Orientalism

According to Edward Said, Orientalism can be seen as the way that Westerners view, exaggerate, and distort differences between the Western culture and that of the Orient, being comprised of the Middle East and the rest of Asia.  In Said's book Orientalism, he references Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness.  Although the main events of Conrad's story occur in Africa, Said attempted to compare the idea of Orientalism to that of Imperialism, which is referenced numerous times in Heart of Darkness.  Instead of criticizing the author's depiction of the savage culture found in the Congo, Said saw that Conrad recognized the idea of imperialism as false mental construct of the Europeans, similar to what he believed to be true about the notion of Orientalism.

I would have to agree with Said's argument on the existence of Orientalism.  In most of the depictions of people in "the Orient" that we see in art created by Europeans in the 19th century, we see the artist's intention to show the exotic and mysterious aspects of those people.  As these depictions were brought to Europe, the mindset toward people of the Orient was changed, aiding the Europeans in their drive to colonize the mysterious and unknown parts of the world.

There Goes The Babysitter

Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen, and Achebe both express the same idea in their critique of race in our society. Achebe points out the inherent racism that lies within Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Although the book is meant to be a criticism of European imperialism, Achebe argues that the book is racist for making Africa the heart of darkness, and likening all of its inhabitants to wild beasts. Achebe argues that this was an unconscious subjugation of the people of the Congo, which is similar to many situations in Citizen where people have no intention of being racist but, do so subconsciously. One situation that she exemplified was one where a babysitter was making a phone call outside of the house and the neighbors got frightened and called the police. The neighbors had no intention of making the babysitter's life harder but they did anyways.

Blinded By The Science

While reading Heart of Darkness, I couldn’t help but create the modern-day parallel in my head of a giant corporation like Monsanto, and its impact on America's population. It’s alarming to consider the possibility that majority of people are unaware of exactly where their food comes from.

The evil and unknown power that Monsanto holds over our food industry can easily parallel the colonialism expressed in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

One could only hope that everyone (by this point) has at least heard of the American multinational agro-chemical and agricultural-biotechnology corporation, Monsanto.
Monsanto has managed to squeeze out conventional farmers (those not using transgenic seeds) and taking away their opportunity to viably participate and compete in the market. By exploiting their patent on transgenic corn, cotton and soybean, Monsanto asserts an insidious control of those agricultural industries in the US.
While one can go on and on..and on about Monsanto’s monopolizing effect, abuse of patents, and all of their corrupt corporate ways--the point is why this can be seen as a modern heart of darkness.

Monsanto, and companies alike, use the presence of vibrant, lush, almost too perfect produce to distract its consumers from the darkness in which the company operates. Few know of the manipulated farmers bound in the corrupt contracts of Monsanto. Few know of the harmful chemicals sprayed across crops and workers in order to make sure the American people have the ripest reddest tomatoes. Few know that the leaves under the “fresh” salad they are eating, are really formed in laboratory test tubes.

Majority of the population is oblivious to the darkness at the center of this mass operation. Not until consumers read up on the newest headlines or see the most recent documentary on the subject, do they begin to understand the heavy hand that companies like Monsanto play into the manipulation of American Consumers.

Our Heart of Darkness

In Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", the place that was described as primitive and savage by the western world was Africa. Today, this idea of the Other being primitive and savage still permeates society. One heart of darkness that many of us are partially aware of is the Middle East. In the post 9/11 world, the new Other has become the Middle East. In order to differentiate ourselves from them, we have subconsciously categorized them as primitive and/or different, to contrast with our "modern" society. This separation is very harmful to the construction of mutual recognition between people in the two societies. People in both societies are human beings, with desires, emotions, friends, family, and a host of other things that make everybody human. But when we categorize them as different from us, it draws a divide within the global community that is detrimental to the lives of all humans.  One thing that we should all strive for is to try and break this divide down and mutually recognize who we consider the "other" whether as a society or as an individual in our daily lives.

Modern Day Slavery

After hearing so many mentions of the Middle East as our contemporary heart of darkness, I couldn't help but reflect on the images that come to my mind when I think of this part of the world, and the most prominent one for me is that of child brides. To most of us, the idea of a young girl being sold or given up by her own parents is unfathomable and part of a culture that we as Americans are completely separate from, but I believe that, just as child marriage is a heart of darkness in the Middle East, a comparable heart of darkness exists in the U.S. in the form of human trafficking.

