Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness and the European’s Claim to Superiority

Conrads The bone marrow of trace and the Europeans Claim to Superiority Incomplete Works Cited honest beyond the biggest and ampleest town on earth, four workforce sit patiently ontheir boat, waiting for the serene waters of the Thames to decline (65). One of the men, aBuddha, breaks the silence, saying, and this alsohas been one of the dark scores of theearth (67). This brooding and peaceful idol, Marlow, explains to his apathetic listenershow a great civilization is blindly make out of a darkness, remarking, The conquest ofthe earth, which mostly means the taking it forward from those who have a differentcomplexion or slightly caress noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you lookinto it too much. What redeems it is the humor only (70). The caustic remark with which Marlowlooks upon colonization suggests that this redeeming feature, Europes learn to becivilized, and therefore superior, needs earnest reexamination (Sarvan). As Sarvansuggests, Heart of Darkness contrasts the appearance of African savagery withEuropean civility to base the inhumanity of the Europeans, rather than that ofthe Africans.Conrads dehumanizing descriptions of the Africans serve to show the inhuman do of colonialism, rather than to demean the African people. For example, Sarvannotes that when an African is reclaimed by dower the Europeans, it is grim ironybecause he has been reclaimed to a worse tell apart of barbarism. When Marlow reaches thefirst station, he notices one of the reclaimed in a logical jacket missing a button andnotes, He seemed to take me into partnership in his exalted trustI also was a partof the great cause of these high and just proceedings (82). By ironically referrin... ...rlowsironic voyage of discovery could have happened anywhere. Indeed, the appearance ofa infernal portentous figure with his long black legs, waving long black arms is a mereillusion created by the fire lav him (148). The possibility that this wild andmysterious bei ng in the midst of a great darkne ss could represent any man in any placelends a great sense of significance to Marlows inconclusive experiences (70). Theirony of this dark portrayal of human nature is that humanity must befog from its ownabomination in order to survive. Just as Marlow tells a detestable lie to hide the horrorsof one mans subvert soul, it is ironic that the taint of death, a flavor of moralityshould protect idealism (96).Works CitedConrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. An Introduction to Literature. Terry, Joseph. New York, NY Longman, 2001. 1614-1672.