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As dead as a carcass The fact that they disregard the land shows that they don’t care about anything as long as they get the job done. Rusted abandoned machinery represents how they abandoned their original purpose -Africans were not instructed on how to use them so they are rejected
ANTS
Ants are both weak and strong -They can be squished easily -They can lift 10 to 20 times their body weight There’s a lot of them Not significant in the grand scheme of things but significant within their own Good work ethic Self sufficient
BLOWING UP OF THE CLIFF
Detonation of the rocks in symbolic of the Europeans trying to force their beliefs and ideas of civilization on the Africans The fact that after it is blow up the mountain shows no change is evidence of their resistance The mountain is not in the way of the railroad = the Africans weren’t bothering anybody Even though the blasting wasn’t producing any results it was the only work that was going on It’s not the Africans who have horrid ways but the Europeans.
Summary
The rusted and abandoned machinery was supposed to benefit the Africans but because of its current state it is a representation of the fact that the Africans are rejecting European “help”. The Europeans gave the Africans the machinery without showing them how to use it. They’ve stopped trying to use machinery which represents their abandonment of their original purpose of being there.
Because the Africans were compared to ants it represents both their strength and weakness. Ants can carry 10 to 20 times their body weight but are powerless against a shoe or insect killer. In the same way that ants are both weak and strong, the Africans must be strong to do the labor that the Europeans are forcing them to do but they are powerless against Europe's more technologically advanced weapons. According to the Europeans, who would represent humans in this simile, the Africans are generally insignificant (as is evident by Freselven hammering the chief with a stick, just as humans would not care if the ant they were squishing was the queen). Individually, they cannot do much against the Europeans but together they are a more formidable foe.
The Africans are being forced to create railroads on their land. There are explosions on the mountain but after the explosion no changes can be seen. As it turns out, the mountain does not even need to be touched in order to create the railroad because it was not in the way to begin with. Though the mountain wasn't being changed, the explosions still continued and it was the only work being done. In this metaphor, the Africans are represented by the mountain and the work being done represents the Europeans. Europeans are trying to change the Africans into something that would benefit themselves but even after using force, the Africans remain the same. The Africans were not bothering anybody to begin with. Even though they are not being changed, the Europeans continue to use force and even though no progress is being made, it is the only thing being given attention to.
The decaying machinery, described as " dead as the carcass of some animal" (15) demonstrates that Western civilization can not survive in the Congo. The idea that these two cultures are unable to coexist is further emphasized by Marlow's observation that there are explosions on the mountain, yet no change can be observed from the outside. By not being able to see any change in the midst of all the pointless explosions, it illustrates how the Europeans are trying to force Western ideas upon the people of the Congo, but the unchanging face of the cliff represents their innate resistance to the Europeans and their way of life.
Although Marlows suggests a racist remark when he says the African's "moved about like ants"(15) and " waggled to and fro like tails" (15), implying that they all look the same and are animal-like, the connotation of ants gives another interpretation of his comment. Because the connotation of ants is that they are hard workers, they work well together, and that they are self sufficient, it shows that they are admirable and do not need the help of the Europeans in order to "civilize".
3 comments:
MACHINERY
As dead as a carcass
The fact that they disregard the land shows that they don’t care about anything as long as they get the job done.
Rusted abandoned machinery represents how they abandoned their original purpose
-Africans were not instructed on how to use them so they are rejected
ANTS
Ants are both weak and strong
-They can be squished easily
-They can lift 10 to 20 times their body weight
There’s a lot of them
Not significant in the grand scheme of things but significant within their own
Good work ethic
Self sufficient
BLOWING UP OF THE CLIFF
Detonation of the rocks in symbolic of the Europeans trying to force their beliefs and ideas of civilization on the Africans
The fact that after it is blow up the mountain shows no change is evidence of their resistance
The mountain is not in the way of the railroad = the Africans weren’t bothering anybody
Even though the blasting wasn’t producing any results it was the only work that was going on
It’s not the Africans who have horrid ways but the Europeans.
Summary
The rusted and abandoned machinery was supposed to benefit the Africans but because of its current state it is a representation of the fact that the Africans are rejecting European “help”. The Europeans gave the Africans the machinery without showing them how to use it. They’ve stopped trying to use machinery which represents their abandonment of their original purpose of being there.
Because the Africans were compared to ants it represents both their strength and weakness. Ants can carry 10 to 20 times their body weight but are powerless against a shoe or insect killer. In the same way that ants are both weak and strong, the Africans must be strong to do the labor that the Europeans are forcing them to do but they are powerless against Europe's more technologically advanced weapons. According to the Europeans, who would represent humans in this simile, the Africans are generally insignificant (as is evident by Freselven hammering the chief with a stick, just as humans would not care if the ant they were squishing was the queen). Individually, they cannot do much against the Europeans but together they are a more formidable foe.
The Africans are being forced to create railroads on their land. There are explosions on the mountain but after the explosion no changes can be seen. As it turns out, the mountain does not even need to be touched in order to create the railroad because it was not in the way to begin with. Though the mountain wasn't being changed, the explosions still continued and it was the only work being done. In this metaphor, the Africans are represented by the mountain and the work being done represents the Europeans. Europeans are trying to change the Africans into something that would benefit themselves but even after using force, the Africans remain the same. The Africans were not bothering anybody to begin with. Even though they are not being changed, the Europeans continue to use force and even though no progress is being made, it is the only thing being given attention to.
--Stefanie & Ayanna
The decaying machinery, described as " dead as the carcass of some animal" (15) demonstrates that Western civilization can not survive in the Congo. The idea that these two cultures are unable to coexist is further emphasized by Marlow's observation that there are explosions on the mountain, yet no change can be observed from the outside. By not being able to see any change in the midst of all the pointless explosions, it illustrates how the Europeans are trying to force Western ideas upon the people of the Congo, but the unchanging face of the cliff represents their innate resistance to the Europeans and their way of life.
Although Marlows suggests a racist remark when he says the African's "moved about like ants"(15) and " waggled to and fro like tails" (15), implying that they all look the same and are animal-like, the connotation of ants gives another interpretation of his comment. Because the connotation of ants is that they are hard workers, they work well together, and that they are self sufficient, it shows that they are admirable and do not need the help of the Europeans in order to "civilize".
-emily and allison
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