Comparing Colonialism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness and Kipling

Imperialism in nitty-gritty of Darkness and Kiplings Poetry Imperialism sprung from an altruistic and unselfish quarry to take up the white mans burden1 and wean the ignorant millions from their horrid ways.2 These two citations are, of course, from Kiplings White Mans nitty-gritty and Conrads Heart of Darkness, respectively, and they splendidly encompass what British and European imperialism was about at least seen from the late-nineteenth century point of view. This essay seeks to explore the comparisons and contrasts between Conrads and Kiplings view of imperialism in, respectively, Heart of Darkness and White Mans Burden and Recessional. In a historical context, the two texts differ greatly Heart of Darkness is Conrads autobiographical description of his trip up the river of Congo and his encounter with the atrocities of European rule in Africa.3 Conversely, Kiplings White Mans Burden was written to welcome the United States of America to the club of imperialistic nations . The event that prompted Kipling to write this poem was the United States intervention in the Philippines. Under the pact of Paris in 1898, the Philippine sovereignty was transferred from Spain to the United States and thus the United States emerged as an imperialistic nation dedicated to progress. This is the core of the matter progress. Kipling speaks of a integrity in his poem Recessional. The code of behaviour and the enlightenment that Kipling wished to be aggrandised to all primitive nations. In other words Progress in the means of railroads across continents, telegraph lines over deep seas, commerce beyond boundaries and steam boat lines criss-crossing the earth. Imperialism was at its height... ...55,1978) * Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, M.H. Abrams, general editor. (London W.W. Norton, 1962, 2000) * Islam, Shamsul. Kiplings equity A Study of His Philosophy of Life (London The MacMillan Press Ltd., 1975) * McClur e, John A. The Rhetoric of Restraint in Heart of Darkness in Nineteenth Century Fiction, masses 32, Issue 3 (Dec. 1977), pp. 310-26 available through www.jstor.org * Raskin, Jonah. The Mythology of Imperialism (New York Random House, 1971) * Rudyard Kiplings Verse, Definitive Edition (London Hudder & Stoughton, 1940) * Watts, Cedric. A Bloody Racist About Achebes View of Conrad in Joseph Conrad Critical Assessments, Keith Carabine, ed., Volume II The Critical Response Almayers Folly to The Mirror of the Sea (Mountfield Helm Information Ltd., 1992)