Though human trafficking has come closer to the forefront of the news lately, its prevalence in the U.S. is still a relatively unknown issue, and many of us are unaware that it occurs so close to home. In fact, Chicago has been referred to as a "national hub" for human trafficking: according to this article, there were 1,229 incidents of human trafficking in Illinois, and an estimated 32% of the victims involved were children.

Much like the brutality of imperialism in Heart of Darkness, the truth about the human trafficking industry in the U.S. is largely swept under the rug.  I think we are still unprepared to admit that something so grim and barbaric could exist in our "civilized", democratic society.

Dark Uncertainty

Joseph Conrad's short story, Heart of Darkness, was written about a man's exploration into the uncertainty of the "dark" Congo. What made this Congo so dark was its unfamiliarity. Today, everyone's "heart of darkness" is different. For each person there are things that they become accustomed to, things and situations they are around every day. Anything that is not familiar is scary, intimidating, and uncertain. For each of these uncharted experiences, there are imaginations that go along with it. Like Marlow's dreams of when he was a kid, he had a predicted outcome, we are all guilty of predicting how a certain experience will end up. Exploring into uncertain situations like moving, going to a new neighborhood, starting a new class, and the looming situation for all of us; college, makes everyone think of these outcomes and find the most desireable. Only exploring into the darkness will reveal the reality of these unknown situations.

Factory Farming: One of Many Hearts of Darkness

With food being such a big part of our lives and culture, you'd think we'd pay more attention to where it comes from and how it's raised. I'm not talking about fruits and vegetables (although there are a lot of issues surrounding the production of those on a massive scale that I'm not going to get into), I'm talking about animal products. Meat, dairy, all that good stuff that comes from living, breathing organisms. When I chose to write my junior theme about factory farming last year, I got my first real look into how terrible this industry really is. I could go on and on about all the awful things done to animals in factory farms, but I think most of us have seen the movie Food, Inc. at this point and already have some idea of what goes on, both in the places where the animals are raised and where they're slaughtered. If you haven't seen the movie, just search for factory farming in google images. Now, I'm not saying our heart of darkness is that we kill animals and eat their meat- we've been doing that forever- but it's that these animals destined to be our food are treated so abhorrently before they're killed.
Don't be the ignorant, blind Europeans from Heart of Darkness. Educate yourself about where the meat and dairy products you buy come from. Buy free-range, grass-fed beef, and buy certified organic eggs (cage-free doesn't necessarily mean the chickens have outdoor access). It can be hard and expensive to find animal products that come from humane farming operations, but it's possible and it's worth it.

Our Heart of Darkness is...

In Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness there is no truth behind the thought that the Congo was the Heart of Darkness for the colonizers from Belgium. However, currently there are a number of misconceived Heart's of Darkness much like the Congo was for the Europeans like the Middle East, immigration from Mexico, and even places as close as Austin. Yet when I think about the true nature of Conrad's The Heart of Darkness,  I see that our relationship with illegal immigrants is quite similar to that of the novel. The very essence of the United States of America is centered around immigrants coming from other portions of the world and creating a diverse community. The idea that most illegal immigrants are attempting to poison our society is unfounded as they desire to live in the United States not destroy it. To a degree many politicians misunderstand the motives of illegal immigrants which is most reminiscent of Conrad's story.

America is to China as Belgium is to the Congo

In Heart of Darkness, the Belgium colonizers abused the people of the Congo as many large American companies do to the Chinese people today. Many of these companies will outsource a large amount of the the production to China, because they do not have to pay the workers anywhere near what they would have to pay American citizens to do the same job. Although this is economically beneficial to the companies, the outsourcing of jobs has a very negative effect on both American citizens and the Chinese. When Marlow sees the black people in chains doing work at one of the stations in the Congo, this instantly brought to mind the Chinese people. Even though the Chinese people are not in chains, they are being treated like slaves as they do factory jobs for a few cents an hour. And not only are the Chinese being abused, but the American public is being harmed as well. There are less and less jobs because so many of these companies are bringing the manufacturing jobs to China, so there are many unemployed Americans. So why is it that little action has been taken to prevent the outsourcing of jobs?

