Heart of Darkness Journal

In this novel, European Imperialism is questioned, along with the basis of human expansion and domination. On a perhaps deeper, more metaphorical sense, this novel brings up the question: what is god?

            Marlow begins his story questioning the imperialism of Rome, first civilizing the island of Great Britain, and then recounts his own story of the imperialistic conquering of Africa. European conquest and travel has always been a major part of the people’s history. Europeans always have carried an air of superiority over other people who do not live like them. In the Americas, the natives are viewed as savages for centuries and persecuted. In Africa, the natives are seen as primitive beings and are treated like animals. In Australia, the aboriginal people are flushed away and mistreated: but, why? Cecil Rhodes said he believed that the English were the first on earth, and the most superior, but that was a blatantly false and preposterous statement at the time he said it. So therefore, it is power, it is greed and collective selfishness. Every civilization thinks itself superior for some reason, doesn’t it seem that way? Don’t Americans claim to have the greatest country on earth? But, wouldn’t devoted Englishmen say the same thing for England? Yes. Aren’t North Koreans propagandized into believing themselves superior to the world? Didn’t Soviet Russia claim to be correct? Didn’t religions, and don’t they still today, argue and battle for superiority to discern who is correct and in more power? Of course. Humans always find something to believe in, don’t they? Patriots believe in their country/nation. Theists believe in a deity or multiple deities. Racists believe that their racial denominations are superior. Even those who do not believe in a country or god hold a belief that they cannot believe in the said country or god. Is anyone superior? Is any race or religion or ideology above another? Only those that strictly oppose the impediment and oppression over and of other factions. Therefore, England is no better than any of the regions it has conquered. As is implied at the end of the novel, England is its own heart of darkness.

            Deity: what is it? Kurtz became a deity for the native tribe he became acquainted with. But more importantly, he became his own god. Bill Maher argued the point that if there is no god, and humans pray and beg for this non-existent deity to bring them to enlightenment, where does this enlightenment come from? From within. This is why people of the same subdivisions of already denominated religious segregations of theism can have such opposing beliefs that they feel are supported by their god(s): their god is their subconscious mind and what they have been conformed to believe (remember my summer paper, Conformed to Corruption?). This statement is crucial to the understanding of true human pathology and sociology. My Grandfather once told me that “The only god you need is right there.” And pointed to my head, his intended meaning being that I cannot allow outside voices and opinions to alter my thought process without strictly analyzing them first: but this got me thinking; is the subconscious mind how god communicated to us? Well, at the time it certainly made sense, as I had been raised and taught that most people come to their revelations from god through dreams, or an idea or concept lofting up from some unknown sector within. Unfortunately for my faithfully blissful self, I had been on a quest of self-realization for several years, understanding the concept of the immense and under-used subconscious mind, and attempting for years to fuse the conscious and subconscious minds into one ultimate mind, allowing the ability to utilize more than the meager ten percent of the brain humans use at any given time. This combined with the newfound concept of supernatural communication brought me to a startling conclusion: this Christian concept of the “Holy Spirit” is actually the subconscious mind. Our own mind influences what we believe, how we believe it, why we believe it. Kurtz realized this before his death. He realized that he became his own god, he became the god for others, be persecuted, misled, wronged, and killed many people, and his only response is “The horror! The horror!” This thus places a connection between how people can possibly surmise that their god is backing up their country, especially in war, ESPECIALLY when at war with another country/faction that follows the SAME GOD. It is the same irrationality in sports. I was taught from childhood that praying for god to make you win the race, or make your team win, it is ridiculous. War is basically adult sports, where the penalties are death and injury, and the losing team rarely gets the option of a rematch, or ever playing again. Humans accept their geographical, political, and religious divisions as absolutely correct, undeniably superior, and supported by a divine higher power, all because we crave to believe in something higher than ourselves, and if we can have a triumvirate of superiority, then we can exist as happy going people bound with a common similarity. Upon recent research I have discovered that this concept has already been theorized and published by other philosophers and scientists, and therefore this is not just one crack-pot concept from an agnostic teenager, but a tangible explanation from professionals who dedicate their entire lives to proving this. Go online and search for the scientific proof of a spike in brain chemicals and hormones in a religious setting. Put under the influence of certain settings, the brain kicks on with the belief that it is not alone, that there is an outside force or being within and around it, and this is either viewed positively (god) or negatively (ghosts/demons/etc.) depending on the scenario. The History channel had a special on it a few years ago.