Thursday, March 26, 2015
Heart of Darkness Prompt 18
Heart of Darkness is a title that has multiple meanings. There is a figurative significance as well as a literal one. Men tend to have a certain evil that goes hand in hand with their nature. Heart of Darkness showcases the vile nature of Imperialism. There was one common opinion among white men during the time that the story takes place and that is that every other race, sex, and species is below them. This mentality revolves around black or dark hearts, characterized as being full of hate or racism. The literal meaning of the title would be the jungle in Africa. Africa as a whole is thought of as darkness to Europeans at that juncture in history. Logically it can be deduced that the “heart” of the darkness would be in the jungle or wilderness, cut away from civilization. Jungles are dark, misty areas with dense vegetation. This in addition to the “savages” who seem to challenge the very fabric of European tradition, customs, and society, adds to the perception that an African jungle would be the heart of darkness. An average white male would feel extremely out of place coming from late 19th century Europe to a foreign land where “savages” practice cannibalism. Thus the title Heart of Darkness comes into place.
The title could refer to the black hearts of the European men, or even the hearts of the natives themselves. I believe that the word "heart" could also have another effect on the novel. Heart links strongly to the idea of love. It could be said that the natives love their dark home. They could lvoe being uncivilized and separate from the practices of the white man. The white man could also love and need the division of him and the natives. It protects him from the realization that different cultures and practices could be equal to his own. He could fear the ideas that challenge him, and make him open up to new possibilities--the fear of ultimately being wrong. Love could also relate to the love between the natives and Kurtz. They are in awe of Kurtz, even though he is different from them. Their ability to love Kurtz, even though he is white and projects a superior value of himself over the natives, is a concept that the Europeans could never grasp.
ReplyDeleteThe title could refer to the black hearts of the European men, or even the hearts of the natives themselves. I believe that the word "heart" could also have another effect on the novel. Heart links strongly to the idea of love. It could be said that the natives love their dark home. They could lvoe being uncivilized and separate from the practices of the white man. The white man could also love and need the division of him and the natives. It protects him from the realization that different cultures and practices could be equal to his own. He could fear the ideas that challenge him, and make him open up to new possibilities--the fear of ultimately being wrong. Love could also relate to the love between the natives and Kurtz. They are in awe of Kurtz, even though he is different from them. Their ability to love Kurtz, even though he is white and projects a superior value of himself over the natives, is a concept that the Europeans could never grasp.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of men having a certain type of evil already programmed into their genes/personality, it something that I had never really thought about. SOrt of like, people cannot help that their evil, so why do we blame them? Hm. Also, relating the racism to the darkness of the heart is something that I find interesting. This reminds me of the sun being covered with a cloud, it is as if the heart starts out totally pure, but then it is overcome with the shadow of darkness that only results in evil and corruption. Once again, I see that you mentioned the heart of the jungle, I also made this point. I believe that it is a very literal meaning as well, lacking much doubt.
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