Heart of Darkness: Futility of European Presence in Africa Essay Example

to exemplify the futility of such actions with words such as "pop", "small flame", "little white smoke", "tiny projectile", and "feeble screech". Although Marlow perceives their efforts as futile, the Frenchmen see this blind attack as an exertion of their force and power. As Marlow concludes this paragraph he notes, “There was a touch of insanity in the proceeding..

. ", perhaps his verdict on the imperial presence in Africa.When Marlow arrives at the company’s station he witnesses firsthand the aimless work the colonists are enforcing onto the Africans. Just as the French ship was inanely firing into the depths of the jungle, the colonists are blasting away a cliff for no apparent purpose.

Chained Africans are being forced to dig holes into the ground for no apparent purpose in the guise of altruistic charity. “It was just a hole. It might have served some philanthropic desire of giving the criminals something to do. Having already known the “devils” of violence, greed, and desire, Marlow is taken aback with the colonists. He describes them as “flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil[s] of a rapacious and pitiless folly. ” Although Marlow never directly states opposition to imperialism, this criticism of the colonists implies a sense of hostility.

During further exploration of the station, Marlow comes across a dark infernal grove in which several of the Africans have some to wither away in the shade. He describes the dying Africans as “nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation”.Rather than portraying them as whole individuals Marlow depicts them only as a heap of “acute angles” describing only their body parts. He marvels at the apparent speckle of death that his

fellow colonists show now concern to.

The dehumanization within grove of death represents the core of the colonial endeavor. The futile desecration of human life reveals the hypocrisy that lies within Europe’s colonial affairs. During his several moths spent at the outer station, Marlow witnesses the lack of work being done by the colonists. “They beguiled the time by back-biting and intriguing against each other in a foolish kind of way.There was an air of plotting about that station, but nothing came of it, of course It was as unreal as everything else—as the philanthropic pretence of the whole concern…” The idle listlessness of the “pilgrims” reveals the futility of the work being done in Africa.

The sheer guise of philanthropical charity scarcely conceals the colonist’s true objective, the hunt for ivory. The colonists attempt to extinguish any and all forms of African culture in their wild quest for ivory. One night while at the camp, Marlow witnesses a fire engulf a shed housing trading goods. One evening a grass shed full of calico, cotton prints, beads, and I don’t know what else, burst into a blaze so suddenly that you would have thought the earth had opened to let an avenging fire consume all that trash. ” In a somewhat symbolic retaliation, the African culture seizes its revenge on the imposing imperialist culture. As the flames ravish the shed, Marlow watches as a man attempts to put out the fire “…[he] dipped about a quart of water and tore back again.

I noticed there was a hole in the bottom of his pail. ” This hopeless effort signifies the futile efforts to suppress the

overbearing strength of the African culture.As Marlow ventures deeper down the river, the “pilgrims” aboard his boat undergo a battle with the African wilderness. In fear of attack by the natives, the Europeans begin to blindly fire shots into the darkness. “The pilgrims had opened with their Winchesters, and were simply squirting lead into the bush. ” Once again, Marlow uses words like “squirt” to exemplify the uselessness of firing into the jungle.

This depiction is yet another representation of the little effect European colonization has on Africa. The continent wields an immense amount of strength against the guns and manpower exerted onto it.Throughout the novel, Conrad depicts the futility of the European presence in Africa through Marlow’s cynical observations. It is evident that the colonist’s lust for ivory is poorly disguised with philanthropic charity. Despite their fruitless efforts the continent remains unscathed.

The major casualties in this battle are the African people who are objectified and dehumanized by the Europeans Despite this fact, the immense foliage of the jungle is no match for the European’s colonization therefore making their attempts and the attempts of imperialism futile.