Why did Okonkwo commit suicide?

Okonkwo took his own life in result of all of the changes that had occurred in his society, Ibo. Throughout the entire novel he struggles to become accustomed to all of the changes taking place in his tribe of course. Okonkwo was always known to have initially a reputation as one of the most mighty, honorable tribesmen. 

As the white men begin to arrive, the other tribe members start to change as a result, especially his son Nwyoe. Okonkwo thinks that the other clansmen are weak just like his lazy father. As we all know weakness is his biggest fear. He attempted to remain strong and bold against the tide of change, but he soon figures out he is solitary. 

In act of rebellion Okonkwo kills the colonial official in attempt to "save" his tribe from the weak white men. Sadly, no one else stepped up and supported his beliefs. He becomes desperate, only to choose the worst way to die, suicide. Instead of allowing himself to be found and handed over to the "weak" white men. -Melenny Gallardo

Ibo culture and Christianity clashing?

This collision of cultures occurs at the individual and societal levels, the Ibo tribe initially is very critical towards the Christians and labels them as "foolish” for their way of going through life. The Africans' misperceptions of themselves and of Europeans need realignment as much as do the misperceptions of Africans by the West. With the example of the evil forest, in Umuofia putting twins inside a jar and leaving them in the forest to die is what they believe is the right to do in their beliefs, “Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births. But each time she had borne twins, and they had been immediately thrown away. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and were not unduly perturbed when they found she had fled to join the Christians. “ although, with Christianity that would be against Christian beliefs and morals.

Since Ibo culture and Christianity have many different beliefs and morals it is very difficult to have the two join together. The Ibo are always careful to avoid committing sins against the fear of vengeance that might wipe out the entire generation. Sins to the Ibo gods is defined as a crime against the gods, if sins are performed, punishment is taken into actions; “Some of these prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had molested the Christians.” for example animal sacrifice, exile, or even death. The Igbo lifestyle is very straight-forward and highly stylized, as well as spiritual. Respect and knowledge of one’s role in their society is an important feature. Christianity is also a spiritual lifestyle but it is not as stylized and strict such as the Ibo but sinning in Christianity is a normal thing and is not that bad of an act and it is okay to do.

                           -Rebecca Jones

Is language a barrier between people?

Language acts as a barrier between two groups of people. Without proper communication, it is nearly impossible to fully learn every detail about a culture or religion. Like when the Missionaries came to spread Christianity, the Ibo people had converted only because they wanted to be more powerful. Not having a full understanding of the religion because the missionaries only spoke English. Later, when Mr. Brown goes to the neighboring clan to teach about Christianity, and interpreter was used to make communication easier. Even then there were still misunderstandings about the clan’s cultures and Christianity. The use of an interpreter gets rid of the true communication between the two men, because the conversation wasn’t directly between them, it was altered through translation.

“How can he when he doesn’t even speak our tongue? But he says our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion say that our customs are bad.”  This quote leads me to believe that there is major separation within the two groups, because different languages are spoken between them. With the missionaries not being able to speak the native tongue of the Ibo clan, they don’t even bother to learn some aspects of their culture. As seen with the land dispute that had included Nnama’s family, which lead Okonkwo to say “does the white man understand our custom about land?” Therefore, different languages that are spoken by two groups of people, separates them rather than bringing them together because of miscommunications and misunderstanding of the others culture and religion.-Jaya Jugmohan

Was it an act of weakness for Okonkwo to kill Ikemefuna?

Okonkwo treated Ikemefuna with love and in several occasions even thought of him as being superior than his birth son, Okonkwo unfortunately participates in the death of Ikemefuna. He was basically forced to take action in his murder due to the fact that it had been decreed by the oracle himself. Okonkwo lives in fear of being seen as a weak link by the other men. This insecurity he holds within him has a lot to do with who he is and has become as a person. It all traces back to his deceased father, who was indeed lazy and known to be an enormous disappointment in Umuofia. Through his fathers past characteristics Okonkwo be holds the major aspects of setting himself to being entirely opposite from his father. He was alleged to be feminine, weak, and a drunk.


