Heart of Darkness and A Small Place
The Heart of Darkness is a novel written by John Conrad. He uses Charlie Marlow, a riverboat captain with a Belgian company in Congo, to narrate the cruelty that the native inhabitants of the region have to go through at the hands of the colonialist. The natives are overworked and forced to work regardless of their deteriorated health. On the other hand, A Small Place is a book written by Jamaican Kincaid. Kincaid uses the book to express the negative effects of European colonization in Antigua. She writes that although slavery had been abolished and Antigua secured her independence from the Europeans, the servant master relationship was still existent between the tourists and the native inhabitants of Antigua years later. She argues that tourism is a new industry that is propelling the colonization traditions. Thus, both writers explore the true nature of colonization. They also probe into civilization and human nature. This paper aims to explore their views on colonization, civilization, and human nature. Furthermore, the paper looks into the consequences of the Europeans attempt to change the colonies in the image of the European society, what the colonist brought with them and what they pride themselves in having offered the natives.
Colonization
Colonization is the main theme in the book The Heart of Darkness. According to Conrad (1902), the actual intent of the colonization in Congo was for the Europeans to economically exploit ivory which they use to trade. Marlow notes that colonization was just a philanthropic pretence. The colonists’ actual intentions were to set up a trading post for the ivory to make profits out of the ivory trade (Conrad, 1902, p.45). Marlow’s statement confirms that the main reason for colonization was to acquire ivory.
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In the book, A Small Place, colonialism is the central theme. Kincaid is against European colonization in Antigua. Moreover, she is angry towards the people of Antigua for not fully gaining their independence from the Europeans. Kincaid feels that Antiguans failed to adopt the positives of colonization, such as the good education system that would better their lives. Ironically, Antiguans adopted the poor European leadership as reflected by their corrupt government. Antigua’s dilapidated library symbolizes the bad leadership of the present government. Having been destroyed by the 1974 earthquake, the library’s facade still had the ‘REPAIRS ARE PENDING’ signage years later (Kincaid, 1988, p.9). The sign is symbolic to show the government’s inability to rebuild the country even after gaining independence. These scenarios illustrated the adverse effects of colonization; the natives could not effectively run the affairs of their country.
Civilization
In the book The Heart of Darkness, civilization is used to mask the colonist’s greed. Marlow states that “Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of the might within the land, bearers of a spark from the sacred fire” (Conrad, 1902, p.4). This statement by Marlow shows that the people who had travelled upstream were using civilization to mask their greed for the exploitation of gold and wanted to wage war against the natives.
In the book A small place, Kincaid laments the negative effects of British civilizations. Civilization means a complex governing system characterized by distinct cultures (National Geographic Society, 2019). The European imposed their culture on the people of Antigua, which made the Antiguans perceive it to be the best. The comment by the headmistress, from Northern Ireland, towards the girls that they should “…stop behaving as if they were monkeys just out of trees’’ (Kincaid, 1988, p.29) made Kincaid doubt whether the British civilization was as superior as the Britons had made it to be. According to her, such remarks were not only a sign of ill manners but would not be made by an English who ought to be civilized. Thus, it indicated that civilization was highly regarded in Antigua, and anything contrary, such as ill manners, was disregarded.
Human Nature
The dark side of human nature is represented in the book The Heart of darkness. First, the European colonists are regarded as civilized and the natives as savages. Thus, the stations established by the Europeans were meant for “humanizing, improving and instructing” (Conrad, 1902, p.29). The European perceived their culture to be more superior to that of the natives. On the other hand, the natives are described as “utterly savagely” (Conrad, 1902, p.4). The Europeans perceived their culture to be backward and uncivilized.
In A Small Place, the dark side is illustrated when Kincaid talks about the cruelty of slavery, whereby the slaves were made to do hard labour that benefited only the slave owners. Kincaid states, “is not that the last straw; for you not only did we suffer the unspeakable of slavery, but we also made you bastards rich” (Kincaid, 1988, p.10). This statement by Kincaid indicates that the masters made their riches out of the misery of the slaves. This shows the dark side of human nature, whereby the masters’ greed to acquire wealth was in disregard to the slave’s well-being.
Outcomes of The Europeans Attempt to Reshape their Colonies into the Image of the European Society
In The Heart of Darkness, attempts by the Europeans to reshape the culture of their colonies in the image of the European society are seen when the natives help Kurtz acquire ivory. Through this collaboration, the natives left their villages and way of life, seeing that the white men would sometimes offer them employment in the stations and payments, though low. Marlow states that he passed through several abandoned villages, indicating that the natives had left their homes (Conrad, 1902, p.36). Furthermore, Marlow’s foreman, a widower, who was a “broiler-maker by trade’ had left his family behind to join Marlow (Conrad, 1902, p.55). Hence the natives willingly left their way of life and chose to follow the ways of the Europeans.
In the book A Small Place, Kincaid expresses anger towards the negative effects brought about by the Europeans attempt to reshape the culture of the Antigua in the image of European society. She states that the schools only taught British history, language, and culture and left out the Antiguan culture, denying the natives the opportunity to know and appreciate their culture and identity. The loss of Antigua’s culture and identity is evident when Kincaid states, “But what I see is the millions of people, of whom I am just one, made orphans: no motherland, no fatherland, no gods, no mounds of earth for holy ground,’’ (Kincaid, 1988, p.31). Thus, preference for the British language makes them feel accustomed to the inferiority status that was subjected to them by the Europeans.
What the Colonist Brought to their Colonies
In the Heart of Darkness, the colonists exploited the resources in Congo, most especially ivory. The exploitation is evident by the Chief accountant’s comments about Kurtz being the best since he could bring him more ivory (Conrad, 1902, p.33). The chief accountant’s comment indicates that the European brought about the exploitation of resources which, in this case, is ivory.
In A Small Place, the colonists brought many things to Antigua. According to Kincaid (1988, p. 34), the colonist only brought racism, imprisonment, bad leadership, and how to take wealth from Antigua. This statement by Kincaid shows that she does not see anything positive that the Europeans brought.
What the colonist felt they had to offer the natives
The colonists felt obligated to offer civilization to the natives whose ways they termed backward. In the Heart of Darkness, Marlow’s aunt had commented that the European idea to bring civilization to the natives was glorious and meant to bring them back from their backward ways (Conrad, 1902, p.20). The statement by Marlow’s aunt is a clear indication that the colonists, Europeans, felt that the natives’ ways were barbaric and needed to be done away with. It also indicates that she was in full support of their civilization.
However, in A Small Place, the British see themselves as having brought the natives, the people of Antigua, a good life through building them schools, the St. John’s library that was crucial to their enlightenment. She is the product of English education, and she attended a school named after a princess of England (Kincaid, 1988, p.32-33). Hence the colonist building the infrastructure such as the schools, library shows that they felt the need to offer education to the natives.
Conclusion
Conclusively this paper looks at the main intent of colonialism in the Heart of Darkness and the negative impacts of colonization in A small Place. It looks at why the colonists felt civilization was the best for the natives, whose ways were termed backward; however, in A Small Place, the paper looks at the characteristics of civilization, which is having polite language. Additionally, the paper highlights human nature whereby the colonists viewed themselves as civilized and the natives as savages. The paper also looks at the impact of reshaping the colonies into European society. Lastly, it looks at what the colonist had to offer the natives.
References
Conrad, J. (1902). Heart of darkness . Courier Corporation.
Kincaid, J. (1988). A small place . Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
National Geographic Society. (2019, February 28). Civilizations . Retrieved April 27, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/civilizations/
