To fully appreciate Joseph Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness it is vital to have a clear understanding of irony. Colonialism is a form of totalitarianism that seeks to enact total control of the people and cultures it inhabits. The victims of this savage rule respond with ambivalence and the barbaric acts carried out against them can be revealed with the ironic voice of the colonizers who reflect on their experiences. Irony is an alternative form of knowledge that allows for interpretation of events and actions that would typically be ignored. Irony allows for contradiction it is a figure of speech that allows for one thing to be said while its intended meaning is always something else. Its root word is “faint ignorance” a form of lie, however the ability to pretend not to know stems from actually knowing. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad presents many instances of racist commentary that portray a devaluation of the Congo inhabitants. Oftentimes Europeans are depicted as individuals that are superior to and more human than the Africans. However, the distinction between a purely racist novel and a novel where racism is used as a means of se

There have been many misconceptions about what constitutes a nation. Benedict Anderson’s book Imagined Communities defines the nation as an imagined political community both inherently limited and sovereign. It is imagined because members will never know most of their fellow-members, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion. It is limited because it has finite, though elastic boundaries beyond which lay other nations. It is sovereign because it came to maturity at a stage of human history when freedom was a rare and precious ideal. And it is imagined as a community because it is conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship Anderson pg. 16. To better understand how these constructs work and clear up misconceptions about nationalism Anderson describes nationalism as neither ideology nor state. Nationhood is a form of cultural practice built around the love people have for their nation. Anderson points out that the idea of nationalism arose as a reaction to three significant practices that were used to control and dominate populations during the 18th century. The emergence of nationalism depended upon four ideals it aspired to achieve, it is imperative to understand that a nation as it has been idealized as a utopia never exists and is only possible in imagination.

The Congo in Africa is home to dark native peoples that are portrayed with a natural, primal quality, a stark contrast to the civilizations in Europe. This is the setting for British imperialism at work. It is therefore the setting where the supposed sophistication of civilized men is deconstructed, and all men are revealed to share a common darkness. Africa and its inhabitants show an external darkness, while it is revealed that the colonizers contain darkness within. Darkness and its opposite, light, are contrasted in Heart of Darkness to reveal the irony of imperialism. Traditionally, light and darkness represent civilization and the uncivilized world. In some cases, the description of darkness appears racist, yet it serves to reveal how the opposite of the European colonialist way of thinking is true. Marlow tells his shipmates about his childhood dreams of visiting uncharted places on maps. However, once a space had been discovered by Europeans, "it had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery - a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness" HOD pg 22. Once the location had been discovered by the civilized world, it was exposed to the light of development. Without the arrival of the light of the Europeans for use in comparison, the Congo would be neither light nor dark; it is civilization that creates the primitive darkness. The initiative that compels imperialism is the idea that the radiance of civilization will bring light to the darkness of uncivilized nations. However, since the darkness does not exist until the light arrives; the notion of imperialism places a result before its cause.

Nationalism is an evolution that has developed through time in response to different eras, political regimes, economies, and social structures. In examining its origin, ideals, and progression it is evident that nationalism was a natural way to combat the colonial rule societies faced during the 17th and 18th centuries. As it further develops in the 21st century it is becoming synonymous with globalization as more and more people are linking together to understand the signs and cultures of different nations through countless media and technological outlets. It is also becoming clear that certain powerful nations have the capability to force their ideals, beliefs, and signs to nations that do not believe in the same values. The evolution of nationalism is deviating from the fundamental principles it was built on: fairness and equality. The powerful nations of the world may not be territorially expanding however their ideologies, militaries, and spheres of influence both politically and economically have exp

Some topics in this essay:
Heart Darkness, Imagined Communities, Middle Ages, Congo Africa, Oftentimes Europeans, Joseph Conrad, hod pg, heart darkness, Nationhood Nationalism, light darkness, Culture Question, Benedict Anderson’s, hod pg 22, cultural practice, nationalism arose, pg 22, people nation, limits conrad’s, colonial rule, anderson pg, Irony Heart, true nature imperialism, populations 18th century, irony heart darkness,