Brief Summary of Edward W. Said’s “Two Visions in Heart of Darkness”

Imperialism

- In the nineteenth century, the world’s greatest powers all wanted to become the strongest and largest empires, thus causing much of the world to be dominated by them.

- This is the concept of imperialism, and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is all about Europe’s brutal mission to colonize the “dark” world.

- The common theme recurring throughout the novel is that the Europeans were constantly trying to exert their imperial power over those in the darkness, also known as Africa.

Conrad through Said’s Eyes

- Conrad is set apart from the other Europeans of his time because he was aware of and critical of his actions. These self-conscious views are expressed through Marlow’s narrative.

- In Conrad’s time, freedom was for the whites, while oppression and a lack of independence was for those considered inferior.

- Because Conrad lived in the time of widespread imperialism, he could only imagine the world ruled by a few European powers.

- Conrad’s critique of imperialism is illustrated through Marlow’s narrative.

- Marlow’s story begins and ends with the darkness; Conrad’s story is therefore a circular one.

- The narrators in Heart of Darkness do not have the same views or opinions of average British citizens of the time period.

- What makes the narrators different is the fact that they actually think deeply about the concept of imperialism and how long it will last instead of passively accepting it.

- Conrad realized that the darkness had the potential to be colonized but also that it had to be recognized as independent.

- Like Conrad, both Marlow and Kurtz acknowledge the darkness, allowing them to understand that the darkness is its own country despite imperialism.

- Still, like Conrad, Marlow and Kurtz live during a time when the only thing they knew was imperialism; therefore, they are unable to know what the next logical step should be.

- In our times, we recognize that the next step would have been to recognize that the Africans, in fact, were resisting imperialism and hoping to one day rid themselves of the European power.

- Because Conrad was incapable of imagining a world without imperialism, he was unable to picture the natives ruling themselves. According to Said, this is Conrad’s “tragic limitation” (428.)

The “Two Visions” in Heart of Darkness

- The first argument is that although the Western powers left their colonies and “withdrew” from Africa and Asia, they still retained rule over the markets, morals, and education in these places.

- This creates the picture of the darkness being incapable of being redeemed because of its inferiority.

- This argument leads to a lot of objection and criticism.

- The second argument claims that imperialism was simply something of that time and that place, not something that would continue even in the post-colonial world.

- This theory also says that imperialism, like everything else in the human world, had its moment of popularity that would eventually pass, like everything else in life.

- This argument is more commonly accepted. (518)