Day: September 19, 2023

Introduction to Imperialism in Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad has mixed feelings and conflicting ideas about the concept of imperialism in Heart of Darkness that could be termed ambivalence. The novel which shows a journey from within and from without also divides itself into two parallel and conflicting ideas which are often associated with imperialism. Conrad being a white and also a westerner watches the oppression with his own eyes but being a non African also seems to detach himself from what actually happens with the Africans. There are so many examples where his protagonist seems to be divided in his view point and his inclination to blacks or whites become doubtful. Therefore, it can be said that the writer’s deep ambivalence about imperialism in Heart of Darkness regarding ambivalence in the consciousness, ambivalence in the treatment of blacks and whites and ambivalence in the mode of description thus making it a novel which apparently sides the Africans but inwardly reflects the superiority of the west.

Marlow and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness

The hero of the novel goes out to explore the unexplored lands of Africa. His travel is also on two levels. One is physical travel and the other is spiritual and inner travel. The learning and exposure go on both levels. Apparently it looks that his experiences are making him enlightened and well informed as compared to his previous understanding. However, the ambivalence of the situation is that his enlightenment is in other words an experience of the more negative things and as if he were going back to the primitive age. So his description of the protagonist’s development is at the same time forward and backward. So the protagonist suffers from a split personality with conflicting ideas which oscillate him between the civilization of the west and African primitivism.  In this way the description shows the conflict and ambivalence between the unconsciousness subsequently sub consciousness and the depiction of consciousness. This conflict is evident in the narrative related with wilderness, the African landscape, its society and its people. The wilderness again has two contradictory angles. One angle of it can be captured by Europe while the other aspect of supernatural type can only be left to die. This could be termed a drive exposing imperialism in Heart of Darkness.

Africa and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness

Conrad starts his assessment of Africa with the introduction of the Congo River and its comparison with the river Thames.  The Thames symbolizes the purification, civilization and intelligence whereas the Congo River shows darkness and under civilized society which is still not developed. Marlow seems to mention the Thames with reverence and great care while his description of the Congo River makes him a little pessimistic. Congo River is shown as “ the mystery of an unknown earth”. (Heart of Darkness 3). Moreover, during the course of the novel we find that the Congo River has so many difficult spots around it. It passes through many dark and dangerous places. The scenes around are rough and are not maintained as if nobody had touched them.  It unfolds that Africa is a place to be invaded and this mystery is to be solved and resolved and only white people can solve this mystery.  Here the narrator who is the mouthpiece of the writer is ambivalent about the concept of imperialism in Heart of Darkness.

Primitivism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness

Conrad describes African people as he had described the Congo River and associated it with ignorance and primitiveness. He declares them barbarous liable to be kept under subjugation. They need to be taught, modernized and enlightened according to the standards set by the west. Sometimes he favors these Africans by saying that they live with nature which is a positive thing. Therefore they get a supernatural power with their association with nature. He also feels a kind of association with them as a human being.  On the other hand, the African people have been treated as devils as if they have come from hell” catch “im,”—”Give’im to u.”— what would you do with them? ““Eat’im!” he said curtly…. (42). In these examples we see that he identifies himself with the Africans and also detaches himself from them at the same time deeming himself as a superior person and mentioning their so called inhuman act. This shows how he in reality looks at the African people. So his purpose does not seem to be the expansion, but to take pity on the natives. So in this way his description shows how he has an ambivalent description of African people.

European Progress and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness

The word the whited sepulcher is used in the novel for the cities of the west. These cities are apparently very advanced, refined and civilized but inwardly there is evil and hypocrisy prevalent in them. This is the double standard of the so called civilized world which Marlow indicates. In the same vein, Conrad depicts Belgium as a country or city full of death or hypocrisy and we also know that Belgium was the centre of imperialism.  The city shows as if it is devoid of emotions and there is no civilization left there. We can also cite example of the two women who were knitting wool because it is associated with man’s doom as we remember “ Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, where Madame Defarge  knits “with the steadfastness of fate” (103). In this way, the description of the city has ambivalence as every one of them represents darkness and light, death and peace.

Conclusion

In the novel, the writer describes the details of Africa, its wilderness, the Congo River and the inhabitants of that area in a way as to compare them with the civilized world of the west in an attempt to expose imperialism in Heart of Darkness. The journey within versus journey without goes on showing the differences between the attitude of the writer towards the native Africans and the white westerners. Marlow has mixed feelings for both the Africans and the Europeans. It can be said that he has attached and detached feelings for both the Europeans and the Africans simultaneously. His identification with nature and affiliation with superior Europe makes him ambivalent toward imperialism. 

