LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 14:1 January 2014
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Orientalism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: An Influential Tool of
Representing the Non-Europeans as Subjugated Entities in
Literature

Azmi Azam, M.A.

Abstract

Edward Wadie Said’s Orientalism is an encapsulated concept of Western authority over the Eastern. It not only contributed introducing diverse research areas for scholars but also evoked consciousness among the general readers. The term is a highly controversial and influential that deconstructs and prejudices minds of both the readers and researchers. Under its scholarly impact, Europeans cultivated a sense of digress and aversion toward the non-European and this sense is highly marked in the works of literature.

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899), inspired by Conrad’s journey in Africa, is a controversial novella that depicts the harsh reality of European imperialist practices and the effects of orientalist aspects in Africa’s Congo. The protagonist Charlie Marlow and Kurtz represent two different European individuals observing and describing The Congo from orientalist point of views. Such writings attracted the eyes of critics and therefore, Chinua Achebe attacks Conrad’s orientalist writings and delivers his views as the voice of protest. Albert Camus’ The Outsider (1942), William Shakespeare’s Othello (1604) and The Tempest (1610-11) depict orientalism ideas too. Frederic Nietzsche’s theory of superman and nihilism are also associated with Said’s concept of orientalism.

The aim of this work is to illustrate Said’s concept of orientalism and to explain its usage in various works of literature, especially in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Achebe’s arguments on Conrad’s novella are presented and Nietzsche’s theories are associated with Conrad’s characters along with the reference of some other literary works to make the critical discussion more logical. At the end of this work, readers will achieve a more critical understanding of the term orientalism and its impacts in literature. Readers will also be able to analyze European writers from the viewpoints of racism, apartheid, imperialism, colonialism and psychoanalysis.

Key Words: Orientalism, Occident, Orient, subjugation, representation, nihilism, supremacy, subalterns, slavery, imperialism, prejudice, misinterpretation.

Introduction

Orientalism is a burning term that is used as a tool to define the non-Europeans in literature. Albert Camus’s The Outsider and William Shakespeare’s Othello and The Tempest are good examples where the non-Europeans are misrepresented. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness depicts the slavery of African Congo from an orientalist view points which arouse a lot of debate among the intellectual. Some critics believe it as a good book on European imperialism but most of the scholars highlight the hyperbolic representation of the Congolese regions of central Africa.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Azmi Azam, M.A. English Literature
Arts, Law and Social Science Faculty
Department of English, Communication, Film and Media
Anglia Ruskin University
Cambridge, England.
azmiazam13@yahoo.com
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