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1228

Palak Sahu

Mr. Arvind Chaudhary

British Literature : The Early 20th Century

31 October 2021

Post-Colonial Analysis of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

Abstract: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness narrates the journey of Marlow through the
African jungle and his search for the European Kurtz who exploits the indigenous people by
inflicting brutality on them. The novel is largely based on Conrad's personal experiences in
Congo, where he witnessed firsthand how Europeans exploited and traded indigenous people for
their own gain. The work is seen as an anti-imperialist satire that exposes the unethical treatment
of European invaders in Africa throughout the nineteenth century. The aim of this paper is to
look at Conrad's Heart of Darkness from a post-colonial perspective, considering European
imperialism and colonialism in Africa, in order to see how Conrad deconstructed binary
oppositions of colonialism by defying the general idea of Europeans toward Africa in the
nineteenth century.

Postcolonialism examines different modalities of cultural perception as well as different methods

of seeing and being seen. It describes how colonial rule exploits subaltern peoples and how they
are represented in literature. The Third World's cultures and economies were invaded and
dominated by Europeans. The study of changes in cultures and politics is known as
postcolonialism, and it is divided into three stages:
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i. Social, political, cultural and psychological inferiority on colonized people by Westerner’s.

ii. Desire for power in ethnic, political and cultural areas.
iii. Awareness of hybridity and double identity.

The conquerors believed that their ancestors' civilization was extremely cultured, which is why
they labeled native peoples as savages or underdeveloped. To put it another way, the colonisers
regarded themselves as superior to the colonised. Furthermore, colonisers believed that by setting
an example for colonised people, the colonised people "were considered 'other,' different, and
therefore inferior to the point of being less than fully human". As a result, colonial countries
divided the globe into two distinct regions. While the civilised were referred to as "us," the
natives were referred to as "them" (the others or savages). Throughout Conrad's Heart of
Darkness, these binary oppositions are clearly expressed. Through Marlow, one of the novel's
most essential characters, the book reflects the author's own beliefs and experiences. Because
colonialism demonstrates the Europeans' corruption in Africa, Marlow would prefer to conceal
their immoral deeds from his listeners. Until Marlow meets them in Heart of Darkness, the
indigenous people remain a source of reverie for him. For a brief moment, these indigenous
people offer an interruption of European illusion, in that they are genuine and a shock to Marlow.
The indigenous, he says, are :
“ They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now— nothing but black shadows of
disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. Brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the
legality of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became
inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest. These moribund shapes were free as air—and nearly as
thin”

Marlow is unable to precisely describe the locals; yet, the only certainty he has is that they are
oppressed by the Europeans. Furthermore, he is aware that Europeans also harmed nature in
order to increase their wealth. To put it another way, Marlow recognises that Europeans not only
damaged locals but also the forest. The greed of Europeans is described numerously by him in
the novel :
“I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! These were
strong, lusty, red eyed devils, that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you. But as I stood on this hillside, I foresaw
that in the blinding sunshine of that land I would become acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak eyed devil of a
rapacious and pitiless folly. How insidious he could be, too, I was only to find out several months later and a
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thousand miles farther”.

The use of the word "devil" repeatedly emphasises the severity of colonialism and imperialism
perpetrated on African natives by Europeans. They ruled practically all of Africa in order to
exploit the inhabitants.

In his Culture and Imperialism, Edward Said says, “In Europe itself at the end of the nineteenth
century scarcely a corner of life was untouched by the facts of empire. The economies were
hungry for overseas markets, raw materials, cheap labor and profitable land. Defense and foreign
policy establishments were more and more committed to the maintenance of vast tracts of distant
territory and large numbers of subjugated peoples”. He criticizes the dominance of powerful
countries over African countries in order to exploit them.