Okonkwo is assertedly driven by his fear when he acts out and kills Ikemefuna but if he had acted otherwise it would of been portrayed as an act of weakness. Sadly his tremendous angst lead him to take the life of an innocent boy that looked upon him as a father figure. Okonkwo's strict paranoia towards the opinion the other men might of had of him and the rumors that would have spread if he had acted indifferent triggered him into taking away Ikemefuna's life. Only to secretly haunt him for some time; little does he know that by killing the innocent boy he actually did fulfill his father's weak trait because he acted upon cowardliness. -Melenny Gallardo

Why is Ezinma the favorite?

There is irony with Ezinma being Okonkwos favorite child. Okonkwo believes that being masculine is superior to being feminine. Okonkwo does not have any respect for his father because he was lazy, which caused him to be poor and live off of other people. He saw is father to be weak and described as feminine.  To rid of the reputation that Unoka created, Okonkwo developed aggressive masculine characteristics, and hides his affectionate side. This gives him great power and status in his clan.

Okonkwo treats femininity as a sin. As he sees his father in Nwoye, lazy and female like,  leads Okonkwo to disrespect Nwoye. When Nwoye converts to Christianity, Oknokwo views Nwoye as a disgrace to the family and weak, and threatens his other sons not to follow in Nwoye’s footsteps.

So if Okonkwo thinks showing feminine characteristics is a weakness, then why is Ezinma his favorite child? Shouldn’t it be one of his sons who are the opposite of Nwoye? He is being the father he wishes he had to his sons, trying to raise them to be strong willed and hardworking just like he is, and teaching them how to plant and handle yams properly at a young age, which he never had. If he is raising his sons to be strong willed like him, shouldn’t there be one son to reflect him and his values. Therefore I don’t get why his favorite child is his daughter. Although she listens to him, she holds no characteristic to make her seem masculine. –Jaya Jugmohan

Will the Ibo traditions last?

Things Fall Apart contains several sayings that represent the strong religion, morals, and culture of the villages during this time period. An example is seen early on in the novel when the author, Achebe, writes, “If a child washed his hands he could eat with kings,” talking about Okonkwo, who washed his hands of his fathers bad reputation. These few words show that those in Umuofia had a great sense of pride. When Achebe writes about Okonkwo and his father, he says, “even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala.” I was not sure what the word agbala meant first hand, but then Achebe went on to say that agbala is a word for “a man who had taken no title.” This implementation of African language in a novel written in English forces us to look outside of our comfort zone and identify more with these people and their African culture.

When Christianity overpowered the Ibo traditions that had been held by these people for many generations, much of the tribes younger generation converted to the Christian faith- without much question- because they were in awe of their power, and finally found acceptance and a place of belonging. Blinded by the new, glorious power and promise of a ‘better’ community to join, these Ibo villagers left their families, their history, and their culture. They did this regardless of the conflict and pain cause among their families and within the villages. The Christians began to dominate the Ibo culture, shattering their entire way of life. My question is why are the people of Umuofia so quick to leave their ancient traditions for something so unheard of? I understand that most of those who converted were seen as weak and unwanted, but having these traditions instilled into your life does not seem like something that is easy to just walk away from. - Elisabeth Magana

Is Okonkwo's flame eternal?

How does fire symbolize Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart?  Okonkwo is mainly associated with fire and flames throughout the novel, hinting to his intense and dangerous anger- one of the small amount of emotions he displays to us readers. His biggest character flaw is this uncontrollable rage, which is just as deadly as uncontrollable flames. Fire symbolizes Okonkwos driving force: his refusal to be weak like his father. For Okonkwo, fire is a symbol of life and masculinity. Fire ultimately destroys everything in its path, as Okonkwo does with his anger.

