On page 108 and 109 Marlow describes the black men that were with him on the steamboat as they sail in the river to Kurtz. First he states that the men "were not inhuman.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." Here he recognizes their humanity, but then he questions it and reflects on the trouble white men have of recognizing it. Does Marlow still think he is superior or is he feeling a connection to the natives? Is he recognizing that they act more primitively, but at the heart of it all, they are similar?
It seems like he is enlightened by this experience but then he includes a rather comical and demeaning description of the "savage who was fireman...He was there below me, and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hind-legs." Here he refers to the black man as a dog, clearly not an indication of his belief that the natives possess humanity. So at this point in the book, how does Marlow view the Africans he encounters?
Monday, March 18, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Heart of Darkness quote
"They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force - nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others" (69-70).
In this passage the narrator is discussing the actions of Europeans in Africa. He calls them "conquerors," implying that their motives were almost warlike; they went in to exploit, to pillage, and plunder. They did not go their with the intention of killing, but killing was just the consequence. In this case, the narrator states it was the consequence of the Africans' savagery, their inherent "weakness." In a sense this dehumanizes them, saying that they were like wild animals, needing a strong hand, and "brute force." He goes as far as calling their brutality an accident, somewhat justifying their action and pinning the blame on the Africans themselves, the true victims in the whole situation. As we know, the Europeans went quite overboard with their force, exterminating millions of Africans along the way for their own selfish desires.
In this passage the narrator is discussing the actions of Europeans in Africa. He calls them "conquerors," implying that their motives were almost warlike; they went in to exploit, to pillage, and plunder. They did not go their with the intention of killing, but killing was just the consequence. In this case, the narrator states it was the consequence of the Africans' savagery, their inherent "weakness." In a sense this dehumanizes them, saying that they were like wild animals, needing a strong hand, and "brute force." He goes as far as calling their brutality an accident, somewhat justifying their action and pinning the blame on the Africans themselves, the true victims in the whole situation. As we know, the Europeans went quite overboard with their force, exterminating millions of Africans along the way for their own selfish desires.
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