Kelly - Blog 2

Jordan Kelly

British Literature/Composition

Period 6

29 November 2013

For millennia, humans have compared things, ranging from personal possessions to civilizations.  In Joseph Conrad’s “ Heart of Darkness”, Marlow compares Europe to Africa during his story-long flashback.  This comparison has received various perceptions and interpretations, as seen in Achebe and Conrad’s, himself, essays.  In the story and essays, these two continents are compared based on the behavior and attitude of the inhabitants, as well as the rivers surrounding their environments.

Conrad compares Europe to Africa through his use of their respective rivers, Thames and Congo.  Conrad states that the River Thames is tranquil and peaceful, but that it was once dark and savage.  This same darkness is juxtaposed with the current Congo River, referring to how Europe is more advanced than Africa and that it needed to be helped like London, the reason for Marlow’s journey.  "Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world," illustrates Conrad’s opinion on the inferiority of Africa and its Congo River.

Conrad also compares Europe to Africa based on his illustrations of the peoples from each continent.  In Europe, Conrad shows and refers to them as light-literally and figuratively-and establishes them as being literate and civilized.  In contrast, Conrad’s attitude toward Africa is shown as being filled with barbaric, inferior humans, shown through their attacks and living environments during Marlow’s trip, that have to be cleansed with the help of the light.