Analysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness - 1250 Words

Written in 1902, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness follows the character Marlow in his journey up the Congo River to find the mysterious Kurtz, an ivory trader. In the story, Conrad explores the issues of colonialism and imperialism. The Company has enslaved native Congolese to help them mine for ivory and rubber in the area. The Congolese experience brutal working conditions as the company profits off their free labor. Racism is evident throughout the story with Marlow calling the blacks â€Å"savages† and with the lack of dialogue for Congolese characters. Throughout the story, Conrad seems to suggest that imperialism and colonialism rise from greed, power struggle, and the need for wealth. He also seems to imply that imperialism and†¦show more content†¦This goes to show how these men do not respect the culture of Vietnam. They are just white Americans who seem only to care about themselves and their culture. This goes along perfectly with the commentary Cop pola is trying to make on imperialism. The country doing the imperialism (the United States) does not respect the natives. Furthermore, as the Americans descend into the village, Coppola emphasizes how they are disrupting the natives’ way of life in the scene. The kids were going to school when the Americans come and interrupt their lesson with a helicopter raid. This goes to show the negatives of imperialism by highlighting the effects on the youth. Moreover, the Americans seem to just be killing everyone in their way including innocent civilians. This goes to show how the Americans are the actually savages not the Congolese. They are just killing anyone in their way. Worst of all, this entire raid on the village is for one purpose, which is for them to go surfing. This is very self-centered and selfish. They disrupted an entire village and killed so many people just to go to the beach. Unlike in the book, the Americans committed this act for the power to surf not for any mo netary reasons. This scene exemplifies the horrors of imperialism, showing how power is corrupt. In addition to the helicopter raid, Coppola creates a scene with the Americans opening fire on a boat with nativesShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1504 Words   |  7 Pagescontrol over others and can be found in both people and objects. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness the main character and narrator Marlow identifies a force within ivory that conveys a sense power within the enigmatic Mr. Kurtz. The African ivory trade was flourishing in the early 1900’s. Obtaining the precious object transformed some into greedy connoisseurs with endless intentions to get their hands on all of the continents ivory. Conrad shows that the power that is emitted from the ivory falls intoRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s The Heart Of Darkness 1801 Words   |  8 PagesAlly Jones Professor Smith English 1302 November 18, 2014 Female Roles in Joseph Conrad s the Heart of Darkness: In regards to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, many literature reviews focus on the motifs of Imperialism, the symbolism of darkness and fog, or the aspect of racism in Conrad’s work. During the era which Conrad wrote, England was going through the Victorian Era, which was marked by a shift in views on morality. The term â€Å"Victorian morality† is used today to describe values whichRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness 1713 Words   |  7 PagesMonth: January 2014 Name: Faris Khan Period: 3 Title: Heart of Darkness Author: Joseph Conrad Date started/date completed: 1/19 - 1/28 Pages read: 96/96 (Including the ten page introduction, 106/96) Rating of book (1-10): 9/10 Above you rated this book. Explain in detail why you gave this book that score: Author Joseph Conrad uses a very interesting method of narration in his novel, Heart of Darkness. The novel itself is written in first person, from the perspective of an unnamed sailor aboardRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness 1396 Words   |  6 PagesShelly Pyakurel Ellen Stockstill English 4 DC 27 April 2015 Research Paper Heart of Darkness is a novel by Joseph Conrad that centers on Marlow, a man who goes to the Congo for a job opportunity. He meets a man named Kurtz, who is well known by many. Once he gets to the Congo, he sees colonialism first-hand. He sees that the natives of the country were practically enslaved and forced to work under very harsh conditions. The two major characters of the novel are Marlow and Kurtz. There are many minorRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1552 Words   |  7 Pagesfollowers. Historically, people have been socialized to accept and adhere to these stereotypes. Women have an important role in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Women are used in this novella reflect an important aspect of culture: sexism. Heart of Darkness was originally published in 1898, a period where women were facing especially harsh discrimination. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness tells the story of Marlow, an experienced sea captain, who is setting out on a mission to rescue Kurtz, an intelligent butRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1555 Words   |  7 PagesAlthough the author Joseph Conrad never met the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who died more than a century before Conrad’s birth, their distinct philosophies still have numerous points of intersection, suggesting some fundamental truths within the structure of the human reality. Through the novella, Heart of Darkness, Conrad details his perspectives on the faults of man and reality as a whole, with views often coinciding with many of Leibniz’s own, as found in his numerous philosophicalRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1233 Words   |  5 PagesImperialism has often been described as a light, a method to guide the uncivilized. However in Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad sheds true light on the subjec t. In the novel, Conrad exposes the situation in Congo during the era of Imperialism for the Europeans. Conrad reveals the exploitation of the natives through a tale of Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his nightmarish journey up the Congo River to meet a reputable European trader, Kurtz. As the life of the great Kurtz comes to a close, theRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness963 Words   |  4 Pagespeople. