Joseph Conrad Imperialism

At the turn of the 20th century, African states had been colonized and were being used by the European nations with imperialistic ideals. With imperialism came the praise and promotion of the imperialistic ideas. However, unlike other times in history where a nation had taken over another, there was criticism written by some of the writers living in the imperialistic countries. Two of these writers were Joseph Conrad, who wrote Heart of Darkness, and George Orwell, who wrote “Shooting an Elephant”. Both of their pieces comments on the dark side of imperialism and the effects it has on the colonized states and the people of the states.
In Heart of Darkness, Marlow reaches Africa and sees the brutality inflicted upon the native people. …show more content…
They are told that these people are their enemies and that they are criminals. In astonishment as to what he saw, Marlow says, “I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil hot desire, but by all the stars! these were strong lusty red-eyed devils that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you” (Conrad 13). These men were not challenged for their actions because the natives were held to no value. They were numerous in number and held no value as human individuals. They were simply free tools for labor and if they died it did not matter because there were at least ten other men that could take his place. This disrespect is not only seen in Africa, but also in Burma in Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”. After Marlow shoots the elephant, the European officers were discussing whether or not he should have killed such a valuable beast. The younger officers commented saying, “It was a shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any Coringhee coolie” (Orwell 1026). Besides the imprisonment of the native peoples in their own homes, imperialism suffocated the …show more content…
Marlow describes one of the peculiarities of Mr. Kurtz saying, “The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own” (Conrad 44). These powers of darkness would be the human greed, hunger for power, and eventual corruption that they led to. In contrast to Kurtz, Orwell did not become overtaken by these powers of darkness; the Burmese people abused and disrespected him, yet he was still sympathetic with them although he had authority over them. Rather, the people controlled him just by giving him the feeling that he was being pressured: “A white man mustn’t be frightened in front of “natives”; and so, in general, he isn’t frightened” (Orwell 1023). The fear of being mocked by the Burmese, whom he had authority over, forced him to make a choice against his will. Orwell had decided that he shouldn’t kill the elephant, but he knew that was what the people were waiting for so he did it anyways to avoid making himself look a fool. He said, “I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys” (Orwell 1022). It comes to be known that the natives are not nearly seen only as property by all of the Europeans. Certainly that fact that Kurtz befriended the people and that they respected him enough to listen to his command meant that they had reached a bind laborer and slave driver. His feelings must have also