THINGS FALL APART VS HEART OF DARKNESS

To consider the characters ethics within the chosen texts it is essential to look at the different societies from which the characters are moulded. Thus forming the reasoning behind the ethics that the characters are shown to stand by.

Conrad’s society is Marlow’s society, a society that supports imperialism. Imperialism is a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through colonization by military force or other means ; even this modern day description does not emanate a positive concept created by civilised society, but it was. Marlow’s society believes it to be positive, why? Because they are told it is. This concept, which led to the colonisation of real people, is approved by his society because they are not informed that it is domination and exploitation at its worst, but as a duty to humankind. This is revealed in the novel by the aunt when she describes Marlow’s journey as a ‘Mission’; Marlow is the main character of the novel, Joseph Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness. Marlow is angered by the cruelty of white colonialism and this is shown to be to the forefront of this tale throughout his journey of personal discovery.

Kurtz pays the ultimate price for his fight for power and glory at the end of the journey and Marlow shows understanding and pities him for it because Kurtz was sent to do a job and was overwhelmed by his unfamiliar surroundings and the ways of the inhabitants within it, which sends him to madness, but Oknokwo stood in familiar surroundings and had all his wits about him, yet he still crucified those around him for his own gain.

The novel Things Fall Apart is not a tale of passion and love for humankind as I had expected, but a tale of one mans arrogant scramble to be seen as mighty whilst being most undeserving of the title. The tribesmen around him that credit him with the title are themselves not worthy of presenting the credit. I have chosen firstly the death of Ikemefuma to demonstrate the fallibility of Okonkwo and his fellow tribesmen’s ethics. His ward, Ikemefuma, is chosen to be sacrificed and at the moment of death Okonkwo chooses the path of shame and kills the boy himself; his fear is thought of as weak by the god’s; this action and thought process of the character proves the cowardice of the: courageous, brave, fearless man Okonkwo. Okonkwo did not give Ikemefuma the same right that was given to him by his elders, regarding his fathers bad ways, that ‘if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings’ the boy paid the price for his tribe’s crimes, with his life, at the hand of the man he looked upon and loved as a father.

Marlow’s journey of self-discovery begins in London on the ‘Nellie, a cruising yawl’ surrounded by ‘gloom’; this is the opening scene that begins Marlow’s journey into the darkness. I feel that Conrad is using the gloom to stress his point, that the blame of evil lies with his own society. He further makes his point by only using names for Marlow, Kurtz and his predecessor Fresleven; every other character is recognised by his trade e.g. the brickmaker and the accountant etc. This enhances the fact that the people that were terrorising the way of the African people did not deserve to be blessed with a name, as many committed the act, too many to name individually, so colonisers should be blamed as a whole and they can be seen in many guises.

My first thoughts for this essay were to attempt to show how both novels were equally trying to save humankind in their contrasting ways but if the time in which the texts were written is examined and read accordingly we see two very different tales of woe.

Some topics in this essay:
Fall Apart, Marlow Kurtz, Heart Darkness, Week Peace, , Okonkwo Ikemefuma, Marlow Conrad’s, Mans Burden’, Achebe Conrad’s, Darkness Marlow, fall apart, ibo society, power glory, main character, heart darkness, marlow’s journey, society marlow’s society, society savage, tale mans, society marlow’s, novel fall, novel fall apart, achebes fall apart, ibo society savage,