Works Cited

1. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. CSP Publishing. 2011.Print.

Relevant Questions about Imperialism in Heart of Darkness

1. How does the character of Kurtz exemplify the ambivalence towards imperialism in “Heart of Darkness”? What aspects of his journey and actions reflect the complex relationship between colonization and the corrupting effects of power?
2. In “Heart of Darkness,” how does the narrative structure, particularly the framing of Marlow’s story within the story, contribute to the ambivalence towards imperialism? How does this layered storytelling highlight the contradictory perspectives on colonialism?
3. Explore the symbolic significance of the Congo River in “Heart of Darkness.” How does the river itself represent the ambivalence surrounding imperialism, and how does Marlow’s journey along the river reflect the moral and ethical dilemmas associated with European expansion and exploitation in Africa?

You may read more on Short Essays below:

• Accountant in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
• Glengarry Glen Ross Seems A Postmodern Answer
• “Bunty in the Light of a Hero”: Narratological Analysis
• Odysseus’s Adventures in Odyssey

Introduction to Comparison Between Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross

Literature has always witnessed transformations in culture shown through similarities between Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross. The modern period which started quite lately in literature as compared to modernity reached its peak following WWII and then after further evolution it entered into the postmodern world where cultural values, beliefs, and morals witnessed sea changes. The transformation in these values, morals, and beliefs could be seen in the respective literature. Not only that the literary ideals such as tragic heroes and their representations changed, but also themes and structures, language, and above all moral values have witnessed massive changes. Written by Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman presents a modernist literary piece which shows presents modern tragedy, values of the society, modernist language structures, and themes of faith, hope, and dreams, while contrary to it, its supposed postmodernist sequel Glengarry Glen Ross by Mamet demonstrates postmodernist trends sans tragedy, sans morality, transparent and audience-centered language to be inferred in any way. It means despite several similarities between Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross are entirely different plays.

Tragedy and Death of a Salesman

As far as the idea of tragedy is concerned, the debut of Death of Salesman created a stir in the literary circle regarding presentation of a common man as a tragic hero, for which Miller has to write an essay to explain his idea of tragedy in this play which he states, “the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were” (Miller 3-7) and Willy Loman is a down-to-earth common American who is disillusioned by the mythical American dream. Contrary to the classical idea of Aristotelian definition of tragedy, having heroes with great stature, Miller has touted that “The commonest of men may take on that stature to the extent of his willingness to throw all he has into the contest, the battle to secure his rightful place in his world” (Miller 3-7) which in Willy cases is his two sons, his own career and family that he bets in order to make himself equal to either Ben or his own father that Ben mentions or others in his familiar circle. However, none is achieved. In another sense, everything seems to him in “disorder” (Klages) through which Miller has tried to bring out the “order” (Klages) of the moral values that is to dig out “meaning which has been lost in the most of modern world” (Klages) which Biff states at the end that “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong” (Miller) while Happy says that “I’m gonna show you and everybody else …that …he had a good dream” (Miller) which is that Willy wants to bring order by realizing his dreams that were not right according to Happy, but he could not which is why he seems to be a common tragic hero of Arthur Miller. However, as opposed to this modernist view, there is no morals, no scruples and no values whatsoever in Glengarry Glen Ross. There is only “talk” (Mamet) about “leads” (Mamet), “close and sales” (Mamet) devoid of all morals. If Levene seems to the central character, he acts just like a common salesman but unlike Willy devoid of any dream and therefore no moral values at the end. However, despite similarities between Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross are different in this sense.

Whereas the question of morality or moral values is concerned, in Aristotelian and Elizabethan tragedies, the protagonist is always on the guard to set right that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Shakespeare 90) and takes the entire onus of doing this on himself and the piece presents a “clear-cut moral position” (Klages). However, in modernist literature, this does not mean that the common man, as a hero, is morally upright similar to the classical heroes, but that “if it is true that tragedy is the consequence of a man’s total compulsion to evaluate himself justly, his destruction in the attempt posits a wrong or an evil in his environment” (Miller) which Willy sees in the shape of situation and his own ideal of achieving the American dream which he could not. Even his affair does not mean that there is no morality, but it means that he realizes that he has not achieved his desires and expectations in which Miller has presented a modernist view of “clear-cut moral position” (Klages) that this cut-throat competition takes its toll form the people involved in the rat race for materialism.  However, there does not seem to be any morality Glengarry Glenn Ross and the characters are living in world where stealing, lying, cheating, burglaries, sex, and drinking are the order of the day in which man has become a machine “That’s the “Machine.” That is Shelly “The Machine” Lev…” (Mamet).  It is on the audience to deduce the meanings from the situation presented to them. At least there is a faith, hope and dreams in Death of a Salesman which Willy demonstrates but there is no such thing in Glengarry Glenn Ross, a typical postmodern feature of the literature. In fact, it is Roma who seems to be the epitome of the postmodern era whose lengthy and baffling absence of “an absolute morality” (Mamet) in this world shows a world sans conscience. This shows a great difference between Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross.

