Depiction Of Colonialism In The Heart Of Darkness Essay

The Ironic Depiction of Colonialism in The Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad extensively used irony in the Heart of Darkness. To comprehend how saturated this novel is with irony one has to have an understanding of the concept of irony. Merriam-Webster defines verbal irony as the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning, situational irony as incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result and Socratic irony as a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the others' false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning (irony). All forms of irony involve two opposing points. Conrad uses situational, verbal, Socratic, and other forms of irony in his portrayal of colonialism in order to expose the hypocrisy and motives of the pilgrims and colonialism itself and the dehumanization of peoples based on race. He does this while balancing conflicting points in his use of irony to remain neither in favor nor against colonialism.

In order to justify colonialism, Europeans professed that their goal was to spread civilization and Christianity, but the underlying motives behind colonialism were primarily commercial. The Company in the novel is purely a business operation. The Company outwardly adopts the same goals most colonial powers and companies do, but like all of others it doesnt fulfill them. Instead they reap massive profits off of trading and selling goods, while relying off of the free labor that they violently forced the natives into doing. Marlow had romanticized the idea of adventure and exploration, and eagerly took up a job at the company, only to later admit that:

The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who

have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty

thing when you look into it too much.

While the idea of colonialism remained popular among people in Europe, people who have witnessed it firsthand without giving into corruption, greed, insanity, or death, know and fear its horrors. Multiple instances where corruption and greed manifest themselves in the Company exist throughout the novel.

"It was as unreal as everything else - as the ... philanthropic pretence of the whole concern,

as their talk, as their government, as their show of work. The only real feeling was a desire to

get appointed to a trading-post where ivory was to be had, so that they could earn percentages.

They intrigued and slandered and hated each other only on that account - but as to effectually

lifting a little finger - oh, no." (Conrad, 27)

The reason why most Europeans had little to no objections to colonialism is because of their ignorance and idealism of the subject combined with racism and the spin of the governments and corporations involved. Marlow derisively talked about the navet of Europeans, particularly the navet of women, despite the fact he was once the same way.

In Europe, Africans were viewed as barbarians in need of being civilized, but this was not the view held by the pilgrims. The pilgrims viewed them as less than human, and treated the natives like animals, despite the fact that their operation wouldnt be successful without the natives labor. The subject of dehumanization of the natives is common throughout the book. Marlow sees how the pilgrims treated Africans several times, like when he visited the station.

They were dying slowly . . . nothing but black shadows of disease and

starvation . . . they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed

to crawl away and rest. (Conrad, 20-21)

Another example of how the pilgrims viewed the natives is the phrase Exterminate all the brutes, which can be seen scrawled on Kurtz's pamphlet, which makes the goal of civilizing and Christianizing somewhat impossible. (Conrad, 49) The character Kurtz was a high ranking officer for the Company who set out to actually bring civilization to the natives, but instead he ends up embracing the natives cultures and customs. Kenyan author, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, said that The skulls stuck on poles outside Kurtz's house . . . was the most powerful indictment of colonialism (Sarvan, 9). Marlow, on the other hand, acknowledged that the natives were also human beings, even if sometimes he didnt bother to treat them like they were. The helmsman was viewed by Marlow as more of a helpan instrument, a machine that did the steering, but he still formed a subtle bond with him as a human (Conrad, 49). When the steamboat passed a multitude of natives they passed along the river he disdainfully described them and their actions in detail like a pilgrim, but still referred to them as human beings when he stated:

. . . but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanitylike yours

the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar.