and deserted local individuals. He sees individuals of color working in the wilderness. He never names individuals of color people. In Heart of Darkness, where Europe and Africa meet is showing the good for nothing of the ethical quality of colonialism as expressed by Marlow portrayed in the text "And this also," blurted Marlow, "has been one of the dark places of the earth (Conrad 3)." What Kurtz and Marlow talk about is magnificent dominance, the subjugation of Africans, and that white European took over black Africans and their abundance, their ivory, that is, they think it progresses over crude Black Continent. It isn't just Marlow portraying the locals in carnal terms yet.
Marlow represents an awful image of Congo. He shows the profound quality of how Imperialists abuse local individuals instead of illuminating them. The colonizers needed to rehearse their profound quality in the attacked and colonized nations, yet they neglected to carry out the profound quality that they accompany. Toward the start of the novel, there is a discussion about haziness and misery in a real sense and thusly emblematically by the first and second storyteller who can be seen where Conrad describes "Here and there a military camp lost in a wilderness, like a needle in a bundle of hay—cold, fog, tempests, disease, exile, and death—death skulking in the air, in the water, in the bush" (2). Both need to be torchbearers of light to that obscurity and friends in need. Marlow, who is an English sailor, realizes that England's accomplishments and...
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