Vengeful Justice

"Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals" by Immanuel Kant

“Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals” by Immanuel Kant

“An eye for an eye,” everyone’s heard the phrase. As common as the phrase is, though, it can really reveal some dark depths hidden within humanity. Human beings tend to be revenge-seeking creatures that relish in justice and seek payback. We like to dish out punishment to those we feel deserve it. Because of this desire and mindset, the death penalty is legal in thirty-seven U.S. states. Not everyone agrees with ending another’s life, however, so the penalty remains a moral issue. Those who feel that the death penalty is never a morally permissible form of punishment call themselves abolitionists, while those who agree that the death penalty is, or could be, morally justified, or perhaps even required, are often referred to as retentionists. Constantly trying to argue their viewpoints, each group uses philosophical approaches to support their opinions.

Immanuel Kant, famous for the Kantian approach of ethics, is one who holds strong opinions dealing with the death penalty. Throughout Punishment and the Principle of Equality, a short excerpt from his 1997 The Metaphysics of Morals, Part 1, The Doctrine of Right, Kant defends the death penalty as a strong retentionist, expressing opposition to consequentalist ideals and by defining an appropriate moral principle for determining specific punishments, which he calls “principle of equality.” All throughout his excerpt, Kant expresses that one should receive the treatment that he bestows upon others and that “the undeserved evil which any one commits on another, is to be regarded as perpetrated on himself.” With this mindset, Kant states that the death penalty is a requirement for any who commit murder because it brings about justice and righteousness. “If you slander another, you slander yourself; if you steal from another, you steal from yourself; if you strike another, you strike yourself; if you kill another, you kill yourself,” he writes, clarifying his viewpoints.

While some may view Kant’s “principle of equality” as harsh and vengeful, others view it as moral and necessary. I find the “eye for an eye” ideology easy to grasp and comprehend and tend to harbor similar thoughts. While the death penalty may be the most extreme punishment, I feel that murder is the most extreme crime. If one decides to steal the life from another, it seems justified to steal his life from him for the wrongdoing he did, trouble he caused, and immoral act he committed. As Kant states, “if justice and righteousness perish, human life would no longer have any value in the world.” If nothing was done to correct the sin committed and others were enabled to commit crimes with lightened punishments, mankind would begin to crumble, fall apart, and ultimate lose everything it’s worked for.

Governed by laws and rules, mankind has created a system to ensure that its members live moral lives and coincide together harmoniously. When immoral acts arise, however, punishment must ensue; else mankind would cease to function. With a thirst for revenge and justice in mind, humanity tends to favor the “eye for an eye” mindset. Immanuel Kant, founder of the Kantian moral theory, especially supports this ideal as he uses the “principle of equality” to determine specific punishments within his short excerpt, Punishment and the Principle of Equality, from his 1997 The Metaphysics of Morals, Part 1, The Doctrine of Right. Stating that people should be treated as they treat others, Kant admits that the death penalty is a required punishment for those who commit acts of murder. Although an extreme punishment, it matches the extremity of the crime and thus delivers justice and regains righteousness. By stealing the life from the thief who stole from another, minds may be put to rest, hearts may be eased, and mankind can continue in vengeful justice.

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Transforming Foxes in to Dogs: Fox Domestication

Everyone knows what a fox looks like, right? They’ve got luxurious red fur with full, bushy tails that trail along the ground, and big, tall ears that stand upright.

Red Fox

Common Red Fox

But what if I told you there are foxes that are white with tiny black spots that have short tails that curl over their backs and small, floppy ears? What if I told you that these foxes bark and come when called? What if I told you that foxes are being transformed into dogs?

Domesticated Fox

Domesticated Fox

Now, everyone knows what a dog is. Most of us have dogs at home and love their loyal personalities and cute appearances. Foxes, however, are not as well known or loved, mostly because they are viewed as wild and dangerous, but now, they have been domesticated.

Harboring a love of foxes for the past 10 years, I have been researching and studying my favorite animals. Coming across fox domestication, I began to study further, discovering stunning information.

Dmitri Konstantinovich Belyaev (1917-1985), Soviet zoologist, member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and director of the Russian Institute of Cytology and Genetics from 1959 to 1985 with his selectively bred foxes in Novosibirsk, Russia, 1984. Balyaev is famous for the breeding experiments he carried out in the 1950s with silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes). The selective breeding that produced tame foxes destabilized the gene pool, leading to changes in fur color.

