SH+P6+2013+Heart+of+Darkness+by+Joseph+Conrad


 * Heart of Darkness **


 * Aim (purpose): **
 * Bailey Kisiel **
 * The aim of Heart of Darkness is to show readers the negative effects of imperialism in Africa.  In Heart of Darkness, Conrad talks about his trip to Africa. It was not light and fluffy, but ugly and truthful. The European leaders were taking over parts of Africa for their resources. They were treating the natives like slaves and also tried to change their ways by making them more civilized. Miranda Borrelli says,“actions portrayed by the characters undoubtedly must be over exaggerated. When really, our society has come more comfortable to speak of evil as something outside people rather than admit it’s within us”. Another point that could have come from this is that anyone is capable of evil. He did not want to “sugarcoat” what was happening in Africa. He exposes the dark side of people and the European leaders that were taking over in Africa. It can happen in an instant, going from one state of being to another. He talks about how people can become demented inside with the blink of an eye. This was happening in Africa with the imperialist leaders and Conrad wanted the world to know. The picture depicts an African fighting but also being strangled by a serpent figure. The serpent represents evil and the head is a European ruler. It is showing that the Europeans are “strangling” the Africans and not letting them do what they want. For many, this was an eye opener. They did not know what was going on in Africa; therefore, here is where Conrads purpose of writing comes in. He needed the people to know that what was going on if Africa was uncivilized. **


 * -idea of imperialism, the conquest of the earth by various means, is brought to the forefront **
 * -touching upon the harsh reality of imperialist control **
 * -Evil inside humans **


 * Audience: **
 * Andi O’Bert **
 * The story’s main audience is the imperialists of the of the late nineteen hundreds to expose the downsides to taking over the countries in Africa. According to Sparknotes, “ Heart of Darkness explores the issues surrounding imperialism in complicated ways” (Sparknotes Editors). Imperialism is the act of extending one’s property through the invasion and appropriation of outside land. This was very popular in the 1800’s especially in the English invasion of Africa, which is the subject of the story. While imperialism generally was very good for the gaining country, the victim of the invasion was usually not so well of. Many of the country’s denizens were enslaved, beaten, tortured and murdered as a result of the invasion. The primary audience of the story is the imperialists but the secondary audience is the victims of the invasion. This is because it was almost like a warning for them. They could’ve gotten a look at how cruel these invasions were and could prepare should their home country ever be invaded. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad states, “T hey were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others.” (Goodreads). This quote is an example of the conquerors and their strength. They were strong, but they had no reason to be proud of it as their strength was purely for the detriment of others. The author makes the assumption that his audience thinks of imperialism as a positive thing. In this story, he does his best to convey the darkness and cruelty surrounding imperialism. He wants the audience to see that imperialism is not all that it is cracked up to be. This is a strength because he is correct. The majority of his audience does agree with imperialism. The author does a very good job of portraying the horror of the African imperialization in Heart of Darkness. **


 * History: **
 * Sam Cardona **
 * Heart of Darkness refers to negative effects of imperialism in society. This carries over to modern day society as well as imperialism between Europe and Africa in the late 19th century. Throughout the late 1800s Europeans became more and more interested in obtaining more of Africa. Europe was in need of a new empire. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“European nations wanted to control lands that had raw materials they needed for their industrial economies. They also wanted to open up markets for the goods they made” (McDougal-Littell) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Throughout the story, Marlow has many encounters with the effects of imperialism. “ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #424242; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">he encounters scenes of torture, cruelty, and near-slavery. At the very least, the incidental scenery of the book offers a harsh picture of colonial enterprise” (Spark Notes) The Europeans made the Africans work for them and paid them very little or nothing at all. The author uses these events to reiterate the negative feelings toward imperialism. He uses the events to persuade the reader to have these same feelings. The events provide a strong backing to the story and the emotions in the story. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Culture: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nicolina Nguyen **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Joseph Conrad’s book The Heart of Darkness, he shows how imperialism negatively affects society. According to one article, The Heart of Darkness “exposes the clashes, exploitation and barbarity between European and African societies during 19th Century colonial expansionism” (Merriman). The story is set in Africa where Conrad witnessed the European’s brutalness towards the Africans. Joseph Conrad used his book to show his audience what imperialism was doing to the Africans at that time. In the 19th century, many people were forced to work for the European ruled companies; they were treated poorly and forced to work overtime. The Europeans justified their actions of cruelty with the beliefs that the Africans were inferior to them (Jones). Conrad tries to explain the conditions that the Africans are going through, how wrong (in his mind) the Europeans’ beliefs are, and the poor conditions the Africans were living in. The Europeans came from the beliefs/background of the Africans being inferior because of the multiple years of slavery. This influenced Joseph Conrad’s relationship towards the imperialists (Europeans) because he saw first hand what the Africans were going through and it gave Conrad a poor view of the Europeans. **

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Works Cited **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Borelli, Miranda. "Joseph Conrad’s Purpose to Heart of Darkness | Miranda's Blog." Mirandas Blog. N.p., 13 Dec. 2011. Web. 26 July 2013. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Heart of Darkness Quotes." By Joseph Conrad. N.p., 2012. Web. 26 July 2013. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jones, Jim. "Europe & Africa in the 19th Century." Europe & Africa in the 19th Century. N.p., 2010. Web. 26 July 2013. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Merriman, C. D. "Joseph Conrad." Online Literature. N.p., 2007. Web. 26 July 2013. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #424242; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Heart of Darkness.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. ****<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #424242; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2002. Web. 18 Jul. 2013. **