Hearts of Darkness Around Us

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is considered by many to be one of the great pieces of english literature.  The whole novel can be seen as an allegory for the iniquities that lie within the hearts of the main characters of the story, most noticeably Kurtz.  Perhaps Conrad's intention was to convey that everyone, no matter how pure and unsuspecting their intentions may be,  and everything has there own Heart of Darkness.

In Chicago, there are multiple examples of this, most prominently being the south side of the city.  But there are many that strike closer to home as well, such as the Austin neighborhood adjacent to Oak Park.  Even so, I think that many times we overlook the darkness that is closest to home in our own communities.  While the Oak Park area is seen from the outside as a relatively well off, middle class neighborhood, its known that there are many struggling families within the area that some people may be blind to.  The same can be said about many similar communities in the area.  A Heart of Darkness can be found in many places, and especially in those places that are least expected.

Animals vs. Humans

I have always found it ironic the way that humans look at animals. We are so willing to love and protect certain species, but for the less fortunate ones, we simply cast them off to the side and eat meat. Many people defend this behavior by saying how the cruelty that those animals face is systematic and therefore okay. Most meat-eaters I've talked to are quick to justify themselves, with statements like, "we're simply superior and smarter than animals" or "that's what animals are here for". This way of thinking makes me sad, due to its explicit speciesism. Humans and animals both inhabit this earth together, so we should find a way to live in harmony with each other.

The heart of darkness here comes from the way humans look down on animals, similar to the way the Europeans thought that they were better, and more civilized, than the Africans. Clearly demonstrated by Joseph Conrad and just by history, that sort of dominance never works out. Being different than another group, or living in different ways, is no grounds for cruel and unjust treatment.

Of course, some may say that I'm stretching the comparison too far-the treatment of people could never be on the same level as the treatment of animals. But our everyday choices influence the way that we think in every other circumstance. If people go through their whole lives believing that they are so superior to animals and accept the cruelty that they face everyday, then that could lead to much more problematic circumstances. Don't let any darkness get in the way of being a compassionate person- to everything on the planet.

Perhaps the Brightest Heart of Darkness?

There are a lot of things I could write about as being our modern Heart of Darkness, which is truly quite sad, but I have chosen to write about what I think is probably the brightest Heart of Darkness that exists. By brightest, I mean that which we are most aware.

This, to me, is the huge country that our companies and population exploit resources from on the daily - China.

How many of the products surrounding you are stamped with 'Made in China'?

China is the central hub of modern imperialism; we inflict our own culture everywhere there. We exploit laborers of all ages and genders in factories so that we can save money on our products, but most of us don't think twice.

I imagine that if you asked most Americans what imagery they think of when they think of China, they will think of something like this...

...when the modern reality looks something like this...

I hope that this post shed some light on what is only one of America's Hearts of Darkness.

What is our Heart of Darkness?

Heart of Darkness is a classic novel about the dangers of imperialism. Its message about imperialism, however, goes far beyond simply "imperialism is bad." The novel discusses a level of blindness among both the oppressors and the oppressed. Although imperialism as Joseph Conrad knew it is no longer relevant to our society, there are plenty of other "hearts of darkness" to be found in modern society.

1. The wars in the Middle East. US soldiers terrify, slaughter, and ruin the lives of hundreds of thousands of Middle Eastern civilians - sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. Meanwhile, back on American soil, we preach the true "meaning" of these wars: freedom, protection from extremism and terrorism, and so on and so forth. While politicians and citizens alike describe our wars with Iraq as "fighting for our freedom," our American "freedom" is under no immediate threat - Americans go about their daily lives untouched by the war.
2. Sweatshops. Although there have been movements against manufacturing items in foreign countries and terrible conditions (mostly in the area of clothing manufacture) these movements have been superficial, pathetic, and short lived. Even though a single valiant consumer might succeed in purchasing only goods produced in the United States, it does nothing to fix the problem;  goods produced in foreign countries by employees so badly paid they're on the verge of slavery are so deeply ingrained into our everyday lives that it's almost impossible to avoid them. Brands like American Apparel, which uses its fair-pay American manufacturers as a selling point, only prove this idea: American Apparel's clothing roughly twice as expensive as its made-in-China equivalents.
3. Slave plantations. Yep, that's definitely something we 21st century Americans didn't expect to be dealing with. Although we think of slave plantations as something that disappeared in the nineteenth century, the truth is that they only disappeared in America; slave plantations exist in many forms all around the globe, and many of them supply us with our food and material goods. Take chocolate, for instance. Chocolate is primarily grown in various parts of South America and Africa, particularly Brazil and the Ivory Coast. Many of these plantations use children workers who have either been bought from their parents, stolen, or taken from their parents under the guise of giving them an education. Children on chocolate plantations are whipped, starved, and forced to work under extremely dangerous conditions, such as climbing trees with no protection and using large machetes to cut down the pods. Even plantations that claim to be "fair-trade" are often also guilty of underpaying or abusing their workers. What are some companies that use slave labor to produce their chocolate? Hershey, Mars, Nestle, Godiva, Craft, and many others. (Check out this list of alternative chocolate companies)