Marlow is an outspoken opponent of European colonialism. When he encounters a moral

quandary before meeting Kurtz's intended, for example, he recounts the situation: “It was a
moment of triumph for the wilderness, an invading and vengeful rush which, it seemed to me, I
would have to keep back alone for the salvation of another soul”.When Marlow learns about
Kurtz's evil activities in Congo, he feels guilty as a European, which is why he is unable to
express them in his encounter with Kurtz's intended. Marlow claims that revealing the reality he
discovered on his voyage is impossible. Marlow is implying that a minority of Europeans are
opposed to colonialism, despite the fact that they gain from it. That is, they do not condone their
citizens' immoral behaviour because it is not appropriate to harm others for the purpose of
monetary gain.

For the Europeans, violence is an inevitable component of colonialism, and it occurs frequently
throughout the narrative. For example, Marlow describes how a native who was suspected of
starting a fire was severely beaten: “[a] nigger was being beaten near by. They said he had
caused the fire in some way; be that as it may, he was screeching most horribly” . This event is
one of the examples of European violence against the Africans. Furthermore, it demonstrates the
novel's subversion, since Conrad conveys their own harshness to English people through an
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English man. As described in the novel, the European chooses to beat the Africans in order to
avoid possible "conflagrations." ;

“Black figures strolled about listlessly, pouring water on the glow, whence proceeded a sound of hissing; steam
ascended in the moonlight, the beaten nigger groaned somewhere. ‘What a row the brute makes!’ said the
indefatigable man with the moustaches, appearing near us. ‘Serve him right. Transgression—punishment— bang!
Pitiless, pitiless. That’s the only way. This will prevent all conflagrations for the future”.

Heart of Darkness portrays the violence and brutality majorily through Kurtz who is the chief of
Inner Station. Interestingly, Kurtz has a lot of abilities from art to music although he is a cruel
man. Marlow says that, “[…] Kurtz was a remarkable man. He had something to say. He said it.
Since I had peeped over the edge myself, I understand better the meaning of his stare, that could
not see the flame of the candle, but was wide enough to embrace the whole universe, piercing
enough to penetrate all the hearts that beat in the darkness”. Kurtz as a European believes that he
has the right to control all the natives and Marlow is critical about his meaningless authority over
black people, since he does not approve of European violence brought about by colonialism.

Because he is the most significant medium of European colonisation, Kurtz is a powerful symbol
of order. "The ivory trade that he is responsible for is more productive than any other region," he
believes. His methods, on the other hand, are ruthless. His home, for example, is surrounded by
the skulls of individuals who refuse to obey him. He purposefully directs the faces of these skulls
toward the home in order for the inhabitants to realise his supremacy. Marlow has no idea what
they are when he sees them for the first time. This confusion is explained by him as follows:
“Now I had suddenly a nearer view, and its first result was to make me throw my head back as if
before a blow. Then I went carefully from post to post with my glass, and I saw my mistake.
These round knobs were not ornamental but symbolic”. He later discovers that these are human
skulls. Kurtz threatens the others with these skulls, demonstrating his ruthlessness toward the
indigenous.
Marlow, on the other hand, despises the indigenous' mistreatment and holds them in high respect
as human beings. He is astounded by the events he has witnessed, that is, Marlow is so deeply
impacted by Kurtz's ruthless treatment of the indigenous that he will never forget what he has
experienced when he returns. Marlow conveys Kurtz's abuse and greediness in his physical
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appearance: “I had a vision of him on the stretcher, opening his mouth voraciously, as if to
devour all the earth with all its mankind”

To obtain more, Kurtz imposes imperialism on indigenous; nonetheless, his greed and cruelty
lead to his death. About Kurtz’s horrifying character, Marlow states “I had to deal with a being
to which I could not appeal in the name of anything high or low. I had, even like the niggers, to
invoke himself - his own exalted and incredible degradation. There was nothing either above or
below him, and I knew it. He had kicked himself loose of the earth. Confound the man!”