This need for power and strength is not something we've never heard of, which is why I can understand his constant battle with himself. I've also been wondering, does Okonkwo ever come to realization with who he is? In chapter 17, Okonkwo has sort of a revelation. He gazes into the fire, or into himself we could say, and says "Living fire begets cold, impotent ash." He sees that his aggression could have caused this femininity in Nwoye. I see this as Okonkwo finally realizing that his biggest accomplishments -power and intense masculinity- are actually his downfall.
-Elisabeth Magana

Yams is a symbol for?

Achebe has built the village of Umuofia to be all about Yams. After multiple class discussions, it has been inferred that Yams is a symbol of masculinity and currency.

When Okonkwo talks about his father, he mentions that his father never really took an interest in farming. Which in the end resulted in him being poor and not being able to provide for his family, therefore creating debt for himself. I think this supports the idea that yams symbolize masculinity because Unoka, according to Okonkwo was a failure, and the main cause of his failure is not growing yams. Now Oknokwo on the other hand, dedicates his life to being this macho type of man. The complete opposite of his father and the way that he does it, is by farming and getting his sons involved in it as well. “Inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams. But he thought that one could not begin too early. Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed.”

I also see the way yam symbolizes currency in Umuofia because the Ibo are isolated people that provide for themselves by producing everything they need to survive. Yams is the main item in this story because it not only helps them survive but it helps the village as a whole survive. The more yams a man harvests, the more he is worth basically. The manlier he is. But the more a village harvests all together shows how strong the village is, because with yams comes hard working men and with them come warriors. That’s why in the beginning of the novel, we are told that Okonkwo’s “fame rested on solid personal achievements.” 

-Destiny Quinones

Would Ezinma still be Okonkwo's favorite if she was his 'son' instead?

In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo and Ekwefi have a child together, Ezinma, and Achebe has Okonkwo make her his favorite. I feel like the reason Okonkwo views Ezinma as his favorite is because she plays a part in boosting his ego and also appeals to him in ways that no one else does. I say that she may be his ego booster because in the story, Achebe explains to us how Okonkwo won over Ezinma's mother, Ekwefi. She was described as being the "village beauty" and Okonkwo being able to make her leave her husband for him already shows that he is obviously something special and superior but having a child with her, upgrades him even further. Not only did he get the girl but he created a family with her so people look up to him even more than they did before.

Ezinma is described as being “as beautiful as her mother” which shows she automatically catches her father’s eyes and heart. But to take it further, she appeals to Okonkwo is ways none of his other children do. When he is around Ezinma, he becomes this emotional, sensitive, loving, tender man yet when he is around his sons, he is the complete opposite. For example he beats his sons, but he would never hurt Ezinma. I think Ezinma’s purpose in this story is to show that even after all the things that Okonkwo has done, such as fighting in war, bringing back heads, beating his kids, he still has a heart and is capable of loving and caring for someone.

What I don’t understand is why he wishes for Ezinma to be a boy. If she appeals to him in all these positive ways, why would he want her to be something else? I feel that if Achebe did make her out to be his son instead of his daughter, Okonkwo wouldn’t feel the same way towards her. 

-Destiny Quinones

Equality, please?

As we see in the Igbo society there is the extremely noticeable social issue of gender roles. An issue most men and women of the 21st century are trying to throw out as we today are trying to break these barriers of, everyone has a certain job and a certain way to live their life brought onto us by a society who did not see the equals in men and women but the differences and inferiority and superiority between both genders.

In this book we see many times where gender is used to describe a lot of materialistic things, such as the listing of the female crops in the story “coco-yams, beans and cassava” these were called the “women’s crops” and the famous  “Yam, the king of crops, was a man's crop”. The Igbo people showed extreme divisions within the genders, why can’t a woman plant a king crop and why can’t a man plant a simple cassava? Little things such as these are so much bigger than they look, it is ideologies such as these that brought us to the degrading and lessening of women in a society. Much like today’s society though we are progressing in this issue, the Igbo women are seen to be just the submissive wives and child bearers to their her husbands.