A Heart of Darkness at Our Fingertips

We have talked about the present day Hearts of Darkness, touching on the Middle East and certain Chicago neighborhoods, but I think a huge heart of darkness that we are exposed to every day is technology. That is not to say that things like phones and Facebook don't have their advantages, but I think that many harmful effects of technology are ignored.

People often get so consumed in our phones that they live their lives looking at their phones instead of what's going on around them. Recently, many people have been publicly rejecting social media, saying that the world it is portraying isn't true. But so many people are caught up in the world of social media that it can be difficult to define how much of what we see on social media is true. We look at the world through a warped lens in a similar way that the Europeans view the Congo. They see only parts of it and have pre-concieved notions of what is true based on sources that are biased.

There is also a kind of dehumanization that occurs on social media. Since we have gotten so used to communicating with people without hearing tone of voice or seeing their reaction, it has gotten easy to pretend like the person on the receiving end of a message or a comment isn't a person with real feelings and thoughts. This impersonal form of communication parallels with the interaction the Europeans have with Africans in Heart of Darkness. To start, there is close to no face to face interaction between Europeans and Africans, so they have not had the experience of getting to know one another as humans instead of as stories and rumors. All of Marlow's impressions of the Africans seem to come second hand since he never actually talks to them, and his observational skills can only tell him so much.

We get caught up in our own world the same way the Europeans do in Heart of Darkness, except we manage to dehumanize people that we often see as equals, people that we may even know personally, but allow ourselves to see them as less human when we view them through a screen.

Chicago is Our White Fog

While working on our UnEssays this week in class, I was opened up to meanings of the colors black and white in The Heart of Darkness that I had never thought of before. My group came to the conclusion that the meaning of the color white in the story was this barrier that hid the harsh reality of the African Congo, which was represented by the color black. This barrier is portrayed as a white fog during Marlow's journey through the Congo. The white fog momentarily covers the wilderness, which makes the dangers of the wilderness then hidden. This reminded me of Chicago and the west side. 

Someone brought up a great point in class this week about how when they are on vacation and they tell people they came from Chicago, those people do not think of the west side. They think of the beautiful city. This beautiful city is like the white fog in The Heart of Darkness  in that they are both barriers for dangerous realities. In conclusion, the west side is Chicago's heart of darkness. 

Chicago: The Modern Heart of Darkness

In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Africa portrayed as a terrible, violent place full of savages, a place where only the brave dare venture. Much of this description can also be used accurately to describe many parts of Chicago. Many neighborhoods are thought of as war zones, where no one is safe from the constant shooting among the "savage" black inhabitants. We are taught by our parents from an early age that these neighborhoods are not safe and we have to stay away.

A lot of the time, however, this is not an accurate description of these neighborhoods. They are inhabited by people just like us, where much of the time there is not shooting and, when there is, it is perpetrated by a few people, not by a majority. Like the Europeans in Heart of Darkness we focus on the differences between ourselves and the inhabitants of this foreign locale when focusing on the similarities would be more beneficial.

Animals in the Dark

I think that my heart of darkness today is animal mistreatment. I have been a vegetarian for about six years now, and even though that makes an impact, I think that there are still things I could be doing, but I'm not. 

People are so blind to the way that animals are treated, and not just when they are slaughtered for meat. Chickens and cows are treated so poorly for humans to get eggs or milk, and people really overlook that. People always give the excuse "Well, that's what these animals were put on Earth for", but is that really it? I don't think these innocent animals were put here to be violently abused and slaughtered.

