Against The Institutions

In the interview with Toni Morrison she talks about several institutions that appear in several of her books. Slavery appears constantly in her books as it marked the African American's history. Either way Beloved, specified a critique made in Song of Solomon about slavery and racism. Only when the government decided to institutionalize slavery, because of Bacon's Rebellion, did the tortuous history of racism in the United States begin. Clearly, this particular institution affected her greatly but in the books she mentions, other similar systems appear, with equally damaging effects.

She mentions religion as a strife-causing institution. Also, Morrison talks of a system the first Europeans fled when coming to America. These two, although not explored in Song of Solomon do have an important relation to racism. All three of them systematized human life forcing people to live in unjust conditions that denigrated certain sectors of the population. Although racism towards blacks continued to be the main theme for her in the interview and on this book, she attempts to analyze those institutions in her books in the possible. Morrison helps the reader live the experiences through a clear description of the setting that enables such situations and realistic characters with which the reader can empathize.

Especially Milkman exemplifies a realistic character. Once he understood the problem his community faced he showed an extremely humane reaction. He did not take the hardest way like Hamlet did nor did he courageously defend a friendship like Huck. Instead, he wanted and tried to run away here: "I ain't going home, Guitar. Hear me?" (89) Truthfully, his decision, an act of cowardice, should cause shame and guilt in Milkman. Still, this conveys, in the strongest way possible, the power and ferocity of those institutions. Even when a young man sees such a huge defect, no idealism moves him to change it. Instead, the challenge before him seems so great fear overpowers him forcing him to turn away from that epitome of discrimination: the institution of racism.

Cannibalism

As I continue to progress in this book, a clear portrayal of African American society begins to form. Relationships amongst blacks shocked me the most about this representation. Although the common struggle they shared during this period should have united them, a race for survival began where only fellow blacks suffered so that others. All this suffering payed for the wellbeing of people like Milkman and the Dead's who in their advantaged position could leave all the misfortune in oblivion. This chapter shows how Milkman decides he will try to run away from all the suffering he sees in his community tired of that hostile environment.

The first mention of this strife occurs when Macon talks about Dr. Foster saying he "called them (other blacks) cannibals" (71). By definition a cannibal refers to a person who eats the flesh of other human beings (according to the oxford dictionary). Clearly he uses an extended meaning to refer to that desperate strife among black people to acquire a higher status. Despite the difference in wealth, even Macon and his family must have had a "cannibalistic" past. Evidently, they have emerged victorious from this endless battle, secured financial stability and gained a feeling of safety. Although this family has successfully fled the conflict, they continue being part of that society to which they no longer belong because of their higher standing but they cannot escape completely because of their race.

Indeed, "the cards are stacked against" them (87). The game is savage. Ultimately though, even if they win, they loose. Victory like the one obtained by the Dead family, has no meaning because they did not gain full rights but now, they are also in a limbo, not really accepted by their equals. This "game" orchestrated by whites represents the ultimate form of evil Morrison associates constantly with color white. Whites caused the harsh conditions blacks we forced to live in during this time period, the lack of protection by government and even the wealth prize for rising above everybody else. Whites created and maintained the system Morrison fights with her book. With this particular part of it she explains the disunion of black people even when oppressed collectively and points the cause of the problem, hopefully with a solution to come by the end of the book.

 

Flight: The Only Escape

Flight, the ultimate form of freedom, haunted the first pages of Song of Solomon like and unattainable vision. As expected from an African American author, discrimination, the undying remnant of slavery, marked her. Although blacks were officially free, the black Americans would need the civil rights movement to properly defend it. So far, the story focuses on the characters who, trapped inside poverty and racism, loose themselves. In this hostile society, hope dies and death seems like the only choice.

