Colonial Authenticity

Congo CanibalsI found Heart of Darkness very interesting in the context of the sociological articles we read for last week. Marlow, along with the rest of his lot really do not fit into any of the confines that the sociologist set out, at least not particularly well. They are not searching for authenticity at all. Instead their search is for money, a way to best make use of this land in another continent of which they have gained possession. It’s as if they’re looking at the Congo from their ship as if it were an aquarium, separated from them by a pane of glass.

If you take a look at the Cohen article for example, there is no category that any of the characters would really fit in to. Marlow has no proper interaction with the natives what so ever. His trip is most certainly not recreational, yet is not probing in terms of culture either. He really only interacts with the other colonists and the men working with him on his steamer. However, the natives nonetheless intrigue him. In part II he expresses this interest, saying that he felt a sort of kinship or bond with the natives that he sees along the shore as they travel down the river. It seems though that the work of keeping his ship afloat and his men under control takes precedence in his mind over this curiosity. With this in mind however, I found it odd that he immediately returned to Brussels after his illness and Kurtz’s death. I would have thought that he might have stayed to explore some of his interests as Kurtz had before him. It is possible that he took the first step towards finding a new center in Africa in that he ridicules the people of Brussels for their pompous attitudes and generally refined image.

The members of the Eldorado Expedition pose yet another interesting example of “authentic” tourism. They would like to believe, I’m sure, that what they are doing is purely experimental at the very least. However, they are quite like the German tourists from the documentary we watched last week. Maybe they scratch the surface of being experiential tourists, to use Cohen’s frame, but for the vast majority of the time I see them as being very much recreational, looking to come back with a trophy in the form of a tusk or tribal mask to hang on their mantle.

Kurtz perhaps could be seen as hedging on the experimental or existential. He does have native lovers and seems to have an understanding of the native culture. He even travels to the native congregation during his final moments. If this is so, he represents yet another example of the consequences of going native. He, like the other characters in the novels we have read who decide to go existential in their travels, ends up dying in his pursuit of a new center. I would be hard pressed to say, however, that Kurtz would call Africa his new center. If he truly wished to have an authentic experience, wouldn’t he have abhorred the practices that he was overseeing: corrupting the native culture, pillaging the land an inhabitants, both human and animal, for all they were worth?

I think lack of interaction on the part of the vast majority of the novel’s characters was Conrad’s intention. He wanted to create almost a satire of colonialism in Africa and achieves his goal.