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, can be criticised through many different lenses. Though Natives are a large part of Conrad’s narrative of European atrocities in the Congo, his treatment of Congolese Natives throughout the book show them to be nothing more than props. Conrad skews Natives language, culture and intelligence to fit Europeans schema for Africa and Africans. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is placed in a colonized Congo. ...despite Heart of Darkness s (Joseph Conrad) obviousRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1080 Words   |  5 Pages1 Kathrine Carrasquillo Dr. David Mulry Engl 2112 Feb 13, 2017 Who is Mr. Kurtz, and what does Conrad use him for? Mr. Kurtz is the main character in Joseph Conrad s English novella, Heart of Darkness. There is no proof that Mr. Kurtz is based on a real person, so it is assumed that he is a made up character. When Mr. Kurtz is first introduced the audience learns that he is a Belgian ivory trader and he was sent to Africa by his employer for work. At first glance, Mr. Kurtz just represents a normalRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness 2026 Words   |  9 Pages Ryan Li 7/22/17 AP Lit/Comp Summer Reading Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is written by Joseph Conrad and published in 1899. It is a novella written in the early modernism literary period. Joseph Conrad was born as Jà ³zef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski on December three 1857 in Berdichev, Ukraine to Polish parents. He was raised and educated in Poland. After his career is the seafarer in the French and British merchant Marines, he wrote short stories which he used his experiences

International Students Experience at Bluefield State College free essay sample

As a former international student of Bluefield State College, I want to thank the administration for great support and faculty stuff for outstanding academic experience during past two years. I know that you have biggest interest in well-being of foreign students. Your first priority always was to provide the best experience and support in any situation to every student on campus. The main purpose of this proposal is to make international students feel more comfortable and confident while at Bluefield State College. There are few difficulties that international students go through by arriving to college. First is a language barrier, which affects foreign students’ academic and social success. Second is cultural adaptation, which slower students’ transition into the new culture and understanding of local traditions. Third is the distance from a family which makes it hard for a student to go through some difficulties, when family can’t give any suggestion in a different situation due to cultural differences. Development of international student support center would help students to adapt to a new education system and culture faster. Organization of mix cultural events on campus would help make friends among the local population and help in cultural transition. Mentoring would give support to situations when family couldn’t help and improve academic results. I believe that if the administration will take all this concerns under consideration and implement some of the suggestions; it will drive up the retention of international students as well as new recruitment and overall satisfaction of foreign students. Sincerely, This proposal will identify different symptoms that dictate experience of international students at the university. Research will describe arguments like language barrier, cultural differences, distance from the family and social interaction in great details. Another helpful aspect of this paper is to suggest solutions to all the arguments. Developing international student’s center will improve foreign students’ satisfaction with a college experience. This proposal will explain how mentoring, counseling and cultural exchange events will improve students experience and academic success. Introduction Every school wants to be recognized not only locally but also worldwide. Schools try to attract student from all over the world by giving scholarships to foreign students, or contracting with international schools on exchange programs. It is a challenge to bring international students to college in the United States, but the most important task is to make foreign students feel like they didn’t leave home, or they aren’t that far from it. Every institution would like to see each international student successfully get a degree and leave school with the best experience. I want to address problems and needs of international students, when they choose to come to colleges in the United States. The best example would be Bluefield State College, which I attended as an international student. Bluefield State College is a small school in Bluefield, West Virginia. Population of the college is mostly local residents. There is no campus housing, or transportation provided by the school, which makes it inconvenient for students. Unsafe surrounding is another downsize, there were a few incidents including shooting and fighting. College is known for their good engineering and nursing programs, in addition to a few others. The biggest downsize is that