Until recently, people have turned a blind eye to the fact that so many major cosmetic companies test their products on animals. They use these animals "just because" and do not look into the horrid pain these animals are going through just so we can look nice and not get an eye infection from some mascara. 

Though I am guilty of loving cheese and owning products tested on animals, I see this as my heart of darkness. I'm a part of the Animal Rights Club at the school, and know all of this information yet I still do these things? This is exactly why this is my heart of darkness. Everyday, I try a little hard to change my actions for the better of the animals, even as hard as it may be.

What's Your Heart of Darkness?

I think it's pretty easy to say that America's modern day Heart of Darkness is the Middle East, or maybe still Africa. Those do both make a lot of sense; I know almost nothing about Africa besides the bits of (awful) history that relate to Europe or America. But I think that a heart of darkness isn't something so easy to own up to. Unless you've gone on your own Marlowesque trip, you're probably more like the narrator: looking at what seems to be a beacon of civilization, all glowing and pretty, until you realize... it's really not. 

I find it easy to admit that I know very little of African history and culture. That's definitely bad and something I should fix in the future, but I don't think it's my heart of darkness. If I had to talk about my own heart of darkness, I would say... anyone living under the poverty line, period. (Which is, well, a lot of people.) Maybe that's a bit unspecific, but it's true. I don't understand, at all, what that's like. My biggest problem right now is which college I'm going to get into, not whether I'll get an education at all. And that's sort of what I mean by the narrator's description at the beginning of the beacon of civilization-- I am almost always so absorbed by my own life, with my nice neighborhood and good school and constant access to food, not to mention a thousand other things, that I forget that there are people without those. I forget that so much of what I have is built off people living in a 'heart of darkness' and that I'm really only here by chance. Even this post is more of an exception to the rule; I am going to go back to all my mundane worries as soon as I hit publish. I suppose that's pretty horrible, but that's the way it is. 

HOD: Same Views of Africa

While reading Heart of Darkness, one thing that I specifically picked up one was the fact that Conrad only ever described Africa as this wild, uncivilized place, and this got me thinking about how Africa is portrayed in the media even today.  When most people in America think of Africa, they may first think of safaris, or deserts, something wild and uninhabited.  That's how the media has portrayed Africa for the longest time, as a place far off that's wild and mostly not built up that is a fun destination for people to visit on vacation.  What's dangerous about this kind of view point is that then people forget about big cities that are in Africa and the people that live there.  It also deludes people into thinking that Africa is one big country that's very similar throughout its mass, which is completely false.  Africa is made up of 54 countries, each unique in their own way, with different cultures and different ways of life.  And that's not something that is always portrayed when we think or talk about Africa.  I think that this is incredibly dangerous because we take away entire cultures that have been created in these countries and instead picture these people as unfortunate or as needing help because of where they live.  And of course some people do need help, there are areas and countries that are not as fortunate as others, but the entire world is like that.  These perceived notions about Africa are incredibly dangerous and will take time to undo and change.

Hearts of Darkness

While discussing Joseph Conrad's work of fiction, Heart of Darkness, our discussions have focused on what the Heart of Darkness truly is and how it impacts us today. When we kept talking about what could be the Heart of Darkness in the world today, we came up with many different ideas. The idea of a heart of darkness is relative to a scope. As people living in the greater Chicago area, we look at certain areas of the city as a heart of darkness. The recent violence and crime has been a dark shadow for the whole area. As people living in Oak Park, we primarily get our information from the news, and we usually don't have a actual experience in those neighborhoods that have the higher levels of violence and crime.
If we look at the idea of a heart of darkness as people of the world, we can look at many places that fit the idea created by Conrad. The Middle East can be seen as a heart of darkness for the more recent global issues that have occurred. Africa can still be seen as a heart of darkness with its levels of underdevelopment and violence. There are many ideas of what a or the heart of darkness truly is in the world, but can we really give these places that title? In each of the places I named, there are regular people doing regular things. There are parties, people go to school, parents raise children, and overall, families deal with the same issues that ours do. If we look at all the negative aspects of a place, then of course it is seen as dark and scary. We don't highlight the good or even just the regular activity of these places. That is a travesty.