Empire Flashcards
How does Joseph Conrad convey dehumanisation in Heart of Darkness?
‘the short ends behind waggled to and fro like tales’, ‘Iron collar on his neck’ ‘connected together’ - no individuality
How does Conrad evoke sympathy?
‘deathlike indifference of unhappy savages’ - he mentions emotion juxtaposed with the word savages’
How does Conrad show that he dissaproves of colonization?
Ambiguity in the use of the words ‘strong, lusty, red eyed devils’ - refers to how the colonizers view the colonised and how the colonised are to conrad
Where does Conrad use entrapment imagery?
‘the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope’ ‘iron collar’ this all implies slavery
How does contrad make mockery and irony of the colonizers?
‘an insoluble mystery from the sea’ - is impersonating the view of the colonizers
‘after all I also was part of the great cause of these high and just proceedings’ (use of sarcasm)
‘raw matter of the reclaimed’ implies rescue which contrasts with the imagery
‘white men being so much alike at a distance’ echoes the white man’s view of those being colonized
In the White man’s Burden by Rudyard Kipling, how does Kipling imply futility of war?
Kipling demonstrates a ‘neccessary evil’ being futile using the oxymoron ‘wars of peace’ and juxtaposistion in ‘go mark them with your living, go mark them with your dead’
How does Kipling demonstrate absurdity and the truth of the views of the colonized?
Kipling uses the description of ‘half devil and half -child’ metaphor in the form indirect discourse. He contrasts innocence with evil.
Where does Kipling use contrast and reversal of intention to show that the colonizers are selfish and immoral?
.’to veil the threat of terror and check the show of pride’ contrasts with ‘in patience to abide’.
reversal of intention: ‘to seek another’s profit and work another’s gain’
How does Kipling show that colonization is a disadvantage on an international level?
He implies the threat of other nations such as ‘the silent sullen peoples shall weigh your Gods and you’ and emphasises ‘ the judgement of your peers’
How does Oscar Wilde use the absurdity of the upper class to imply that their views about foreigners are ridiculous and wrong?
Lady Caroline says to Hester 'have you any country? what we should call country?' which demonstrates a patronising snobbery She is the ultimate upper class snob who remarks 'I am not sure Miss Worsely, that foreigners like yourself should cultivate likes or dislikes about people' this conveys a dehumanisation
Even Mrs Allonby is a victim of upper class snobbery by making distinctly dehumanising remarks such as ‘savages seem to have quite the same views as cultured people on almost all Subjects. They are excessively advanced’
How does Oscar Wilde demonstrate that the upper class are victims of apathy?
When Hester boasts that America has the largest country in the world, Lady Caroline snaps back ‘Ah! You must find it very draughty’ which immediately domesticates a and devalues Hester’s statement. dismissal because of Apathy, jealousy or simply a preference for the inside.
In ‘Australia’ how does Anthony Trollope dehumanise the colonised?
‘trained one’ ‘for they learn to shoot with skill and are quick in the pursuit of game’ ‘grinning nigger’ -> as though they are a species
He impersonates the speech “Here him is; no noting it”. By emphasizing the difference in language Trollope is demonstrating an extreme otherness
Punishment: ‘nor in such circumstances could there be any idea of punishing him; you would as soon think of punishing a dog for eating a mutton chop you had put in his mouth’
How does Trollope convey that he thinks colonization is a good thing?
‘who after many lessons would not swallow all the wine’ this shows Trollope’s assumption that colonization is a way of teaching.
This is evidence that the colonizers are attempting to impose cultural practices
