Elements of Darkness and Light in the Heart of Darkness with Special Reference to Colonialism

HEART OF DARKNESS BY JOSEPH CONRAD

PRESENTATIONTOPIC

Elements of Darkness and Light in Heart of Darkness - with special reference to colonialism

DARKNESS THROUGH COLOR

MOTIF

THE WORD “DARKNESS “ IN TITLE

• It may SYMBOLIZES THE IGNORANCE of Africans.

• It may as well stand for the NEGROES OF AFRICA.

Knitting black wool Forbodes darkness

“guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall (COFFIN)”

FORBODESCompany’s exploitation of the African people — a trade in ivory,

HAZE FORBODES FUTURE IS AT STAKE

•“The AIR WAS DARK,” and seems condensed in mournful gloom”.

SKY CHANGING COLOUR FORBODES CHANGING TIMES

• “from GLOWING WHITE (IT) CHANGED TO A DULL RED without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of men”

AFRICA TAKEN AS YELLOW

“I was going into the yellow. Dead in the centre”, YELLOW SYMBOLIZES PALENESS AND DEATH.

MANAGER’S BLUE EYES• “HIS EYES OF THE USUAL BLUE,

were perhaps REMARKABLY COLD”.

• Blue cold eyes implies his COLDNESS TOWARDS HUMANS. Marlow mentions managers cold eyes, and then describes horrifying Kurtz of death.

MARLOW’S DARKENED AND

CONFUSEDSOUL

AFRICAN JUNGLE HAD CORRUPTED HIS SOUL

• “I AM NOT PARTICULARLY TENDER” and when it comes to protecting himself, he says, “I'VE HAD TO STRIKE AND TO FEND OFF”

EUROPEAN ACCORDING TO HIM THUS DESCRIBED:

“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.”

THE HORROR! THE HORROR!

•Marlow could not tell her the truth, he says “ But I couldn't. I COULD NOT TELL HER. It would have been too dark -- too dark altogether”

Darkest moment in the novella•  “FRESLEVEN'S REMAINS …””…

THE GRASS GROWING THROUGH HIS RIBS WAS TALL ENOUGH TO HIDE HIS BONES”• Marlow says that he STEPPED INTO HIS

SHOES, suggests Marlow desire to EXPERIENCE BEING PART OF FRESLEVEN

ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY

COLONIALIST AND IMPERIALIST IN

CONGO

ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY KING LEOPOLD II

• Children's HANDS WERE HACKED OFF if they did not deliver the amount of rubber demanded by King Leopold II.The HANDS WERE THEN SMOKED AND TRANSPORTED to Belgian contractors, who counted the number severed limbs.The amount of severed hands where as high as a metric ton per day.

The King incorporated: Leopold the Second and the Congo

By Neal Ascherson, gives an ABSORBING ACCOUNT OF THE VICIOUS BELGIAN COLONIZATION EFFORTS by King Leopold II in the Congo.

King Leopold's Soliloquy: A Defense of His Congo Rule, By Mark Twain,

King Leopold's Soliloquy: A Defense of His Congo Rule, By Mark Twain,

•GULLIVER TRAVELS, JONANTHAN SWIFTS SATIRIZES IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM

GULLIVER IN LILLIPUT

•Tiny six inches tall Lilliputians became all powerful because they had “MAN MOUNTAIN”, and through Gulliver THE KING OF LILLIPUT CAN FULFILL HIS IMPERIALISTIC LUST.

MARLOW MOCKS IMPERIALISM AND

COLONIALISM

MARLOW MOCKS IMPERIALISM

“Your (conquerors/invaders) STRENGTH IS JUST AN ACCIDENT ARISING FROM THE WEAKNESS OF OTHERS”.

“BRUTE FORCE”• “THEY WERE CONQUERORS,

and for that you want only brute force”•Marlow refers to ROMANS AS

CONQUERORS. He says they were no colonists.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

• Whiteman took civilized LAW TO JUNGLE. They could not survive in Jungle laws, but able to kill. By their lust for ivory.• GRASS GROWS ON FRESLEVEN.

•Marlow calls the black people as “Brothers”

Final sermon of Hazarat Muhammad (P.B.U.H)

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; ALSO A WHITE HAS NO SUPERIORITY OVER BLACK NOR A BLACK HAS ANY SUPERIORITY OVER WHITE EXCEPT BY PIETY AND GOOD ACTION”.

STATISCAL DATA OF HEART OF DARKNESS

DARK VERSUS LIGHT

STATISTISCALLY IN HEART OF DARKNESS

• Black 45 times• Darkness 28 times• Death 20 times

• White 35 times• Light 18 times• Life 20 times

HEART OF DARKNESS BY JOSEPH CONRAD

JOSEPH CONRAD