The very beginning of the book makes references flight and freedom. Robert Smith unable to continue bearing the heavy shackles of living in such conditions, decided to break free. Here, he bids farewell to his family and describes his suicide in peculiar way: "I will take off from mercy and fly away on my own wings. Please forgive me" (Morrison, 1). The insurance agent wanted to fly away "on his own wings". These represent the only action he with out the restraint of a repressive society: suicide. Although he knew freedom came at a great cost, he wanted to try it before that hostile environment expunged all traces of will to live in him. Clearly, it shows how the harsh conditions for black people in the United States affected them.

The next allusion to flight comes 9 pages later when Ruth Dead gives birth to Macon Dead III. Ironic, seeing a "dead" woman gave birth. Still, we should not blame the characters for their names. Society imposed that state of living death. With out true freedom, good living conditions and a definite future, the Dead epitomize the results of a discriminatory system in African Americans. Probably, the loss of hope shocks the reader the most. Only "when the little boy discovered, at four, the same thing Mr. Smith had learned earlier – that only birds and airplanes could fly-he lost all interest in himself"(9) like many others under the same regime of discrimination. That system forbade hope even to children. This shows how profound the impact this time period had on Tony Morrison.

With these two examples the author sets a clear tone and purpose of the book. She wants to create a crude and harsh image of life under racism. Evidently, the book opposes strongly the harsh events that surrounded that time period but she does not necessarily intend the work to solely critique. Morrison wants to show her view and share part of her experiences through the book: her only pair of wings.

Adventure, Danger, The Mind

A clear similarity exists between The Age of Wonder and Heart Of Darkness. Both have characters searching for something in an unknown and dangerous land. Also, these journeys explore the author's mind. Depicting such hostile environments shows the dangers of knowing a truth about one's self. Meanwhile the marvels that could potentially appear in such voyage represent the everlasting possibility of wonder especially when understanding the human mind: a collection of thoughts and memories so complex it could house an entire continent.

In the case of Conrad, he sought Kurtz: an ideal of himself. After fighting his unconscious, a powerful being represented as the wilderness, he found the truth behind that ideal. Despite all the apparent dangers he experienced while traveling, only finding Kurtz truly devastated him. With this, Conrad proved that finding an undesired truth endangers the explorer's psyche the most.

Richard Holmes one the other hand uses a different style to achieve the same objective. He does not use elements as evident as a meditating Buddha to clarify his intentions. Through the character's description the reader infers the setting surrounding the character and how this setting will help us explore Holmes' mind. Joseph Banks is "cheerful, confident and adventurous: a true child of the Enlightenment." (1) This in combination with his actions helps depict him as a young, energetic and slightly naïve person: a perfect scientific explorer ready to extract the truth from an unyielding wilderness of thought. Still, a key element differentiates him from a typical scientist. He has the "dreaming inwardness of Romanticism". Although we first imagine him as a scientist, only a spark of romanticism and idealism guides him. Through his research of nature and this voyage he seeks himself.

Ultimately, both travelers wish to find themselves. Despite similarities in the stories, both are destined to fin a different reality. The dangers these two characters face must remind us of perils in self discovery. Especially in the case of Conrad, finding the truth does not necessarily mean improving.

Referencing the Different Levels

Unfortunately, we often have a short lived memory for the atrocities of the past. What should be symbols of shame stand as proud representatives of a country’s glory. Yet, in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, these monuments could also have a meaning related to Conrad’s alter ego. In chapter 19 of King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild “The arch’s massive stone and concrete bulk brings to mind Conrad’s description of the unnamed European capital in Heart of Darkness as “the sepulchral city.” But of the millions of Africans whose labor paid for all this and sent them to sepulchers of unmarked earth, there is no sign” (294). With this allusion, the author could try recalling the strong feelings of anti-colonialism Heart of Darkness conveyed. Although he achieves such an effect, Hochschild could have chosen many other publications with a similar content. Particularly, choosing a book with such underlying meanings means Hochschild wants a similar effect in his work.

