The Horror! Essays - Congo Free State, Heart Of Darkness

The Horror! The Horror! In Heart of Darkness it is the white invaders for instance, who are, almost without exception, embodiments of blindness, selfishness, and cruelty; and even in the cognitive domain, where such positive phrases as "to enlighten," for instance, are conventionally opposed to negative ones such as "to be in the dark," the traditional expectations are reversed. In Kurtz's painting, as we have seen, "the effect of the torch light on the face was sinister" (Watt 332). Ian Watt, author of "Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness," discusses about the destruction set upon the Congo by Europeans. The destruction set upon the Congo by Europeans led to the cry of Kurtz's last words, "The horror! The horror!" The horror in Heart of Darkness has been critiqued to represent different aspects of situations in the book. However, Kurtz's last words "The horror! The horror!" refer, to me, to magnify only three major aspects. The horror magnifies Kurtz not being able to restrain hi mself, the colonizers' greed, and Europe's darkness. Kurtz comes to the Congo with noble intentions. He thought that each ivory station should stand like a beacon light, offering a better way of life to the natives. He was considered to be a "universal genius": he was an orator, writer, poet, musician, artist, politician, ivory producer, and chief agent of the ivory company's Inner Station. yet, he was also a "hollow man," a man without basic integrity or any sense of social responsibility. "Kurtz issues the feeble cry, 'The horror! The horror!' and the man of vision, of poetry, the 'emissary of pity, and science, and progress' is gone. The jungle closes' round" (Labrasca 290). Kurtz being cut off from civilization reveals his dark side. Once he entered within his "heart of darkness" he was shielded from the light. Kurtz turned into a thief, murderer, raider, persecutor, and to climax all of his other shady practices, he allows himself to be worshipped as a god. E. N. Dorall, autho r of "Conrad and Coppola: Different Centres of Darkness," explains Kurtz's loss of his identity. Daring to face the consequences of his nature, he loses his identity; unable to be totally beast and never able to be fully human, he alternates between trying to return to the jungle and recalling in grotesque terms his former idealism. Kurtz discovered, A voice! A voice! It rang deep to the very last. It survived his strength to hide in the magnificent folds of eloquence the barren darkness of his heart.... But both the diabolic love and the unearthly hate of the mysteries it had penetrated fought for the possession of that soul satiated with primitive emotions, avid of lying, fame, of sham distinction, of all the appearances of success and power. Inevitably Kurtz collapses, his last words epitomizing his experience, The horror! The horror! (Dorall 306). The horror to Kurtz is about self realization; about the mistakes he committed while in Africa. The colonizers' cruelty towards the natives and their lust for ivory also is spotlighted in Kurtz's horror. The white men who came to the Congo professing to bring progress and light to "darkest Africa" have themselves been deprived of the sanctions of their European social orders. The supposed purpose of the colonizers' traveling into Africa was to civilize the natives. Instead the Europeans took the natives' land away from them by force. They burned their towns, stole their property, and enslaved them. "Enveloping the horror of Kurtz is the Congo Free State of Leopold II, totally corrupt though to all appearances established to last for a long time" (Dorall 309). The conditions described in Heart of Darkness reflect the horror of Kurtz's words: the chain gangs, the grove of death, the payment in brass rods, the cannibalism and the human skulls on the fence posts. Africans bound with thongs that contracted in the rain and cut to the bone, had their swollen hands beaten with rifle butts until they fell off. Chaine d slaves were forced to drink the white man's defecation, hands and feet were chopped off for their rings, men were lined up behind each other and shot with one cartridge, wounded prisoners were eaten by maggots till they died and

Free Essays on Pollution Act

The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990: A Policy Who’s Time Has Come This article talks about the Prevention Pollution Act of the 1990’s. This particular act signifies an effort to reduce pollution and is an important part of American history. This was an earlier focus on the need to reduce or repair environmental damage by controlling pollutants at the point where they are released to the environment. Pollution was targeted over waterways, public highways, and over private property. Past provisions have not failed just needed to be updated for cleaner air, which is vital for the human body along with our surroundings. The law was enacted as Title VI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, P.L. 101-508, and is codified as 42 USC 13101-13109. The Environmental Protection Agency created a new office to advertise and invent an approach to cleaner air. This office is to bring new policies in front of congress to eliminate the sources of pollution. Auditing and promoting research is part of the process and enables the Environmental Protect ion Agency more authority to fight pollution. Also environmental public records are easier to access for the general public to be informed. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 required owners and operators of many industrial facilities to report annually on their releases of toxic chemicals to the environment. The Pollution Prevention Act requires these reports to include information about the facility's efforts in source reduction and recycling. The major sections of The Prevention Act include Findings and Policy, definitions, EPA activities, grants to states for technical assistance, source reduction clearing house, source reduction and recycling data, EPA report, saving provisions, and authority of appropriations. This was an innovative procedure our federal government took to supply the Environmental Protection Agency with more authority and tools to util... Free Essays on Pollution Act Free Essays on Pollution Act The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990: A Policy Who’s Time Has Come This article talks about the Prevention Pollution Act of the 1990’s. This particular act signifies an effort to reduce pollution and is an important part of American history. This was an earlier focus on the need to reduce or repair environmental damage by controlling pollutants at the point where they are released to the environment. Pollution was targeted over waterways, public highways, and over private property. Past provisions have not failed just needed to be updated for cleaner air, which is vital for the human body along with our surroundings. The law was enacted as Title VI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, P.L. 101-508, and is codified as 42 USC 13101-13109. The Environmental Protection Agency created a new office to advertise and invent an approach to cleaner air. This office is to bring new policies in front of congress to eliminate the sources of pollution. Auditing and promoting research is part of the process and enables the Environmental Protect ion Agency more authority to fight pollution. Also environmental public records are easier to access for the general public to be informed. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 required owners and operators of many industrial facilities to report annually on their releases of toxic chemicals to the environment. The Pollution Prevention Act requires these reports to include information about the facility's efforts in source reduction and recycling. The major sections of The Prevention Act include Findings and Policy, definitions, EPA activities, grants to states for technical assistance, source reduction clearing house, source reduction and recycling data, EPA report, saving provisions, and authority of appropriations. This was an innovative procedure our federal government took to supply the Environmental Protection Agency with more authority and tools to util...