The Heart Of Darkness: The Horror!
In Heart of Darkness it is the white invaders for instance, who are,
almost without exception, embodiments of blindness, selfishness, and
cruelty; and even in the cognitive domain, where such positive
phrases as "to enlighten," for instance, are conventionally opposed
to negative ones such as "to be in the dark," the traditional
expectations are reversed. In Kurtz's painting, as we have seen,
"the effect of the torch light on the face was sinister" (Watt 332).
Ian Watt, author of "Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness,"
discusses about the destruction set upon the Congo by Europeans. The
destruction set upon the Congo by Europeans led to the ...
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a better way of life
to the natives. He was considered to be a "universal genius": he was an orator,
writer, poet, musician, artist, politician, ivory producer, and chief agent of
the ivory company's Inner Station. yet, he was also a "hollow man," a man
without basic integrity or any sense of social responsibility. "Kurtz issues
the feeble cry, 'The horror! The horror!' and the man of vision, of poetry, the
'emissary of pity, and science, and progress' is gone. The jungle closes'
round" (Labrasca 290). Kurtz being cut off from civilization reveals his dark
side. Once he entered within his "heart of darkness" he was shielded from the
light. Kurtz turned into a thief, murderer, raider, persecutor, and to climax
all of his other shady practices, he allows himself to be worshipped as a god.
E. N. Dorall, author of "Conrad and Coppola: Different Centres of Darkness,"
explains Kurtz's loss of his identity.
Daring to face the consequences of his nature, he loses his identity;
...
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away from them by force. They
burned their towns, stole their property, and enslaved them. "Enveloping the
horror of Kurtz is the Congo Free State of Leopold II, totally corrupt though
to all appearances established to last for a long time" (Dorall 309). The
conditions described in Heart of Darkness reflect the horror of Kurtz's words:
the chain gangs, the grove of death, the payment in brass rods, the cannibalism
and the human skulls on the fence posts.
Africans bound with thongs that contracted in the rain and cut to
the bone, had their swollen hands beaten with rifle butts until they
fell off. Chained slaves were forced to drink the white man's
defecation, ...
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"The Heart Of Darkness: The Horror!." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 2 Jan. 2006. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Heart-Of-Darkness-The-Horror/38958>
"The Heart Of Darkness: The Horror!." Essayworld.com. January 2, 2006. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Heart-Of-Darkness-The-Horror/38958.
"The Heart Of Darkness: The Horror!." Essayworld.com. January 2, 2006. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Heart-Of-Darkness-The-Horror/38958.
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