Through scientific experiments over the past 50 years in Novosibirsk, Russia by the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, foxes have been domesticated, but through the process, have become increasingly dog-like.

Fox domestication is not well known, but by over-viewing the history of the scientific experiments and the dog-like qualities the foxes are acquiring, one can better understand the relevance today.

Of course, to understand any topic, one must start from the beginning and overview the history of how it has all progressed.

Over the last 50 years, the Institute of Cytology and Genetics have been experimenting on silver foxes, a form of the common red fox, to achieve a domesticated fox.

Asked by fur farmers to create a fox that was easier to take care of and that would not react aggressively towards humans, director of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, geneticist Dr. Dmitry K. Belyaev created a fox-farm to begin scientific experiments.

“He began with 30 male foxes and 100 vixens, or female foxes, most of them from a commercial fur farm in Estonia.” Selecting the foxes for tamability, Dr. Belyaev would only allow foxes that did not bite or cower when being handled to breed. “Selection is strict; in recent years, typically not more than 4 or 5 percent of male offspring and about 20 percent of female offspring have been allowed to breed” (Trut, 1999).

Class III foxes would flee from experimenters and bite when stroked or handled while Class II foxes would let themselves be petted and handled, but not show emotionally friendly responses to experimenters. Class I foxes were the most tame, acting friendly towards experimenters and wagging their tails and whining to be handled. Eventually, the foxes became so domesticated that a new class was created, Class IE or the “domesticated elite” which contained foxes that were eager to establish human contact and would whimper to attract attention. These foxes would sniff and lick experimenters, much like dogs (Acland 2008).

Class I Class II Class III
Most Domesticated Somewhat Domesticated Least Domesticated
Friendly towards experimenters

Wag their tail

Whining

 Let themselves be petted and handled

Showed no emotionally friendly response to experimenters

 Flee from experimenters

Bite when stroked or handled

Even these foxes are tamer than the calmest farm-bred foxes

This behavior surprised the experimenters because they were not expecting dog-like qualities within the foxes. When selecting for tameness, however, the scientists were unknowingly transforming the foxes into dogs.

“Having selected only the most ”tamable” of some 45,000 foxes over 35 generations, the scientists have compressed into a mere 40 years an evolutionary process that took thousands of years to transform ancestral wolves into domestic dogs” (Browne 1999). Through the process of domestication, foxes can acquire dog-like attributes, not only physically, but mentally, as well.

While wild foxes are well-known for their luxurious black and red coats, domestic foxes have been found to sport white and silver fur and floppy ears. All species of domesticated animals have been recorded to have drooped ears while no wild animals, except for elephants, have them because they need to remain alert and at attention. (Trut, 1999). Instead of trailing along the ground, a domestic fox’s tail tends to be extremely short, or curl over the canine’s back, much like a husky.

The silver fox domestication project
Changes in the foxes’ coat color were the first novel traits noted, appearing in the eighth to tenth selected generations. In a fox homozygous for the Star gene, large areas of depigmentation similar to those in some dog breeds are seen.

Lyudmila Trut with a domesticated fox

Dr. Lyudmila Trut with a domesticated fox

Whining for attention, a domestic fox will bark and wag its tail when a human approaches, and will lick when given a hand. If named, a domestic fox will respond to the name and come when called. A domestic fox can also develop a strong, loyal bond with a human companion, much like man’s best friend. The reproductive cycle of a fox also changes. The differences between males and females even become less prominent.

With the revelation of these dog-like qualities, the Institute of Cytology and Genetics has become fascinated and has engaged in more scientific experiments at the fox farm. Today, the experiments continue.

With a new breed of fox, the institute continues to study, conduct research, and even profit from the domestication of the vulpes vulpes, or red fox.

Continuing to breed and study the domesticated fox, the fox-farm in Siberia, Russia continues to reveal new information about foxes, genes, and the domestication of animals. “Today elite foxes make up 70 to 80 percent of our experimentally selected population” (Trut 1999).

Working directly with the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, The Domesticated Fox, a private company in the United States of America has been distributing tame foxes from the fox-farm, committed to introducing the animals as pets and establishing non-consumptive relationships between foxes and people.

With tame foxes becoming more common as pets, the domestication of foxes is becoming increasingly more well-known.

