The Nature Of The African Landscape - 10552 Words

The Landscape: In this section, I seek to investigate how the nature of the African landscape has been depicted in Heart of Darkness. Questions such as 1.) How the Orientalist others the foreign landscape 2.) What is the psychological influence of the African landscape on the European colonisers? 3.) Does the psychological influenceon the Whites similar to that of the Blacks? 4.) And, what are the consequences of that psychological influence on the White invaders and the natives? These arguments are presented in ascending order of importance. I will study the colonial and the Oriental conception of the foreign landscape as Marlow’s journey involves both trajectories. I also aim at exploring Conrad’s mechanism that he uses to hit on the serious issue of the psychological state of the European characters and who he reflects it in his narrative. The abundant reports, literary narratives, and the variety of representations of the early travellers that belong to different social, cultural, and political backgrounds presented Africa with a very shining image. They loomed Africa as exotic, strange, and the promised of golden opportunities. However, in the nineteenth-century Western colonial discourse, Africabegan to function as a synonym to absence and infinite. (Miller, 1996: 92). This is because the colonial missionaries and administration of Africa turns it into a realm of darkness, corruption, and a source of terror that lacks shape and pattern. The credential of thisShow MoreRelatedJoseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1198 Words   |  5 PagesJoseph Conrad, in his novel Heart of Darkness, comments on the nature of imperialism, the individual psyche, and the evil inherent in the human condition. Chinua Achebe, a contemporary literary critic, argues that as the protagonist, Marlow, travels through the Congo, Conrad maintains a Western imperialist attitude towards the African natives. According to the novel, the natives are a sort of animalistic backdrop, a part of a landscape to merely house Kurtz and Marlow’s metaphysical battle. The environmentRead MoreSocial Construction Of Nature And Environmental Change1705 Words   |  7 Pagesinclude an overview of how this construction of national parks and reserves may result in the property rights reconstructing the resource into a rival good. Moreover, I will provide a brief discussion on the relationship between social construction of nature and environmental change. In conc lusion, I will briefly review case studies and frameworks that are related to the conservation of biodiversity. The ability to apply concepts of political ecology to environmental concerns enables one to understandRead MoreNature Is at the Heart of ‚Äà ²the Darkling Thrush‚Äà ´ and Most of Hardys Most Famous Poems.938 Words   |  4 PagesNature is at the heart of ‘The Darkling Thrush’ and most of Hardy’s most famous poems. Hardy is a renowned rural poet which suggests that he has a keen interest and knowledge of nature. However, this is not to say that nature is at the heart at every one of his most famous poems – it is sometimes merely a backdrop for other themes, such as war, fate and lost love. Hardy explores human nature in ‘Drummer Hodge’, the downward spiral of mankind using ‘Channel Firing’ and romantic grief in ‘The Voice’Read MoreThe Character Of Conrad And Cormac Conrads Heart Of Darkness1640 Words   |  7 Pagesconditions without explicit statements, authors cannot elucidate each event and character’s thought while continuing to hold the reader’s attention. Therefore, many authors utilize the landscape of the story to parallel a character or group of characters. In Heart of Darkness, author Joseph Conrad personifies the landscape as a fluid character. Consequently, as the reader begins to further comprehend the landscape’s meaning, Marlow’s understanding of the people around him becomes more clear. LikewiseRead MoreAfrican Tulip Tree : Puerto Rico s Salvation Or Invasive Pest?1221 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican Tulip Tree: Puerto Rico’s Salvation or Invasive Pest? Lauren Fegan September 6, 2015 WSES 4309 THESIS The African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) is a native species of tree that is found along the West coast of Africa from Ghana to Angola and inland across the center of the continent to southern Sudan and Uganda. (Source #1) The vivid fiery hue of the flowers of the African tulip tree contributed to its introduction to Puerto Rico more than a century earlier asRead MoreHeart of Darkness; Values of Colonisers988 Words   |  4 Pagesportraying some of the qualities of colonialist groups whom he aims to question throughout the novel. These qualities such as Euro-centrism are challenged through Conrad’s use of language, as his rich but obscure descriptions and his portrayals of the landscape and people of Africa contrast to the Europeans. Conrad highlights the pointlessness and futility of the quest in Africa through his main character and narrator Marlow. Statements display his disgust and horror in colonialism as he describes theRead MoreThe South: The Creation of the African American Community in The Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston680 Words   |  3 Pagesoccurs in African American literature, mostly, in the geographical form of The South. Used as a literary landscape, The South is more than a representation of the horrors that African-Americans had endured during the time of slavery. It is there that African-Americans developed a society and culture that was constructed through the struggles of their ancestors and the mechanisms that had developed to survive. The history of their people is embedded throughout the soil of the landscape and it is fromRead More The Importance of Art Essay969 Words   |  4 PagesIt might be religious, symbolic, literal, traditional, customary, or just a preference by t he artist. Most African art has a symbolic reason. Masks, pottery, figures, portraits, jewelry, baskets and clothing reflect the religious belief of the different tribes. Africans believed that everything in nature is alive. For example: rocks, grass, plants, trees, rivers and mountains. African art was not popular and was looked down upon until recently. In Nigeria, people were tattooed as a test ofRead MoreSouth Africa Essay1004 Words   |  5 Pageshas been called â€Å"The Rainbow Nation†, a name that reflects the diversity of such amazing place. The different ethnic and cultural groups of the South Africa do, however, appreciate their own beliefs and customs. Many of these traditions, besides African culture, are influenced by European and Western heritage. The complex and diverse population of the country has made a strong impact to the various cultures. There are forty-five million people; about thirty million are black, five million whiteRead MoreAfrican Am erican Relationship With The South : A Dual Perspective1204 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican American relationship with the South: a dual perspective Introduction The experiences that African Americans went through, whether in the North or South, played a significant role in shaping their attitude towards the New World. Markedly, they entered into an era of servitude, where they pledged loyalty to the superior white man. Nevertheless, experiences were different; the North treated African Americans in a different way compared to the South. Part of this reason may be the geographical