Bluefield State College doesn’t have International Center. When it comes to international students, there is a lot that needs to be taken under consideration like the language barrier, cultural differences, social life, and distance from the family. Development of an international support center will improve international students’ assimilation, facilitate intercultural engagement and promote academic success. Arguments a. Language barrier The level of English proficiency is very low, when international students first arrive to school in the United States. It becomes the biggest obstacle n communication. It also affects students’ confidence. Some students scared to say something incorrect, or being misunderstood. The main purpose of international students of studying in the United States is to exchange cultural experience, make new friends and receive worldwide accepted degree. One of the articles shows due to limited English many stu dents shut down, they choose to stay in the room and communicate with peers who are from the same geographic background (McLachlan amp; Justice, 2009). Foreign students decide to socialize among each other because they have a lot of things in common. Majority of international students is from Saudi Arabia at Bluefield State College. It makes it easier for them to communicate among each other, the cultural difference not that visible, which makes them feel like they have never left home. There is a major downsize in the situation like that, English proficiency of these students doesn’t improve, and they don’t get complete experience in cultural exchange. Sovic (2009) article makes it clear from international students’ interviews that home students don’t want to interact with foreigners because of their language proficiency. They feel like it takes too long for international students to express their ideas, and they ask few times to repeat, because of the language, slang, and humor (Sovic, 2009). Language proficiency has a huge effect on academic success. First international students have to adjust to the education system, difference in the grading scale, and professors’ way of teaching classes. Another problem arises, when students have to follow a professor and take notes in a different language. Some professors require participation in class. A lot of international students don’t feel comfortable to speak up during a class session, because of the accent. They feel that they will be misunderstood. If students don’t participate in discussions, it counts against their grade. The main obstacle is to writing, it is already hard to write a research paper that would meet higher education standards, but it is twice harder to write it in a different language. Research article proves that local students had better academic results during first and second years in university than international students. However, article shows that the problem is not just language barrier, but also difference in culture. Students speaking a different language family, differently adjusting to understanding and learning English (Mann, Canny, Lindley amp; Rajan, 2010). That means that international students have to spend twice more time in order to get the same results as home students. This gives even less time for socializing. b. Cultural difference Cultural difference is another obstacle that foreign students have to adjust. The article explains crucial point of every foreign student’s unique background (Wedding, McCartney amp; Currey, 2009). Depending on the country of origin, some students take longer than other to adapt to the American culture. For example, Asian students find it very difficult to get used to American food, so they don’t go to the school cafeteria, where there is just local food. Asian students are trying to find stores or places where they could get and cook homemade food. Another aspect of the cultural differences is religion. For example, Arabian students have different holidays, which dictate what time they can have classes, receive food, or pray. They have to readjust, because universities’ schedule in the United States doesn’t include any of it. Another critical cultural group is students from India and surrounding India countries. According to their religion, students can’t eat beef, because a cow is saint animal. Most of products in the United States are made from beef; some of the Indian students not realizing that in the first couple weeks eat beef produced products. Many American holidays are different from other countries. Sports play a great part in American culture. Sports are very common topic among American students. There is many more like fashion and music differences. Silvia Sovic (2009) suggests in her article that acculturation is very important in foreign students’ social lives. c. Distance from family Many of the students are just graduated from high school, used to their family being around. Moving away from home to college makes it very complicated. Students have to learn how to organize their day, control time, cooking, doing laundry. One of the studies explains common problems that foreign and home students go through during the first couple semesters at school. Both groups have to adjust to new academic system, independence, distance from family. Also, it shows other challenges that only international students’ experience. They have to deal with all the legal requirements, acculturation, and language barrier (Wedding, McCartney amp; Currey, 2009). Many of international students are facing some problems, where their parents can’t help them. Families are not familiar with the system, economic situation. Another research suggests that family and high school friends are the main support during the first couple weeks at college (Sherry, Thomas amp; Wing Hong, 2010). That proves that international students don’t have that support during first weeks at college. d. Social interaction Another very important