Connection: Heart of Darkness and Industrialization

Throughout Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness there are many elements, of the mistreatment of workers, present. When Marlow travels through the Central Station we see several examples. “Six black men advanced in a file toiling up the path. They walked erect and slow, balancing small baskets full of earth on their heads, and the clink kept time with their footsteps. Black rags were wound round their loins and the short ends behind waggled to and fro like tails. I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope, each had an iron collar on his neck and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking” (Conrad 15).

In social studies we recently explored the issues associated with the Industrial Revolution, the most common idea being the mistreatment of workers. We read a Samuel Smiles’s article about factory discipline including rules, work hours, and penalties. The article explained a typical worker’s 13 hour day which is run by bells, similar to those school day. Another salient feature of the article was the supervisors’ power over the laborers. “It goes without saying that all overseers and officials of the firm shall be obeyed without questions, and shall be treated with due deference. Disobedience will be punished by dismissal…Untrue allegations against superiors or officials of the concern shall lead to stern reprimand, and may lead to dismissal” (Perry 137). He also explains, in a previous article, that the workers are more just because they make an honest living while the officials don’t really do much in their job, yet are highly rewarded.

This reminded me of Heart of Darkness, especially concerning mistreatment of workers and racial inequality; because the black natives do most of the work while the white officials, such as the manager do very little. While Marlow is applying for a trip to Africa, he hears a story about the stolen hens. The African accused of stealing the hens gets beaten while the official is said to have done a good thing. It is often said in Heart of Darkness that the Company’s cause is very noble, which is generally viewed as false by the readers. Lazy, power hungry officials are common in both the industrial revolution and in Heart of Darkness.

To me it was pretty obvious that in both instances there were poor working conditions and little to no healthcare. In the Industrial revolution population, poor healthcare for workers, and bad sanitation were common. From Heart of Darkness, the line above about the exposed ribs showed lack of food for workers. Also the conditions, in which the Africans die and are left on the side of the road, show poor sanitation.

Although a very gruesome topic, mistreatment of workers has been very common throughout history and literature.