Equality of genders has been such a big issue for as long as hundreds of years, but in today’s society we are changing that. Women today are doing things they couldn’t do before such as work at certain places or even work at all because of society's’ old norms. This is a tremendous achievement and progression because now women can follow their dreams and be who they want in a society that didn’t want them to do anything or have a voice even inside of their homes. - Rakasha McIntosh

A dollar still worth a dollar with two different sides?

"All their customs are upside-down. They do not decide bride-price as we do, with sticks. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market." "That is very bad," said Obierika's eldest brother.”

As I read those few lines in Things Fall Apart, it reminded me tremendously of our society today, where judgment is easily placed on things we are not used to, if we see someone doing things that society is not okay with or believes is right, we tend to look at those people as crazy, ignorant, uncivilized. But it is the mindset of today’s people that everyone has to be exactly like his neighbor because uniformity is brilliant and different is preposterous.

Obeirika settles the marrying off of his daughter by the counting of sticks, but another father settles his daughter’s marrying off by bargaining.  One is seen as civilized and the other as uncivilized. If both these men were to be placed in a room together, they both would most likely have a solid explanation for the method he finds fit to his liking to marry his daughter off. So which man would be right? Only one can be right seen as they both are different, correct?

Wrong, just because these methods are different does not mean that one is brilliant and one is preposterous, it means there are two ways to get the end result. With options different than normal, can come change, which is uncomfortable and why it is hard for us humans to accept. This has been the mindset of humans for quite some time, because we can be so closed minded to different beliefs, cultures etc., we forget that a dollar has two different sides but is still worth the same amount. - Rakasha McIntosh

Why did Marlow lie to Kurtz's intended about his final words?

The question that many of us wonder about, how come Marlow didn’t just come clean and tell Kurtz’s intended that his last words were in fact, “the horror! the horror!” and did not have anything to do with her. Why? Why wouldn’t Marlow just be honest, we ask, without realizing that women of that time were treated with more of a delicacy. Gender roles and chivalry played an enormous role and had great impact on the way in which women were supposed to be treated by men. There was sort of a code that men abided by that prohibited them from speaking of things and using words or phrases that seemed disrespectful or offensive to mention in the presence of a lady. Also, Marlow could have  possibly seen a sense of innocence in the woman that he did not want tarnish by exposing the true feelings that Kurtz expressed through his last words.

Along with not wanting Kurtz’s intended to feel saddened by the fact that her fiancee’s last words were not something sweet and thoughtful about her, but Marlow also chose to tell this lie to protect not only Kurtz but the ulterior motives of The Company. Maybe Marlow knew that by telling her what Kurtz really said, would be considered releasing the darkness into the world, exposing the actions of violence that they committed while in the Congo.

Another possible reason Marlow could have withheld the truth from Kurtz’s intended is because the story of Kurtz’s malicious actions were too complex to explain to her. If you think about it, Marlow had to travel all the way up the Congo to get information and insight on what it is Kurtz actually did there, the intended did not indulge in the trip with Marlow, she had not found out what Marlow had and she had not seen what he had seen, so she wouldn’t be able to efficiently comprehend what those words exactly were a symbol of.

-T'Nia Tention

What is Marlow's purpose in telling his story?

I feel that there is obviously a very important reason and larger picture that Marlow wants us to grasp and understand by telling the story of his journey. I do not feel as if Marlow is telling his story solely to inform us of what he has endured, but he wants to show the presence of imperial rule during this time. He emphasizes the notion that the British were not the only ones to blame when it came to exploiting and destroying the colonies that they planned to conquer, so were the Europeans. Marlow's story is also a story of the Europeans display of cruelty and disregard for the native people of that country. Showing how they felt superior and more important than the indigenous people, which adds to the idea that the people are willing to do whatever means necessary to conquer this country and be successful.

