Imperialism
Until recently, I’ve always thought that Imperialism was a good thing. Imperialism is defined as the political, military, or economic domination of one country over another. Reading Heart of Darkness, “Shooting an Elephant”, Things Fall Apart, and Said’s “Culture and Imperialism” article really affected my perspective. These articles and novels showed me that not everyone needs ‘saved’ and changed. Nigeria had their own thoughts, views, and life morals. Imperialism ended up hurting the Europeans just as much as it hurt the African people. I now view imperialism is an extremely unnecessary abuse of power and authority. Africa wasn’t then, and still isn’t, a united nation. That's why it was so easy for the Europeans to penetrate and dominate various parts of African, including the Congo and Nigeria. Even if done for the right reasons, the affects were devastating and anything but positive.
I read Heart of Darkness with the perception that the African Tribes were extremely uncivilized and uneducated and in dire need of Great Britain’s helping hand. In the beginning of the novel, Marlow, the main character, is happy to see such “vast amounts of red” popping up on the map. The “vast amounts of red” (HOD Ch 1) symbolize the land the British is conquering, and this appears to be a good thing. Marlow views Imperialism throughout the novel and his accounts of what he witnesses make me question my belief about how productive it is for the Nigerian people. Marlow continuously witnesses imperialists doing terrible things for the mere sake of making profit. Even the Europeans were untrained in the democracy they were forcing the African people into. Achebe even admitted that “Africa wasn’t ready for this democracy” (Interview, 1988) but that they would have been more receptive had the imperialists been more respectful of the tribes. I feel as though the Europeans forced their way into Africa for all the wrong reasons. They had such greedy ulterior motives that...