Exploitation

In 1899, Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem that would be able to reflect the paradigms of a generation. The White Man's Burden is a poem that talks about how it is the duty of a "white man" to civilize and tame people from conquered lands. This poem demonstrates the clear way that "white" society justified their oppressive and cruel actions.

In A Heart of Darkness, there is a part where the narrator is talking about how once he had "a visit to the doctor" (Conrad 74) and there, "two woman knitted black wool feverishly" (Conrad 74). The narrator explains how this pair of women are made up of a "young one" and an "old one" (Conrad 74). I believe that these two women represent white generations and how both manipulate the indigenous people of Africa (the same way as the women work and give shape to the wool). Conrad writes later on page 74, "I thought of these two, guarding the door of Darkness . . . one introducing, introducing continuously to the unknown, the other scrutinizing the cheery foolish faces with unconcerned old eyes." This excerpt's purpose is to clearly show the readers how the narrator is going into a job where the important thing is to manipulate and exploit. Both of the women are "guarding the door of Darkness." Darkness here may mean Africa itself. Also, the fact that they are doing their task with "unconcerned old eyes" shows how the women (representative of white oppression) don't show any type of consideration or care.