How do you feel about the main character's view of the africans? Do you think that this attitude reflects the views of British imperialism in general? Can you give an example of this today (past 50 years)?
I think that Marlow's view of the African slaves was not one of hatred or racism, but rather of pity. I thought that his avoidance of the slaves in his travels (at one point in the narrative he specifically states that he was going to wait until the slaves had passed a certain point on a path that he was also on before continuing) is because he does not want to encounter the slaves because of his sorrow for them. Even though Marlow refers to the slaves as having 'wooly heads' and says phrases like '...but you know it's hard to tell with one of them...' when referring to the age of one of the slaves, I don't believe he was trying to be offensive. If someone today said those things about another human being it would be seen as offensive, I think that Marlow was just using terms that were socially acceptable for his time. I do not think that Marlow's views are that of most of the British imperialists of this time, in fact, I think they vary greatly. I think that during the time of the narrative British people of high stature viewed African slaves as only beasts of burden and looked down on them with disdain and disgust. According to the narrative, the company's chief accountant was annoyed with a sick man who needed to put be inside his office to avoid death. He viewed the man only as a distraction from his work, not as a human being.
Like April, i too think that the main character's view of African's is not one of racism. Although he often refers to the African's as "niggers" I don't think that he was meaning this in a derrogatory way. The way that he talked about the African's made it seem to me almost as if he was watching them from a distance, as if in awe of them because he had never seen such people. Marlow was not being racist. In fact, he seemed much different from the rest of the British imperialists at the time. Other British imperialists looked down upon the African's with such disgust and hatred. They treated the African's in such a demeaning manner. It was obvious that Marlow did not act in such a way towards the African people. Marlow seemed different from the rest of the British because he seemed to have sommething that the rest of them lacked: compassion. For example, when the group of men were laid under the shade in exhaustion, Marlow offered one a biscuit. I do not think that any of the other British natives would have done such a thing...they probably even looked down upon Marlow for doing such a thing. The way in which the Africans were treated by the British imperialists is similar to the way in which blacks were treated in The United States in the mid 1900s. They were often looked down upon and scorned by "superior whites".
4 comments:
How do you feel about the main character's view of the africans?
Do you think that this attitude reflects the views of British imperialism in general? Can you give an example of this today (past 50 years)?
I think that Marlow's view of the African slaves was not one of hatred or racism, but rather of pity. I thought that his avoidance of the slaves in his travels (at one point in the narrative he specifically states that he was going to wait until the slaves had passed a certain point on a path that he was also on before continuing) is because he does not want to encounter the slaves because of his sorrow for them. Even though Marlow refers to the slaves as having 'wooly heads' and says phrases like '...but you know it's hard to tell with one of them...' when referring to the age of one of the slaves, I don't believe he was trying to be offensive. If someone today said those things about another human being it would be seen as offensive, I think that Marlow was just using terms that were socially acceptable for his time. I do not think that Marlow's views are that of most of the British imperialists of this time, in fact, I think they vary greatly. I think that during the time of the narrative British people of high stature viewed African slaves as only beasts of burden and looked down on them with disdain and disgust. According to the narrative, the company's chief accountant was annoyed with a sick man who needed to put be inside his office to avoid death. He viewed the man only as a distraction from his work, not as a human being.
good answer
Like April, i too think that the main character's view of African's is not one of racism. Although he often refers to the African's as "niggers" I don't think that he was meaning this in a derrogatory way. The way that he talked about the African's made it seem to me almost as if he was watching them from a distance, as if in awe of them because he had never seen such people. Marlow was not being racist. In fact, he seemed much different from the rest of the British imperialists at the time. Other British imperialists looked down upon the African's with such disgust and hatred. They treated the African's in such a demeaning manner. It was obvious that Marlow did not act in such a way towards the African people. Marlow seemed different from the rest of the British because he seemed to have sommething that the rest of them lacked: compassion. For example, when the group of men were laid under the shade in exhaustion, Marlow offered one a biscuit. I do not think that any of the other British natives would have done such a thing...they probably even looked down upon Marlow for doing such a thing. The way in which the Africans were treated by the British imperialists is similar to the way in which blacks were treated in The United States in the mid 1900s. They were often looked down upon and scorned by "superior whites".
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