While telling his story, Marlow repeatedly includes the phrase "heart of darkness", which is a major symbol in the story. This metaphor better elaborates the purpose behind Marlow’s story, by expressing the idea the “darkness” may not have completely come from the “savages” in the Congo, but from the white men that have invaded their homeland to exploit them.

Based on this information, it can be reasonably to assume that another reason Marlow chose to tell the story is to present the interpretation that those who are determined to reap benefits off of others, will suffer the ultimate consequences. This is evident with the character Kurtz, he set out to seek Ivory and was willing to betray anyone and walk over anybody to get that Ivory and in the end, this resulted in his death. Seeing how the Africans were treated and how dedicated The Company was to becoming successful, allowed Marlow to see how dark and cruel mankind can truly be. It’s kind of like Marlow wants to shine light on the harsh realities that were covered up and hidden by The Company, which explains their idea of trying to “civilize” the savages.
-T'Nia Tention

Is civilization a good idea?

           In the Heart of Darkness, the company states that they are there to civilize the area but in reality, their mission is to make profit by using the people to get resources. I think that Conrad is trying to say that civilization is really superficial. It actually less thriving than everyone perceives it to be. The idea of living in a civilized country is truly appealing but it’s actually less stable than what society think it is. Sometimes, a society is so civilized that uncivilized society seems better to live in. I think that our society in so complex and has so much pressure that a simple life is sometimes a better choice. Our daily lives are so busy that sometimes, we just need time to relax. Another negative aspect of civilized countries is that it promotes wanting more power. In civilized countries, it very easy to tell the rich from poor. As this distance increases, more people will want to become the other end and that meant gaining more power. As seen in Heart of Darkness, wanting more power lessens the moral within an individual. Examples include the crew going with Marlow, the company and even Marlow himself. Real life examples can be people that want to get a higher position but do it by manipulating other to get their goal. Or people that lie to others to get money.

            Overall, I don’t think that civilized countries promotes bad ideas, I just think that it advertises civilization too much. There’s no best of both worlds so a society has to have its good and bad side. A civilized country does have good things, like development in medicine that enable us to have a longer life or development in electric car that doesn’t require gas for it to run on. However, at the same time, it adds more complexity to life. 

Does the “system of the company” in the Heart of Darkness still exist today?

            The system not only still exists but it has spread worldwide. One example is the overload sweatshops that are located in Vietnam, China and Taiwan. Due to the economy’s development, goods and services demand increased which made workers more productive and that moved workers to demand higher wages. During that time, companies such as Nike, Gap, Wal-Mart etc found that the labor was cheaper in Vietnam, China and Taiwan and decided to create their factories there. In these sweatshops, the workers are required to work for 13-15 hours and get as little as 11 cent per hour. These workers live on about $1.25 per day in horrible housing conditions that include 4-5 people to an 8 by 8 ft square box and 1 bathroom. Many of these workers get sick but don’t even have enough money to buy food, so they don’t have money to buy medicine either so they just end up dying. Similarly, King Leopold saw that the Congo was a free land and people that he could use of as a money-making source. He decided to create these companies there to collect the goods, such as ivory, and make profit off of that. The workers or slaves were worked with chained around their ankle under poor working conditions. Most of them died due to overworking, starvation and execution. This system exists in poor or undeveloped countries, but it also exists in vulnerable countries as well. Some are in the United States. In 2006, 300 workers were undocumented and working in horrible conditions in Massachusetts. This proves how threatening this system is.

            My concern about this issue is that it still exists in the 21^st century with so much development to let people die for such reasons. There are still people who don’t have a clue about this issue when the internet is right in front of them. People that who know about this don’t take the effort to take action. Knowing something but not doing something is the same thing as not knowing. 

 - Vy Ly

What is Marlow's Heart of darkness ?