Language in Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross

As far as the question of language is concerned, there is modernist idea that “language is transparent, that words serve only as representations of thoughts or things, and don’t have any function beyond that” (Klages) which seems to be true in the case of Willy Loman and he has “Big” (Miller) ideas, “contacts” (Miller) and above the idea of “well-liked” (Miller) through which we can judge his dreams. He is the “signified” in which the “reality resides” (Klages). However, the case of Glengarry Glen Ross is quite different. There is no idea and “only surfaces” (Klages) and only “signifiers, without no signifieds” (Klages) which is clear from the language used by Levene, Roma and Williamson. Contrary to Death of Salesman, where language is a vehicle to communicate the reality, the characters in Glengarry Glenn Ross do not use language for communication but to hide, manipulate and exploit truth and manipulate the customers and their own brethren. Miller’s ideas are clear that he wants to show use the other side of capitalism and he presented it through Willy but Mahmet has left everything on the reader to deduce from the use of language.

Conclusion

In nutshell, the difference between Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Rosslies in the periods in which both plays have made their debuts where Death of Salesman represent the modern idea of tragedy as expounded by the author himself, Glengarry Ross does not present any tragedy, hence no catharsis of any emotions. Whereas Death of Salesman is a journey toward the realization of a moral system, beliefs and hopes, Glengarry Glen Ross is an epitome of a world sans any moral value, belief or creed except material gain by hook or by crook. If Death of Salesman uses transparent language to point out the reality, the same reality itself disappears in Glengarry Glenn Ross of the postmodern ear. It is true that both have the same theme and one seems to be sequel of other, but both presents world pole apart from each other where one is a modern play and the other is postmodern. 

Works Cited

1. Klages, Mary. “Postmodernism.” 30 September 2005. Willaim Mette. <http://www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/postmod.htm>. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.
2. Mamet, David. Glengarry Glen Ross. New York: Grove Press, 1984.
3. Miller, Arthur. Death of Salesman. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers , 1994.
4. ____. “Tragedy and the Common Man.” Miller, Arthur. Theater Essays. Viking Penguin, 1978. 3-7.
5. Shakespare, William. Shakespearen Plays. 1999. Shakespeare Online <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet_1_4.html>. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

Relevant Questions about Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross

1. In Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross, how do the characters navigate the American Dream’s illusion and their harsh realities?
2. In both plays, how does workplace culture shape the characters’ identities and self-worth?
3. How do power dynamics and competition impact the characters’ moral choices in Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross?

Introduction to Henry Dorset Case

Several literary pieces have boosted unique and different characters but none so unique and so digitized as Henry Dorset Case, whose very name evokes certain digital features in the soul of a reader. Although he does not resemble Rick of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? his character is central to Neuromancer and without his casing personality, it would be reduced merely to a digital web of artificial creatures. Although there are other characters who have got modernized, none equals him in a way he has merged in modern technology or modern technology has adopted him. Henry Dorset Case could be termed a digital dream of the Internet era in which a person would become so much habitual of cyberspace and virtual reality that without them, it seems life would seem merely a skeleton. What makes Case different from all other characters is that he still has a human brain that can analyze fast and think out-of-the-of the box solutions of the problems that come his way. Despite not being an embodiment as a hero of the novel, Henry Dorset Case is more human and humane than any other character in the novel in that he feels loneliness, love, hatred, revenge, and even the courage to deceit and then suffer the consequences. His is not the fall of Oedipus, nor rise of Hamlet; his is the oscillation of a modern digital creature that cannot stay within the world and cannot live without it. Willy-nilly, he has to become a part of this process of digitization. Case could be analyzed not only as a digitized human being, but also as a human being with certain qualities, desires and motivations which could make or break his life. Not only his name and role, but also his bodily strangely complicates his characterization in the novel.