Through scientific experiments over the past 50 years in Novosibirsk, Russia by the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, foxes have been domesticated, but through the process have become increasingly dog-like. With white coats speckled with black spots, like dalmations, floppy ears, like datschunds, and curled tails, like huskies, domesticated foxes begin to lose their wild appearance and look more like the common pet. But tame foxes act like dogs as well, bonding with their owners, responding to their names, and even barking and whining for attention.

Because of the continuing process of fox domestication, foxes are beginning to transform into dogs. Perhaps someday, a pet fox will be just as common as the family dog.

References

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The Roping: Dramatic Simplicity

With a wild, tenacious manner, the Wild West has blazed its way into the minds of many. Scenes of vast prairies, wild mustangs, and of course, dashing cowboys, suddenly invade the mind when thinking of the American Frontier. It is because of artists that these images exist. It is because paint was thrust upon a canvas and pencils were led across paper. It is because water was mixed with pigment and threads were brought together. From paintings, drawings, water colors, and even textiles, the American Frontier has a face, and it is striking.

At a time when vehicular transportation was foreign, horses reined the lands, and cowboys reined the horses. Inspired by the beautiful conjunction of man and animal, painter, William Robinson Leigh, depicted scenes of the western life. In 1914, he created a series of oil paintings on canvas featuring cowboys riding atop galloping horses. The Roping, displayed in the University of Texas at Austin’s museum, the Blanton Museum of Art, is one of these fine paintings.

At first glance, one is overwhelmed with a sense of dynamism as a stampeding horse is seen galloping towards the viewer. Atop this muscular creature rests a posed cowboy, propelling his lasso above his head, captured in a moment just before he ropes his catch. Through the dust caught up behind the racing animal, another rider can be seen dashing through the undefined background, blurred and minimally detailed, compared to the primary character. Riding in a different direction, this secondary rider enables the viewer a different perspective of the cowboy and horse, hard at work. Clothed in classic cowboy garb, each rider displays a long-sleeved shirt with a bandana tied around his neck and a classic cowboy hat upon his head. These workers clearly illustrate a common scene of the Wild West. Complementing the scene and contrasting with the bright, vibrant colors of the foreground, lay light, pastel rocks and foliage common to the western era scattered all about the scene. Red clay and dirt make up the soil that is kicked up around the horse’s white stockings while gnarled twigs and miniscule shrubs add interest to the barren ground. From the pastel colors swirling in the sky, a sense of morning dawn is created, emphasizing that the cowboy’s work is only just beginning.

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Sustainability Must be Beautiful

On Thursday, September 30, 2010, I attended the opening gallery reception for the Sustainability Must be Beautiful show located in The Gallery of the Common Experience.

Within the University Honors Coffee Forum in the Lampasas Building, Room 407, of Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, the gallery provided a quaint, yet roomy feel for the show to reside within. With low lights, all 60 pieces appeared shrouded in a beautiful, rich, golden glow. The environment was warm and comfortable, allowing the viewer to completely experience each piece of art.

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So Much More

http://www.pocko.com/ry-rocklen/

One’s view on art is constantly changing. New perspectives are introduced and viewpoints are challenged, constantly creating questions and uncertainties. By experiencing, witnessing, and viewing art, one can enhance his view on the world, but may also transform the lens through which he perceives. I experienced this transformation after attending Ry Rocklen’s presentation at the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas in Austin on September 16, 2010. From this presentation, my view on art was questioned and my overall appreciation of art was increased, expanded, and strengthened.

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Blackberry Picking

"Blackberry Picking" by Seamus Heaney

“Blackberry Picking” by Seamus Heaney

Through the innocent act of blackberry picking, Seamus Heaney tells of an experience that creates a deeper understanding. Throughout his poem, Blackberry Picking, Heaney manipulates language to not only convey a literal description, but also bring about philosophical thought. Hidden within allusions, similies, rhymes, and personification, his complex ideas emerge.

Opening the poem with strong imagery, Heaney describes a scene in late August. Using colors, he identifies and describes the ripening blackberries and uses a rhyme to compare the first one, “a glossy purple clot” (Line 3) to its later siblings, “red, green, hard as a knot.” (Line 4) This rhyming imagery also contains a simile that allows the reader to better understand his meanings. His use of simile continues when he uses second person to involve the reader in tasting the sweetness of the berry “like the thickened wine.” (Line 6) This involvement greatly enhances the reader’s comprehension and includes him in the poem, allowing him to experience the events himself. This creates a greater connection between the reader and the poem and makes Heaney’s imagery more lively.