Conrad makes a clear contrast between Marlow and Kurtz character at the end of the novella. Marlow is able to suppress his true evil self while Kurtz succumbs to it in the position at the inner station. Though Marlow is able to surpass his final step into his own heart of darkness, he isn't exactly the most likable character. He constantly lies and ultimately leads his crew in a dangerous journey all for his own curiosity and questions. Even when his right hand man dies he chooses to continue on the journey while only worrying about cleansing himself of the man's blood rather than showing some rationality after his death.

Through Kurtz death and last words Marlow is able to come to the realization that Kurtz heart of darkness is what ultimately led to his own death. The inner station is a place isolated from society, the perfect place for finding one's true heart of darkness yet Marlow is able to travel back to Brussels. Why does Conrad choose to allow Marlow to return back to his home rather than face his own heart of darkness ? Even after Marlow has witnessed the reality of the companies plans of imperialism he is able travel back to his original starting point.

- Alicia Cornejo

What role do women play in Heart of darkness?

While Reading Heart of Darkness I couldn't help but yearn for a strong female presence in the novella. The two knitters, Marlow's aunt and Kurtz Mistress, are all depicted in the story as non essential characters. Another important thing that should be noted about the female characters is that all of them are given titles rather than actual names. Conrad's choice of titles rather than names emphasizes the lack of importance females are given in society. Kurtz African mistress who is described as someone Marlow should fear could be an exception yet when analyzed at a deeper extent she actually holds no other power other than that which is given to her by the people around her, such as Harlequin who she scares off the inner station largely because of her threats but also because of Kurtz. She is much like Kurtz only in the sense that for the large part she remains a mystery to Marlow.  
 
Furthermore, I searched deeper into the thought that maybe the heart of darkness was in actuality a Misogynist novella. Searching for evidence to support my theory, I came to the realization that the lack of depth of female characters, specifically Marlow’s aunt who supported the company's ideas of imperialism and saw the whole idea as something positive for the savages was in actuality just displaying the lack of information and maybe even denial of the events occurring in the congo river and surrounding areas. The female sex is oppressed into a naive state of mind that is found in almost every female character Marlow encounters.
- Alicia Cornejo

Mr. Kurtz, The Savior of the African Natives?

Throughout the novel,  Heart of Darkness, the character of Mr. Kurtz haunts Marlow endlessly. He is a very mysterious man who is supposedly ambitious, but self-indulgent. Kurtz is obviously a very significant character since he actually has a name and not just a title. Thanks to the Russian man, we know that Kurtz is a powerful European white man who calls the shots and directs the civilization of the African natives. It is said that he must always act like a god, and give himself the reason to lead the "savage" people to the light and civilization. According to the harlequin, the natives worship Kurtz as the false god he puts himself out to be. The question is, if Kurtz has caused so much havoc and destruction amongst the natives and their villages for the sake of initiating the culture of the Europeans, then why do the Africans continue to praise him and refuse to let him leave?

There are several things that could contribute to this, but the one idea that is the greatest possibility in being the answer is found in the letter that was written by Kurtz. The idea he established emphasizing that the deity of the Africans are the European white men has clouded the minds of the natives causing them to believe that Kurtz is basically their savior. As far as some of the Africans know, he has broadened their minds and has made it possible for the natives to progress towards civilization, but in reality this advancement is non-existent. It is undetermined whether the natives worship Kurtz out of fear or admiration. Everything appears to be disguised so that the truth is not brought to the light remaining in the shadows. What is the true meaning behind the African native’s allegiance to a man who has pulled them from the light and into the darkness?
- Valentina Mejia

What provokes the blind loyalty of the Russian man?

In chapter two of The Heart of Darkness, we are introduced to a character who challenges the cruel and warlike nature of the others with his desire for peace. He represents the light in the midst of the darkness of the novel. How could someone remain so collected in such a destructive environment? It could possibly stem from the way he worships Kurtz in the same way that some of the native Africans do as was revealed to us in chapter two. He has been considered a disciple of Mr. Kurtz with an unwavering admiration for him. Like the majority of the characters in this novel, he does not have a name but has been identified with the persona of a harlequin. A harlequin is characterized as a type of multi-colored jester who entertains and remains silent in the presence of his master. What does the Russian man owe to Kurtz that he glorifies and justifies his intentions in the Congo, completely ignoring all of the true evil actions?

