Heart Of Darkness
To the outside world white is good and black is evil; it is as simple as that. This philosophy is embodied in Marlow's aunt, who believes that his job is to bring light into the land of darkness and to enlighten the savages. This idea, however, becomes corrupted when white objects symbolize suffering and greed instead of good, and light images hide the presence of darkness. Symbols such as, a white rag, white imperialists and ivory, no longer represent the good will of the imperialists, on the other hand they represent the exploitation and chaos that the Europeans have brought to the Congo. The main character Marlow is faced with this confusion as he voyages through the jungle, and he must reevaluate his former opinions, which no longer hold true. The European philosophy is shown through the conversation that Marlow has with his aunt before commencing his adventure. According to her, his job seems clear: to bring civilization and light to the "heart of darkness." Instead of focusing on the horrors of imperialism she is disillusioned to believe that it is all for the better. The Europeans, especial
Without the presence of society, the inner core of humans is revealed and what is white on the outside is sometimes black on the inside. This confusion in appearances is show again with the alternative motives of the whites. One is the manager at the first station. The Europeans may claim to be helping the "savages" by bringing civilization; however, in reality they are just exploiting both the land and the people and bring corruption, not light. What seems cut and dry to his aunt and the rest of the Europeans becomes distorted. None of Marlow's previous beliefs hold true in the Congo and he must reevaluate what is light and what is dark. In order to maintain this image he must train a native to follow his orders. " The opposition between light and dark, black and white, good and evil is not the same in the Congo as it is in Europe. ly the British have no respect for other cultures or other ways of life, and they truly believe that they are helping the Africans. On the other hand, people that he meets that are white on the outside are filled with the "darkness of the heart. He gives the allusion of being a gentleman with his European clothing and manners, yet inside he is filled with crookedness. The "heart of darkness" is not the uncivilized Congo, but is rather the alternative motives of the whites hidden by appearances. Once in the jungle Marlow realizes that his pervious beliefs and distinctions do not hold true with the absence of society. The imperialists have destroyed their way of life and now they are eagerly awaiting death.
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