“You should have heard him say ‘My ivory.’ Oh yes, I heard him. ‘My intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my’ everything belonged to him. It made me hold my breath in expectation of hearing the wilderness burst into a prodigious peal of laughter that would shake the fixed stars in their place. Everything belonged to him—but that was a trifle” (Conrad 44)
In this new setting, Marlow’s dislike for imperialism becomes obvious especially after he meets Kurtz. The setting of the Congo is also more dangerous and much less civilized. For example, when sailing up the river Marlow and his crew are attacked by the natives of the land (Conrad 41-43). The closer Marlow moved towards imperialistic settings, the more uncivilized the setting became. Marlow’s attitudes on imperialism also continue to change. Another part of the setting that supports the theme is the current of the River. The men are forced to sail upstream, and this makes the River seem like it has a negative feeling towards imperialism. The River acts as though it is trying to keep Europeans and their imperialistic ways out of the country. The all out chaos of this setting just adds to the themes of the story. The Europeans were supposed to be making the area more civilized, when instead they were simply after a profit. This gives a very negative look at imperialism. This is just another instance of the setting being used to strengthen the theme. The setting being used to heighten a theme is not only used in “Heart of Darkness”, but in “A Far Cry from Africa” as well.
“A Far Cry from Africa” has an uncivilized setting. It is a setting that was already chaotic, but Walcott gives the feeling that it has become worse since British imperialism. Walcott writes, “The violence of beast on beast is read / As natural law, but upright man / seeks his divinity by inflicting pain” (895) Walcott’s setting gives a very negative feeling towards imperialism. Walcott’s setting also gives an unsettling feeling. Nothing seems calm in his descriptions. He illustrates, “A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt / Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, / Batten upon the bloodstreams of the veldt, / Corpses are scattered through a paradise” (895). In his description of the setting, everything is moving and unsettling. The “bloodstreams” and “Corpses scattered through a paradise” gives the reader a very gloomy feeling about the setting. Walcott describes that the imperialist have caused this atmosphere, which immediately gives a negative feeling towards imperialism. Even at the end of the poem, Walcott says he cannot chose to side with England or Africa because the atmosphere of Africa is so unsettling, but it is caused by British imperialism. This is shown when Walcott says, “The drunken officer of British rule, how choose / Between this Africa and English tongue I love? / Betray them both, or give back what they gave? / How can I face slaughter and be cool? / How can I turn from Africa and live?” (895) Just as in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, Walcott uses the setting of “A Far Cry from Africa” to heighten the theme of his work.
Both Derek Walcott’s “A Far Cry from Africa” and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” express many views on imperialism. Through both works, a theme of imperialism is evil can be concluded. The author’s choice of setting is extremely important to this theme. Conrad and Walcott use the setting to heighten the meaning of the theme. Conrad uses it in a more transitional way, having the main character’s view of imperialism change through each setting; while Walcott uses the mood of the setting to strengthen the affect of his theme. Though the authors took similar, but different methods, both were successful in using the settings of their works to heighten the theme imperialism is evil.