It is the blind loyalty of the harlequin and the belief that Kurtz has “enlarged his mind” that keeps him so optimistic about life in the obscurity of the Congo. He knows everything that there is to know about Kurtz, and Marlow uses it as an opportunity to pull information out of him. He doesn’t realize it yet, but it appears as though he is almost betraying Kurtz by giving away the details the life of the man he highly admires. What does this mean for the harlequin if he is essentially being unfaithful to his master? How will this affect his character and attitude in the novel if he is loses his incentive for remaining so hopeful about living? It could completely demoralize him just as it has all of the other characters that are easily shaken by the horrific nature of everything the Europeans come into contact with. The Russian man will be blindly loyal until coming to the realization of the true actions of the “sovereign” man he worships.

- Valentina Mejia 

Why is Marlow so obsessed with Mr. Kurtz? (Read and Comment)

02/07/16
While I was reading the second chapter of Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, I noticed an increasingly obvious obsession in Marlow about meeting Mr. Kurtz as he was traveling along the river bank with the manager and pilgrims. Before this chapter, I didn't recall an incident where Marlow was this transfixed on the idea of meeting the chief. I even reread a few sections to see if this desire had been growing throughout the novel. Nevertheless, whether it had or not, Marlow grew desperate to "hear [the chief's] voice" after he had eavesdropped on the manger and uncle in the beginning of the chapter. After completing this portion of the novel, my question still stands as to why Marlow was so obsessed with Kurtz in the first place.
If you look at Marlow as a character, it's evident to see that he depicts both a rational and racist sense of morality. He understands the injustice of the African community but he doesn't understand that the Europeans are the ones causing this injustice. However, even though he demonstrates signs of a classic European man of that time, he does have a sense of compassion for the African people, which is demonstrated in the scene where the crazy black helmsmen died and Marlow said that he felt as if he lost a friend. This type of "kinship" he describes, isn't seen in any other worker of the company throughout the novel so far. Although Kurtz isn't brought into the novel yet, every time he's mentioned he is referred to in a negative connotation. This is why I have trouble seeing why Marlow would want to meet a man who portrays such a different mindset than his own.
Therefore, my question is: Why is Marlow so obsessed with Mr. Kurtz and what is Conrad trying to imply by making the two characters so different?
-Rachel Robutti (Group 6)

What would be our heart of darkness? (Read and Comment)

02/06/16

In Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, it is clear to see the superficial meaning behind the title. Conrad was referring to the center of Africa, the Congo, which was seen as dark and barbarous at the time because they were not yet civilized by the Europeans. The irony in this, which Conrad points out through Marlow with the rivets scene, was that the Europeans themselves did nothing to civilize the African society and could not even get the most basic task done, but rather dehumanized and killed the Africans to further benefit their economic and wealthy status. Conrad uses this hypocrisy to show the disconnect between the European mindset and the reality of the people they were terrorizing. This can also be demonstrated from the scene between the black man and the biscuit. Although the Europeans saw the inhumanity of the way in which they treated the African community (just like Marlow saw the disembodiment of the African man), it was their own wickedness that made them incapable of understanding that they were the ones causing this heart of darkness in the first place. In that aspect, I understand why Conrad implies that the Heart of Darkness is not within the environment that people live in but the way in which we choose to perceive these people.

My question, however, comes from the novel's application in today's society. What would be our Heart of Darkness and is Conrad implying that we as a community are no less culpable than the hypocrisy seen in the Europeans? Now, I understand that the extremity of the Europeans selfishness is far more drastic than our own but do we also deserve blame for the way in which we perceive others who don't share our mindset? And if so, how do we change our ways?

-Rachel Robutti (Group 6)