The Theory of New Historicism - Essay Example

A new Historical Reuse in “Heart of Darkness” New historical reuse in ‘Heart of Darkness’ New historical reuse, otherwise simply referred to as New Historicism, as a device of reading recorded accounts gives validity to the contention that we can interpret the contents of history in many ways. By definition, “New Historicism, when applied to literature, suggests that literary works must be studied and interpreted within the context of both the author and the history of the critic… Anita’s definition of New Historicism suggests the theory looks at the way in which history can be objective (history becomes subjective when certain narratives dominate), and the way that history consists of various “truths” that are tied to our narratives of history.” (New Historicism in Hearts of Darkness). We can apply New Historicism on the way Conrad brings out the people living in Congo at the time. Two distinct ways come up. One of these is the 19th century mentality that the colonialists’ task was to bring civilization to their subjects. In the case of Congo, we refer to the Belgians (Okoth 90). The character Marlow, in his narration, depicts the natives as backward. Conrad brings out Character Marlow, to some extent, to imply colonialism brought some light in the otherwise dark world of the blacks. Marlow’s narration figuratively expresses this, as Conrad writes: “And presently he says very slowly—“I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago—the other day…Light came out of this river since—you say knights? Yes; but it is like a running blaze on a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds. We live in the flicker—may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday.” (Conrad 10). He holds on stereotypes of barbarism, a total misrepresentation. By extension, though arguable, we can deduce that the author (Conrad) had biases based on race and a matching colonial mentality, given the colonial times he lived in. it can also be argued that, he had no option but to follow in this path because fellow whites had similar notions of the native people. The second way New Historicism can look at it gives Conrad a clean bill on colonial biasness. If he depicts his views on colonialism in Marlow’s narration, then he is “skeptical to colonialism” (New Historicism in Hearts of Darkness). The narration (by Marlow) brings out mixed feelings. New Historicism too, can get to Conrad’s background and show how it (the background) might have influenced his writing. A British novel writer, Conrad is Polish-born. His aspiration to visit Africa came to fruition when he came to Congo in 1889 (New Historicism). He worked as a captain in a steamship. His time and experience during that service motivated him to write ‘Heart of Darkness’. The novel is, indeed, a depiction of his mixed beliefs concerning himself and human nature. He went through challenging times of disease and hardship. At one time he contemplated performing suicide. At some time, he had a friend who happened to have been an officer in the colonial regime. The officer wrote a report detailing the atrocities against natives and attributed to colonialism in Congo. New Historicism, therefore, points to the contribution of Conrad’s past and experience to his expression in ‘Heart of Darkness’ From Marlow’s narration, we get to know of Mr. Kutz, a head of a station, who got the position courtesy of his roots in Europe. A present critic can see an element of favoritism in awarding the position of head to the station. Given the timing of this setting, it is safe to conclude that such elements of corruption are age-old. Later, he reflects on who Mr. Kutz was. He says that Mr. Kutz’s father was half-English and his mother half-French. If the thinking of Mr. Marlow pattern is representative of views of Conrad, then the author must have been concerned, to some extent, with issues of favoritism and race. Marlow reflects on Kutz history to explain why he was in his position. The themes of colonialism keep coming throughout the narration. The forming of an association to suppress savage customs depicts a colonial mentality that was hell-bent on bringing out the blacks as unworthy. Later, the formation of scrupulous local colonial grouping draws its origin to that historical mentality. This excerpt succinctly illustrates this: “The Belgian Congo was supposedly deeded by a hazily defined group of local rulers to a private organization, something called the International Association of the Congo” (Johnson). The above event occurred later after the initial colonization. New Historicism approach can explain the formation of such local groupings drawing its meaning from the colonialist notion that the blacks were savage and needed such rulers to guide them in restoring them to civility. Farn (7) claims that Conrad presents the Congolese as barbaric yet he does not support it with facts from history. Researchers have delved into this. They have sought to establish the real facts for a logical conclusion to this. They have had to draw from that history, as explained, to present it according to their own study. Whatever their findings, it should be credited that they have had a basis on the historical work of Conrad. Conclusion From the above, the theme of ‘New historical reuse in ‘Heart of darkness’’ is evident. The character Marlow is the shadow representation of the author Conrad. From history, autobiographies, and historical presentations, we have illustrated the various designs of more historical features. The position of the author on colonialism is ambivalent. We get this from his own experiences while in Congo. The author’s portrayal of the Congolese as uncouth is not factual. It is, however, a historical injustice founded in colonial mindsets. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. (2009). Heart of Darkness. Farn, Regelind. Colonial and Postcolonial Rewritings of “Heart of darkness”: A century of dialogue with Joseph Conrad. (2004). Web. 9 December 2012, http://bookpump.com/dps/pdf-b/1122896b.pdf Johnson, R. Heart of darkness: the tragedy of the Congo, 1960-67. Web. 9 December 2012, http://www.e-telescope.gr/en/history-and-archaeology/938-heart-of-darkness-the-tragedy-of-the-congo Okoth, Assa. A history of Africa vol 2 : 1915-1995. Dares salam: Ujuzi educational publishers. (2006). Print. Read More