When describing nature, Heaney then personifies summer, allowing it to bleed the sweet blackberry juice into the reader’s mouth demonstrating the importance of the berries and their strong ties with summer. Heaney even involves himself in the poem, introducing his own thoughts and ideas and sharing the experience with the reader. From his firsthand involvement, Heaney can create another simile expressing the top big dark blobs burning “like a plate of eyes.” (Line 15)

With a final allusion, Heaney ends his first stanza, ending the cheerful and innocent act of picking blackberries with an ironic connection. With “palms sticky as Bluebeard’s” Heaney alludes that his hands are covered in summer’s blood as the fairy tale character’s hands were covered with his wife’s blood. This pessimistic line foreshadows the following stanza.

Greeted with striking juice and fermented fruit, Heaney finds an unfortunate ending to his innocent act. Ending his poem with a rhyme, Heaney helps emphasize his poem’s deeper meaning. “The lovely canfuls smelt of rot. Each year I hoped they’d keep, knew they would not.” (Lines 23-24)

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John’s Struggle for Identity in a Brave New World

"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

“Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley

Caught in a dystopian world, John the Savage struggles with two conflicting forces that illuminates the meaning of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World as a whole. Taken from his primal, native home and placed in an entirely different society, John battles with the desire to fit in and become uniform and his drive to remain true to his motives and ethics and not lose his unique spirit. Demonstrating the conflict that arises from a controlled society, John emphasizes the novel’s purpose and meaning. When faced with foreign opposition, one seeks acceptance, yet clings to the attributes that make him different.

Raised in a different society, John develops different ideals, ethics, and morals from the brave new world he later discovers. He takes pride in his character and does not wish to change who he has become.

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Indian Contempt for Imperialism

"Bride and Prejudice"

“Bride and Prejudice”

Filled with pride and driven with the false assumptions that the world should be “cleansed,” becoming one unified culture lacking difference and unfamiliarity, imperialists tend to impose their ideas upon others. Often believing their own cultures to be superior, Englishmen have become known for imperialism, and Americans are now infamous for spreading their ways across the globe. With fears of imperialism rising in India, history and media continue to spread messages of concern. From the acts of Gandhi, to the movie, Bride and Prejudice, based off of Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, imperialism remains the enemy.

True to their culture, Indians become defensive against imperialism, each in his own individual way. Famous for his nonviolent rebellions and ways of life, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became and Indian leader, defying imposed ideas and spreading his knowledge, wisdom, and peaceful ways. “In the end, you will walk out. Because 100,000 Englishmen simply cannot control 350 million Indians, if those Indians refuse to cooperate,” he remarked. Sharing these ideas, Lalita Bakshi from the film, Bride and Prejudice, rejected Mr. Darcy, the American businessman. Upset with the American businesses encroaching on India and converting the country from its true Indian roots into an American paradise, Lalita shares her opinions with Mr. Darcy and refuses him from sheer prejudice. Both feeling helplessly attacked, Gandhi and Lalita retaliate against their foreign enemies and eventually succeed.

Upset with the careless ignorance of the Englishmen and the Americans, Indians try to cry out. Against imperialism and frustrated with the changes imposed upon them, Indians create groups and rebel, or create movies and share their opinions. By taking a familiar English book and twisting it to show our faults, the message against imperialism was clearly delivered. With a firm belief and true loyalty to their country, Indians support Lalita’s message about standards, “Don’t force them on others.”

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Levels of Madness

"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad

“Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad

Like the heart that beats in a human’s body, or the very Earth we walk on, the African wilderness has great layers, depths, and volumes. Clearly demonstrating this in his novel Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses the names of the company’s stations throughout the congo to describe the levels of the wilderness and relate to the development of the story. Outer, Central, and Inner describe the surrounding areas of the heart of darkness, along with the heart itself. As the main character, Marlow, ventures from station to station, the story progresses along with his surroundings.

First arriving in Africa, Marlow arrives at the Outer station, a place on the outskirts of the true African wilderness. Still demonstrating the suffering the Natives have been forced to experience, and still showing the imperialism occurring, the madness that lies within the Inner Station is hinted at. Natives and manufactured goods arrive and depart, and chaos quietly stirs. The station, itself, is not nearly as muddled as further into the jungles, but was not comfortable enough for Marlow to wish to stay long.