Kurtz can do whatever he wants because he isn't bound by any rules. He likewise prefers to
spend his time in the jungle, ignoring his civilised life in order to increase his earnings. Kurtz has
become so corrupted by the ivory trade that he has lost all contact with Europe. According to
Homi Bhabba, colonial mimicry “is the desire for a reformed, recognizable Other, as a subject of
a difference that is almost the same, but not quite”. Based upon this, Kurtz can be accepted as a
mimic man since he turns into a savage which is one of the criticisms of African people. Moore
expresses that “Conrad hated imperialism in central Africa because of its savageness, selfishness
and devastation. Kurtz's portrayal of the savage, selfish coloniser can be seen an inversion of
European colonialism, and his death demonstrates that colonialism harms both the colonised and
the coloniser:“I saw him open his mouth wide—it gave him a weirdly voracious aspect, as
though he had wanted to swallow all the air, all the earth, all the men before him” .

Conrad picks Marlow to explain the facts of European colonisation, narrating the situation of
indigenous through Marlow, a European. In other words, he would rather a fictional character
than himself tell the truth. According to Booker, “Conrad’s Charlie Marlow is openly critical of
much of the European activity that he observes in Africa, especially of the brutal treatment of
many of the Africans by their European masters”. Conrad writes for English-speaking readers
and does not allow the natives to speak. However, their silence might be seen as silent rebellion
against European colonialism because, unlike conventional colonists, Marlow does not regard
the indigenous as savages and, on the contrary, he is enraged by Kurtz's abuse of the natives.

Furthermore, the book's title might be interpreted in a variety of ways. Marlow refers to Africa as
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"one of the dark places of the earth" towards the start of the novel. In actuality, the true darkness
lies in Europe rather than Africa, as a result of European persecution of indigenous peoples.
Conrad writes, “When the sun rose there was a white fog, very warm and clammy, and more
blinding than the night” to imply that the true darkness is in Europe rather than Africa, since
Europeans turn a blind eye to the misery of the indigenous people. According to Said, both
Kurtz and Marlow point out to this darkness, “the former as he is dying, and the latter as he
reflects retrospectively on the meaning of Kurtz’s final words” . Since he watches what the
Europeans do in Congo throughout his travels, it is apparent that Conrad views colonialism and
imperialism differently from his people, and it is for this reason that Heart of Darkness can be
considered a subversion of European colonial rhetoric.

Conrad obviously creates this work in order for Europeans to realise the reality, as colonialism is
to him akin to a robbery or a murder. That is, he condemns colonial exploitation as a bad thing.
As a result, Heart of Darkness differs from standard Victorian novels in that it encourages
readers to think seriously and depicts the fact of England's colonialism in Africa.

As a result, a post-colonial reading of Heart of Darkness reveals to readers the agony and pain
caused by European colonisation in Africa. The novel is primarily concerned with the moral
dilemmas that arise as a result of European exploration in Africa. His novel portrays the facts of
the globe in the nineteenth century, namely, Europeans' perceptions of Africans as primitive and
immature, allowing them to be colonised. In summary, Heart of Darkness is widely regarded as
one of the best illustrations of European colonialism's subversion, as it depicts the violent
connection between Europeans and indigenous. Brannigan comments that the analysis of Heart
of Darkness “enables to locate the novel in the complex system of power relations and cultural
representations which form the discourse of colonialism”. Conrad also demonstrates how a
civilised man can devolve into a savage when profits are factored in.

His novel reflects the facts of the globe in the nineteenth century, namely, Europeans'
perceptions of Africans as primitive and immature, allowing them to be colonised. In conclusion,
Heart of Darkness is widely regarded as one of the best illustrations of European colonialism's
subversion, as it depicts the violent connection between Europeans and indigenous.
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References

Conrad, Joseph. (2010). Heart of Darkness. London: Harper Collins Press.

Bhabha, Homi. (2004). The Location of Culture. New York: Routledge.

Booker, Keith. (1996). A Practical Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism.

Brannigan, John. (1998). New Historicism and Cultural Materialism.

Said, Edward. (1994). Culture and Imperialism. London:Vintage.