challenge is social interaction. Many international students find it is very hard to start talking to home students. There is a different reason that leads to isolation of international students from American peers. Article explains that language barrier, cultural difference as well as the difference in age makes it hard to communicate with home students (Wei, Ku, Russell, Liao amp; Mallinckrodt, 2008). Similar age problem mentioned in Sovic (2009) article: many international students are older and have one or two undergraduate degrees, so it is hard to find common interests with local students and keep the dialogue going. Recommendations Every school should have an international center, where foreign students could seek for a help, support, or suggestion. There is an international center where there is a big international students’ population at schools. These international centers provide students with advice in different situations answer all legal questions, help to interact with other international students. I believe that every school who has international students, has to have international center in order to satisfy basic needs of the foreign students. a. Mentoring I believe that student-mentors would help international students in academic level also in social life. If an international student would have an American mentor, it will help them to improve their English proficiency. Foreign students will feel more confident to interact with an American mentor, then with regular student at first. Mentor wouldn’t mind to repeat phrases multiple times, or explain some situations, that international students wouldn’t understand. Mentors could introduce international students to their friends. One of the researches shows that students’ responds were very positive towards endorsing mentoring system in universities. They said that professors/mentors shared information on working as a teacher in American education system. Majority said that it helped them to make new friends through the meetings, which helped them to improve their English skills and easier adapt to the new environment. Students said that professors paid attention to difficulties that they had, which showed to students that faculty cares about them. All that made foreign students feels more confident and comfortable (Ku, Lahman, Yeh amp; Cheng, 2008; Sato amp; Hodge, 2009). b. Counseling services Endorsing counseling services could help not only assist international students, but also help universities better understand international students and what they are going through while at school. Counseling services will analyze each international student’s unique background and needs. Depending on a student’s cultural background counselors could come up with different programs in order to ease students’ transition into a new environment. I found research article that gives great examples of situations that international students experience in any institution. Concentrating on place of origin, culture, gender, age, counseling would be a great solution at meeting international students’ needs, helping them overcome any obstacles, and facilitating intercultural engagement (Tidwell amp; Hanassab, 2007). If consular group at every institution would hold that type of research, it will prepare university for new coming international students. Counselors’ task is not only to understand foreign students’ difficulties, but also understand their own culture and understand the difference between them. By completion of that task, it would be much easier to help foreign students introduce American culture and help them with transaction. Olivas and Li (2006) research suggests organizing events where local students could communicate with international students. Mixing or cultural exchange would help both group of students in developing new connections and developing new relationships. Paper suggests each university to do research on counseling programs (Olivas amp; Li, 2006). c. Pre-entry English courses Pre-entry English courses will better prepare international students for starting college. It will improve their English proficiency. These classes could give them better idea of the education system with no pressure of grading. It will allow them to come to the university in advance and get familiarize with surrounding. Helen Benzie (2010) suggests that pre-entry English courses will help students not only improve English level; it will give them opportunity to start adjusting to a new culture and socialize with local students before school semester starts. d. Intercultural events I believe that if a school or international center would organize more events, where international students would interact with home students, it will help to create friendship among different groups. Intercultural classes, where home students could learn about foreign cultures and international students would learn about local culture. One of the articles provides information on the culture mixing events. Mixing activities, where students with different background interact with each other, helps all cultural groups better understand each other (Mackay, Harding, Jurlina, Scobie amp; Khan,2011). Conclusion All information above indicates that all international students no matter what country they choose to get Higher Education from experience the same challenges. Every school has to consider these challenges and help foreign students overcome these difficulties, or try to make it less noticeable. Mentoring, counseling, host family programs are the most popular and effective ways to help students when they are going through acculturation. Organizing social events where international and local students could mix and interact outside of an academic environment. If every school would apply knowledge about foreign students’ unique needs, it would help not only students but also schools to develop future international connections.