Rebegea Cristina 1st year, LEPC

Interculturalism in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness When it comes to issues regarding the interweaving of literature and socio-cultural aspects, I cannot but agree with one of the best known authors in this field Edward Said , when he says that the novel can be seen as an incorporative, quasi-encyclopedic cultural form
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which encapsulates within its narrative, issues concerning the socio-cultural and

political realities, ideologies and even beliefs of the authors themselves" In my opinion, the issue of interculturalism comes as a consequence of imperialism and the practice of colonialism# by conquering and ruling other nations, first of all for the purpose of developing trade for its own benefit$, the ruling country brings with it and imposes upon the settlers its own cultural practices, thus leading the way towards interculturalism, which refers to any aspect of any interaction between any cultures%" In what &oseph 'onrad(s Heart of Darkness is concerned, the issue of interculturalism, as a consequence of imperialism and colonialism, is more than obvious, not only at a surface level, but also at a deeper, more biographical level as it is a known fact that &oseph 'onrad himself e)perienced coloni*ation as a young boy when +oland was under ,ussian occupation, and although of +olish origin that he learned and wrote in English" -here are some arguments whether the novel is a moral lesson about human self-indulgence or a sociological commentary upon the morality of colonialism and imperialism" In my opinion, the novel is about both self-discovery and also colonialism and imperialism, as Heart of Darkness clearly attacks colonialism and its effects on the natives and the 'ongo" .ut, on the other hand, it is not e)cluded to foresee a twofold attitude towards the practice of colonialism, as I have identified in the case of /aniel /efoe(s Robinson Crusoe" In his book, Culture and Imperialism, Edward Said dedicated an entire chapter to interpreting 'onrad(s dual vision0 in Heart of Darkness, where he states that although 'onrad scrupulously recorded the differences between the disgraces of .elgian and .ritish colonial attitudes, he could only imagine the world carved up into one or another Western sphere of dominance , he was conscious that independence was only for whites and Europeans, and the lesser sub1ects were to be ruled, because science, learning and history emanated from the West "2
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Said, Edward, Culture and Imperialism, 3intage .ooks, a /ivision of ,andom 4ouse, Inc", 5ew 6ork, !77%, p" 8!" $ http#99encarta"msn"com9encnet9features9dictionary9/ictionary,esults"asp):le)type;%<search;colonialism " % http#99dictionary"reference"com9browse9intercultural 0 Said, Edward, Cultureop. cit., p" $2" 2 Ibidem, p" $0"

Rebegea Cristina 1st year, LEPC

'onrad gives the reader an overview of how the =fricans were mistreated during coloni*ation" -he horror that is described in the book brings to the surface another cultural aspect by foregrounding .ritain(s historical events# the ,oman coloni*ation of ancient .ritain -hey grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to begot" It was 1ust robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale and men going at it blind> "? -herefore, @arlow talks about his e)periences in =frica by referring to the life of ,oman soldiers and their difficulties" -he title of the book is a metaphor" -he real darkness cannot be in =frica, but is originally from Europe" -he title could refer to either the evil of the 'ongo(s coloni*ers, their mistreatment of the natives or the geographic location of the .elgian 'ongo and the colour of its residents" -he heart is not for black =fricans, but all the whites who get involved in the colonialist e)pedition" When @arlow described the Eldorado e)ploring 1ourney, it can be inferred as an ironic attack on colonialism" .y using the motif of darkness, the author wants to highlight that almost everything in the book can be found in darkness, not only =frica, but also .russels and England are described as gloomy and somehow dark" /arkness means not being able to see, thus it may also infer the inability of human communication" Aailing to see another human being means failing to understand that particular individual, and thus not being able to connect sympathetically with him" -his ambivalence of the motif of darkness is, in my opinion, a testimony to the fact that 'onrad neither believes in the cultural superiority of the colonialist nations, nor re1ects colonialist practices" -he message of Heart of Darkness is that Western civili*ations are, in fact, as barbarous as the =frican society, and although they have suffered, at a given moment in their history, the same treatment, the Bdarkness( in their hearts stops them from reali*ing it" @y opinion is that 'onrad rendered this Bcultural parallelism(, if I may call it this way, between .ritain(s past and the nineteenth-century colonial practices, so as to highlight what Edward Said calls the mission civilisatrice
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aspect of colonialism# in the end, colonial

practices, as cruel as they may be, bring along an erra of change, both cultural and economical" In &oseph 'onrad(s Heart of Darkness interculturalism is, yet again, another facet of imperialism and its colonial practices"

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'onrad, &oseph, Heart of Darkness, Wordsworth Editions Cimited, 4ertfordshire, $DDD" Said, Edward, Culture , op. cit., p" %D"