Henry Dorset Case as a Human Being

Henry Dorset Case is a simple human being – “an intellectual punk rather than a simple greaser” (Spinrad 1990 223), who has been digitized to meet the requirement of this strange transformation of the time. Despite ignoring all around him solely to find treatment of his own nervous system, he loves Linda at heart that is very much clear form what Zone says to him “Lindas are a generic product in my line of work” (Gibson 84) and then posing him a rhetorical question, “Know why she decided to rip you off?” with quick answer “Love” (84). This shows that not only he loves Linda but also Linda loves him but it is his own life that he wants to live in the cyberspace over which he is becoming touchy and even sometimes suicidal. The solace he has found out in drugs in Chiba does not numb his soul. In this search, he meets Molly who is planned by Armitage to trap him and manipulate his hacking skills to get some data from his mentor though he becomes part of a larger game of Neuromancer and Wintermute or their eventual murder. Despite himself being a great hacker, Henry Dorset Case is slave of the time and circumstances. Armitage makes him hostage to his desire of freedom. Although he goes through a transformation but says a human being who finally leaves Chiba but he knows that change is the spice of life “if Wintermute wins, but it will change something” (153), and he leaves for his city for the change he has won.

Character of Henry Dorset Case

Although Case has been dubbed as a protagonists, antihero, hustler, hacker, drug addict, digital hero etc. but the novel has not referred to his past or any future plans. It has not been mentioned who he is expect his age, his profession and his objective of coming to Chiba. He “had been a hottest computer “cowboy” who had invested in cyberspace’s disembodied consciousness” (Nemura 37-39)  However, his motive of working for Armitage with Molly is just an acceptance to get free his mind for hacking in order to enter the cyberspace of which he seems more addicted than his drug addiction. His name is only significant to the point that it demonstrates the modern science fiction. It is because Henry Dorset Case refers to the computer case or it could be a functional defect in something that is digital in nature or it could be a mental case. The problem of who he is not resolved because he is referred with different names in the novel. For example Mitsubishi Bank Chip “gave his name as Charles Derek May” (9) that could be false name, while his passport shows his name as “Truman Star” (9) while the Panthers refer to him as “Cutter” (38). He is as ambiguous as his mission and his objective.]

Aims of Henry Dorset Case

His entire passion lies in his love for cyberspace. Although he has been crook of the digital world and was caught red-handed, his objective of coming to Chiba was to get treatment from some Chiba clinics. However, it is another thing that he is caught in the web of web disputes in such a way that by the end, he is free from everything. He accepts Armitage’s offer to work for him only because he was going to get him treated from some clinic but he was again tricked as they put sacs of poison in his pancreas in case he shows any sign of rebellion as he was told “‘cause you got a new pancreas thrown into the deal” (19) which he made with Armitage.

So does it make him hero a victim is a big question.  It depends  on how the readers see him. In fact, he has been a data thief.  In fact, with his body, he became a prisoner because he could not come of this prison despite his best efforts. He was attacked in such a way by his former employers that he could not hack any more that was his profession. Though it has not been mentioned whether he became hack for his hobby or due to duress of circumstances, it has been told that he became a prisoner of his body “The body was meat. Case fell into the prison of his own flesh” (3). These are the circumstances in the novel that he faces in his life and seems to be victim. However, his release at the end shows that he is rather considered a modern or digitized hero because he has understood and explained the cyberspace as “I’m the sum total of the works, the whole show” (156). This could be the end of his character as well as his career but like before there is no reaction whatsoever.

Conclusion

In nutshell, Henry Dorset Case is the central figure around whom all other characters are revolving. Although he does not seem to be a true hero in the real sense of term, still he is the hero in the sense that the whole novel revolves around his personality. His acts and motives are intended to relieve him from the bondage of his ex-employer, he is further trapped in other issues. If a professional and truly professional is a hero of a novel or movie, he is a professional that Armitage is directed to trap him to perform the task of merging the Wintermute with Neuromancer in order to create super-intelligence. Therefore, he could be termed a human being and hero of Neuromancer.

Works Cited

1. Gibson, William. Neuromancer. Washington: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011. Print.
2. Nemura, Naomi. “A Study of the Body View in Cyberculture.” Journal of Socio-Informatics 7.1 (2014): 37-47.
3. Spinard, Norman. Science Fiction in the Real World. New York: SIU Press, 1990. Print.

Relevant Questions about Henry Dorset Case

1. How does Henry Dorset Case’s history of hacking and his struggle with drug addiction contribute to his complexity as a character in Neuromancer? In what ways do these elements shape his personality and motivations?
2. Explore the theme of redemption and self-discovery in Henry Dorset Case’s character arc. How does his journey from a washed-up, self-destructive hacker to a central figure in a high-stakes cyberpunk plot reveal layers of his character and the potential for transformation?
3. Analyze the relationships that Case forms with other characters, such as Molly Millions and Armitage. How do these connections influence his character development and the moral dilemmas he faces in the novel? How does he navigate trust and betrayal in a world where loyalties are fluid?