Leaving the station with a caravan of 60 men, Marlow was relieved, yet he only found himself entering deeper into the darkness. Coming upon the Central Station, he was met with a run-down building with a neglected gap as a gate. It was obvious that a flabby devil was running the show as the manager, himself, was unable to manage. Living in a clay hut, he was surrounded with ghetto and poverty. In this contradiction, Marlow found himself growing nearer to the heart of Africa, the heart of darkness.

Finally following the river to the Inner Station, Marlow and his crew are met with a Native ambush. People are killed and blood is spewed as chaos and confusion spreads over the steamer. The fight drawing to an end, Marlow realizes where they have arrived, and enters the station. Mystery and confusion shrouds the place and hides its dark secret. Like the inner core of the Earth or the inner workings of a corrupted heart, the station is dark, resting in the heart of darkness. Surrounded by layers of turmoil and improper imperialism, it has become the center of a great evil.

As the novel progresses, Joseph Conrad uses the names of the stations to describe Marlow’s surroundings and journey through the darkness of the congo. As he draws nearer to the heart of darkness and nearer to the Inner Station, Marlow finds himself more and more surrounded by corruption and despair. Slowly progressing from each station to the next, the troubles developing as he continues, the story follows along with him. From the Outer Station to the Central Station to the Inner Station, the heart of darkness is revealed and exposed in stages.

 

 

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Pride Goes Before a Fall

"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad

“Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad

Instilled in each person, resides a quality that gives purpose to life and motivation to actions. Pride is the very reason people continue to live their lives each day and attempt to overcome obstacles. Without pride, people are merely hollowed shells with no heart, no mind, and no soul. Without these essentials, mankind loses its passion and vigor in life and becomes empty and useless, falling from the great peak it has risen to. Joseph Conrad, a believer that “pride goes before fall” clearly demonstrates this human weakness through his novel, Heart of Darkness. From first hearing of the inspiring character, Mr. Kurtz, near the beginning of the novel, Conrad’s readers are instantly charmed into discovering more about the powerful man, but as the story continues, Mr. Kurtz becomes tarnished and his pride is stripped from him, leaving him to fall from his pedestal, eventually leading to his death. By witnessing Mr. Kurtz’s failure, the reader witnesses the relationship between pride and success.

Upon arriving in Africa, Marlow, an adventurous seaman searching for mystery, hears of Mr. Kurtz, a powerful man that rakes in more ivory from the wild continent than any other. This man is proclaimed to be the Company’s most valuable employee and Marlow is instantly amazed by his accomplishments. After hearing more of Mr. Kurtz from a variety of people, Marlow begins to envision a strong, assertive man able to control and conquer his surroundings, the people around him, and most importantly, ivory and money. Setting off in a steamer on a wild African river, Marlow and a meager crew begin to search for the African idol.

Days pass and Natives attack leaving the crew wounded. Mr. Kurtz is not found, yet a Russian man who knew the treasured employee appears. Telling Marlow of the mystery man’s past life, Marlow discovers that Mr. Kurtz has been weakening from sickness and is no longer a valuable asset to the Company. Now a useless loose end, the Company wishes to be rid of the man. Marlow joins Mr. Kurtz, turning his back on the Company and becoming just as useless and inconvenient as his idol. Both ruined, Marlow and Mr. Kurtz grow closer from a lack of pride.

Through Mr. Kurtz’s final moments, he struggles with himself and who he has become. Horrified with how his life has turned out, he loses his pride and begins to fall apart internally. Weakness overcomes him and sickness cripples him. Marlow watches as the man he once imagined conquering Africa and controlling its people now lay before him, gasping for help. Once Mr. Kurtz had lost himself, once he had given up his hope and decided to cease his efforts, he had fallen. Sick, weakened, powerless, heartless, and with nothing to be proud of, Mr. Kurtz met the end of his life, the fallen fall.