Those great monuments, part of “the sepulchral city” represent the images of success achieved through selfishness and materialism. With out enslaving his heart (Africa) to his mind (Europe) a monument like that would remain in the imagination. This unparalleled wealth led to squandering of the heart forgetting the sacrifices necessary to reach that ultimate achievement. Whether Conrad had to immolate friends, family or love to reach his goals no longer mattered. This lead to a death in life where the usual human characteristics disappear. Eventually his dead humanity would consolidate into a monument to that would turn that into the sepulchral city.

Anyhow, other than triggering such references from the reader, the deeper meaning of these works intend o obviate the underlying meaning and making the reader think. This allusion suggests the work wants active readers that will understand it. Also, the strong connection between this and the surrounding context make the connection between the two stands out. We could even find a similar process Conrad goes through his book but throughout the entire work.

Return To “The Sepulchral City”

Joseph Conrad ends his book with an enigmatic paragraph I must analyze in order to understand the true meaning of the book. With it Conrad tells an important part of the book's meaning and connects the context where the book's narration takes place and the plot's events. Here, he concludes his book: "The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky- seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness." (146).

We can divide this sentence into two main parts. The first part describes the boats surroundings. These continue being dark, gray and dead which creates symmetry with the book's beginning. A dead landscape, covered with clouds that met with the sea in the horizon. These bleak surroundings represent the solitude and uncertainties that surrounded Conrad's mind. Although these characteristics exist symmetrically in the book, one thing changed: an exit to that world. Whether industrialization and all that makes a modern man created these distinct characteristics in him does not matter. In end, Conrad tries to give us Africa as an exit to that darkness. In that "heart of an immense darkness" we should find and therefore, we need a description of the Africa presented to us in the book's narrative in order to understand this possible exit.

Marlow's voyage to meet an ideal Kurtz that was only a disappoint reality, we can characterize Africa. The continent was wild, savage, untamable unpredictable and, above all, real. Seeing the artificial lives Europeans had, Conrad saw reality in an Africa. The false ideals his imperialistic society imposed on him died there. Although they were great, like Kurtz was, truth would inevitably overpower them. Indeed, for Conrad the only exit from that artificial bleak and industrialized Europe was that "heart": Africa.

A Hero Left In Oblivion

Kurtz personifies the ideal colonizer. He endured the jungle, the savages and still managed to gain a profit for the company. His achievements' recognition gave him fame and glory, specially, among those that would later join the company's ranks. Despite all these efforts, in the end, the company abandoned him. This event has different interpretation depending on the reader's point of view on the book. This quotation shows the moment of Kurtz's abandonment: "There hasn't been a drop of medicine or a mouthful of invalid food for months here. He was shamefully abandoned. A man like this, with such ideas. Shamefully! Shamefully! I-IT- Haven't slept for the last ten nights…." (Joseph Conrad, 109).

First, this interpretation assumes Heart of Darkness focuses purely on anti-imperialism. In this case, Conrad reveals the true cruel and cold nature of the company's profit driven existence. This would explain why he highlights "medicine and food", goods, civilization should provide. The company's actions also dehumanize Kurtz's great image as a mighty colonizer and diminished the legend behind him. Instead of receiving a hero's treatment, they leave him in oblivion, hopefully, to die there silently. Not only does this reveal the falsehood in the company's propaganda, but it also shows how it dehumanized both the conquerors and the conquered in the processes.

On the other hand, we have a metaphorical interpretation for this quotation. If our narrator really takes us into Conrad's mind, then Kurtz represents the ideal he desperately tried to reach. Despite all his efforts, it remained unattainable. He might have reached the reality of Kurtz but the ideal died that moment. All through the book, he seemed untouchable, immortal and almighty. In the end, he was human.From this we can conclude that Conrad also experienced a similar process when he tried to turn into that ideal. Unfortunately, even after reaching it, he remained flawed and vulnerable. Like the company abandoned Kurtz, Conrad left his ideal alter ego in the most unreachable corners of his mind, to die in oblivion.