Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, is based on Conrad’s personal experience in the Congo in 1890 (Greenblatt p.71). Conrad had a childhood dream to go to the heart of Africa, much like the narrator Marlow and so we are able to learn about Conrad’s experience through Marlow’s narrating. The heart of Africa was not a happy place; “this also, has been one of the dark places of the earth” (Greenblatt p.75). When Marlow was reflecting on Roman times he said that, “They were men enough to face the darkness” (Greenblatt p.76). The many men in charge of the Congo had given in to the dark temptations it offered; “We had enlisted some of these chaps on the way for a crew. Fine fellows- cannibals- in their place” (Greenblatt p.98). The natives were abused and considered ‘criminals’, but in truth they were slaves to the European Trading Company. The natives were dehumanized and described to be savages and cannibals, yet they were “fine fellows”. The native people of the Congo were forced to work and were treated poorly by their captors. The captors seemed to have a different mind set because they didn’t see how wrong it truly was. “I was loafing about, hindering you fellows in your work and invading your homes, just as though I had a heavenly mission to civilize you” (Greenblatt p.77). People use religion to excuse a lot of different behaviors even in todays time, so it wasn’t uncommon for people to do this the 1800’s either. The European Trading Company was out to conquer the heart of Africa; “The conquest of the earth, which is mostly means the taking it away from those who have different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much” (Greenblatt p.77). However, the last part of this line implies that in some sense the conquers knew what they were doing wasn’t right; it’s like telling someone “don’t think about it” or “don’t worry about it” in order to ignore the problem.
Throughout reading Heart of Darkness, I couldn’t help but to compare it to the live action movie, The Legend of Tarzan. The movie shows people, native to the Congo area, being enslaved by the European Trading Company. The worry and fear the natives felt about being the next ones to be conquered is seen. Even some of the brutal ways the conquers used on the natives is shown. While there are some similarities between Heart of Darkness and The Legend of Tarzan, the similarities end with the location and the treatment of the native people. Thinking back on the movie helped to visualize the interactions with natives in Heart of Darkness.
This video is a clip form The Legend of Tarzan that shows a scene on the capture and treatment of some of the native people of Africa.
Work Cited:
Greenblatt, Stephen, and Catherine Robson. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 10th ed., E, W.W. Norton, 2018.
YouTube, 4 May 2018, youtu.be/hwe32v3I7R0.