Heart of Darkness

How do the pre-industrial and industrial societies interact within Marlow's narrative?

How do the pre-industrial and industrial societies interact within Marlow's narrative

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Critics might argue this question can also exist with preconceived notions of superiority, ideas of backwardness, and the industrialist’s abject terror of slipping into a pre-industrial state. The hypocrisy evinced in this mindset becomes evident when the imperialist is inherently overwhelmed with the newness of the locality, and this hypocrisy displays itself in any number of ways. Like Kurtz, the imperialist could be driven to great psychopathic heights of ego, or like Marlow, they could gloss over their experiences with a sort of jaded “realism” that in reality only takes into account one side of the equation. In Heart of Darkness, industrialized society, master of machines and capable of confronting nature and winning, is represented by Marlow, his steamboat, and the scattered outposts of the imperialist regime. This society is thrown into a primal struggle when its primacy over nature is threatened by the absence of industry.

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