Pride is an essential necessity that fuels the lives of many, granting them hope, self-esteem, and achievement. Without a purpose in life, one cannot discover his self or find success. While Mr. Kurtz utilized his abilities to overcome his conflicts, he obtained power and used it to conquer Africa, increase the ivory trade, and add to his profits. Once sickness began to take hold of him and he allowed the weakness to overcome him, pride was lost along with everything he had worked for. In Joseph Conrad’s novel, Mr. Kurtz finds himself lost in the heart of darkness with nothing left but failure. Without pride, there is no pedestal for one to stand upon, no ladder to climb, and no success to be found.

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Gloom, Brooding Thames

Book Cover

Flowing continuously with Marlow’s life and constantly reminding him of the great river deep in the heart of Africa, the Thames River plays an important role in Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness. Opening the story along its calm tide, it presents Marlow with the perfect situation to begin his reminiscence, and ending the book, it ties the two tales together, exposing the theme and adding literary value.

Throughout his novel, Joseph Conrad continues to use a pair of adjectives that he originally uses to describe the Thames setting before Marlow begins describing his flashbacks. Constantly describing Africa and its riverbanks as “gloom” and “brooding,” Conrad relates the opening setting with the mysterious and unexplored depths of the African jungle, allowing the reader to successfully comprehend one of the many themes of his writing. No matter where Marlow finds himself in life, he will always be a seaman, a man who travels the world and follows the waters. “Nothing is easier for a man who has, as the phrase goes, “followed the sea” with reverence and affection, than to evoke the great spirit of the past upon the lower reaches of the Thames.” (Page 3) Whether he’s venturing through the wild of Africa, or through the fog of England, Marlow finds himself on the tides, and the tides never let him forget who he is and who he once was.

“The sun sank low, and from glowing white changed to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding.” (Page 3) Conrad’s novel opens on a pessimistic and somber tone, foreshadowing the unfortunate events to come. The Thames River is described both as an old, profound, and tranquil waterway, and as a motionless and mournful setting, creating a sort of paradox that prepares the reader for the rest of Conrad’s book. This opening setting not only paves a smooth introduction into Marlow’s story of the past, but also brings the stories together, ending the tale, and completing the novel.

Almost the entire setting of Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, takes place on the tides. Relating the wild, primitive actions of Africa’s Natives with the isolation and greed of European civilization encroaching upon their lands, taking their ivory, Conrad uses the Thames River to aware the reader of the connection. While man desperately tries to overcome his weaknesses and escape from the madness of the world, he always falls back into places. The river only leads in one direction, and man will always reach the end one way or another. Although Marlow was able to escape the gloom, brooding of the African river, he has found himself traveling the gloom, brooding of the Thames River, forever venturing the tides, forever battling his past, and forever discovering himself.

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Dictating Civilization

"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad

“Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad

With each new step, society marches forward, progressing, imposing, and overcoming. Marching through the heart of Africa, European society encroached upon the Natives and changed the continent for marketing and cultural purposes. From the pages of his novel, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad expresses his own personal views on the march of civilization, carefully selecting details and meticulously constructing his diction to clearly illustrate his thoughts.

Repetition, repetition, repetition. A march involves placing one foot after the other in a continuous motion, repeating, and repeating. Conrad clearly demonstrates this action through his sentence structure and word choices. Phrases are repeated and thoughts are restated, reminding the reader of the constant presence and never-ending pressure the Europeans enforced on the Natives of Africa. Over and over they came, enslaved, and stole the people and riches from the land. Africa was changing, “death skulking in the air, in the water, in the bush.”

This change in the unexplored world had become a common event and an ancient story heard time and time again. To capture this, Conrad continues to write his novel in first person, Marlow telling the story as if he was sitting beside the reader, his mind lost in memories. Seaman dialect is thrown in to give character, personality, and charm, and to remind the reader of the reality. “What d’ye call ‘em?” Marlow asked, involving his listeners with his storytelling, keeping the reader interested and aware.

Insuring that the readers understand how the Europeans invaded, and how civilization spread throughout Africa, Conrad installed many similes and metaphors throughout his book. “It is like a running blaze on a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds,” the way the Europeans came. With this imagery in his head and an understandable comparison to relate to, the reader is well informed and not left confused. Complex ideas are made more simple, and foreign scenes become familiar.

By manipulating his words, his sentence structures, and his meanings, Joseph Conrad was able to convey his own thoughts and views across his pages and into the minds of others. Through his skilled hand, words flowed, creating images of encroaching cultures and opinions on the situation. Through his novel, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad revealed the march of the Europeans and the progression and extinction of civilizations.

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