In Heart of Darkness, Conrad shows a conflicted critique of western civilization. On the surface, the novel tells the story of clashing cultures between modern and primitive civilizations. The core of the story, however, is to target the disease of the western civilization, although no solution is proposed by the author. As Marlow first set foot on the land of Africa, he noticed the harmonious relationship between the natives and the environment. “They shouted, sang; their bodies streamed with perspiration; they had faces like grotesque masks—these chaps; but they had bone, muscle, a wild vitality, an intense energy of movement, that was as natural and true as the surf along their coast. They wanted no excuse for being there. They were a great comfort to look at (Conrad 24).” In comparison, the white men were like the inharmonious elements in the picture. While the black people who lived in the African jungles were considered savages, it was the “civilized” white people who were spreading hatred and plotting among themselves.
In the face of Africa, the European civilization becomes deformed. Being half British and half French, a painter, poet, musician and elocutionist, Kurtz is the most representative character of western civilization in the novel. However, Kurtz degenerated to a real savage and unethical person in the African jungles. While the colonist worshipped the western civilization, they overlooked the ethical values as a human being. if the development of civilization only serves evil purposes, such a civilization is no different from darkness. The example of Kurtz perfectly demonstrates the belief of Conrad, that the western civilization is not sustainable. Although laws and ethics are only temporary measures to bind one’s action, and are quick to lose their power as one enters a different environment.
When describing the black mistress of Kurtz, the author shows full respect for the brave woman who is full of life, “like the wilderness itself (Conrad 127).” In comparison, Conrad shows more sorrow and compassion for the white woman, Kurtz’s fiancée: “The room seemed to have grown darker, as if all the sad light of the cloudy evening had taken refuge on her forehead (Conrad 155).” The difference between the two women also proves Conrad’s point: being savage is natural and full of power, yet civilization is pale, artificial and hypocritical.
In Cesaire’s book Discourse on Colonialism, the origin and consequences of colonialism are analyzed. While western civilization has been promoted by some as the peak of human civilization, it fails to justify two problems according to Cesaire, the proletariat and the colonialism (Cesaire 31). Neither reason nor conscience would help solve the two problems, which proves one intrinsic nature of the western civilization: hypocrisy. Christianity has become the representation of the western hypocrisy, as European colonizers pray to God as they slaughter in the colonies all over the world. Instead of bringing “salvation” to the “inferior” civilizations, colonialism only proved how ugly western civilization can become.
Colonialism has unleashed the normally hidden dark sides of the humanity and maximized them. Brutality, violence and racial hatred became the most effective in the process of de-civilization (Cesaire 35). Despite the large scale of brutality in the colonies overseas, there were rarely voices of objections raised in Europe. Instead, people seem to make peace with themselves as they belonged to the superior western civilization. While the Europeans turned a blinded eye on things that happened overseas, the Jews in Europe was undergoing the same brutality during WWII. There is little difference between Nazism and colonialism in terms of brutality. However, the hypocrisy and selfishness of the western culture had blinded people from viewing the two equally. A filtering system is established with distorted ethical values (Cesaire 52). For the colonizers, other races were reduced to animals, so that their conscience could be eased (Cesaire 41). The barbarism demonstrated in the colonization processes show that western civilization fails to get rid of the cruelty and corruption sides in the human nature, in the case of colonialism, it even makes the problem worse.
The wars in Europe, as analyzed by Reed, were originated from the conflict of interest among different traders. As the new comer in the market place, German was trying to seize as much profit as it could, only to find France and Britain holding on to their previous profits without compromise. German had to depend on force for the expansion of trade. While German traders were not satisfied with its gains, the French and Britain traders wanted all of the markets, including the colonies all over the world, which made the clash of traders inevitable (Reed 74). While the rest of France was trying to defend itself, the heart and soul of the country, Paris, remained “tranquil, ignorant and apathetic (Reed 81).”
The western civilization has cultivated the nature of people to be selfish and indifferent. The Red Cross was used as a cover by proprietors in Paris. However, when all dangers have passed, they withdrew immediately from the Red Cross. While wars during WWI caused tremendous amounts of damage in the European countries, many of the soldiers didn’t even know what they were fighting for (Reed 84). The ruling class had installed blind patriotism and hatred in the soldiers. While the promotion of freedom has al