prejudice scale.

this is probably my best essay thus far. but i'm just going to post these next three together and quickly so that you don't have to read this. i'm only posting them to keep me sane.


prejudice in thoughts…
Prejudice takes its root in the mind of men. Every evil word and action begins with a thought. Like a match being lit, prejudice in thoughts is the beginning of a greater evil.

prejudice in words…
Taking thoughts one step further produces evil words on which even greater prejudices are based. A small fire, not yet capable of destroying homes, resources, or hope can still take root and become something even greater, even more destructive.

prejudice in actions…
Taking hatred and anger out through actions reinforced prejudiced words. Actions are destructive physically and mentally. As a fire grows, it strengthens, becoming capable of destroying even entire cities or civilizations.

prejudice in lifestyle…
Prejudice can take over a man’s life, causing everything in his path to be destroyed. Nothing good can come from evil thoughts, words, or actions, therefore leaving nothing but destruction in the aftermath of prejudice. *

1. Thought:
“A few days later I arrived in a city that always makes me think of a whited sepulchre” (62).
“Their minds are of the stay-at-home order, and their home is always with them… there is nothing mysterious to a seaman unless it be the sea itself, which is the mistress of his existence and as inscrutable as Destiny” (56).
With every evil thought, man strikes a match. Prejudice begins in the mind of every man, woman, and child. Sheer ignorance and selfishness lay the foundations for thoughts of prejudice. Blindness and apathy are building blocks, pushing growth of prejudice far beyond intended. Marlow shows readers just how destructive thoughts are. As readers follow his train of thoughts, listening to every memory of his journey through the African wilderness they realize Marlow’s ability to produced prejudiced thoughts. Every character in Heart of Darkness shows signs of some level of prejudice, although most of it is kept inside their minds. Mankind has become calloused to evil thoughts, and our minds are sodden with prejudice and hate.

2. Words:
“He began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, ‘must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings—we approach them with the might as of deity… By the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded,’ etc., etc” (117).
Marlow, when reading Kurtz’s report, sees prejudice put in to words. When thoughts become words, they seem to take physical form outside of the mind of mankind. Rather than being appalled and taking action against prejudice, man tends to either turn the other cheek or, in some cases, agree. Evil or demeaning words spoken at or about a person have the ability to take effect immediately. When thoughts become words, they take shape, bringing pain to everyone who hears them. Marlow’s negative thoughts towards the African natives are reinforced by Kurtz’s words. Marlow brings his prejudiced thoughts to the Congo and it is easy to see everyone there shares his ideas on the authority and understood power of the white men. Before hateful words were uttered, the prejudiced thoughts were left untouched, lingering in the back of pilgrim’s minds.


3. Actions:
“Therefore he whacked the old nigger mercilessly, while a big crowd of his people watched him, thunderstruck…” (61).
“A nigger was being beaten near by. They said he had caused the fire in some way; be that as it may, he was screeching most horribly” (81).
Actions stretch farther, cut deeper than words. After becoming calloused to words spoken, prejudice begins to take over people, controlling even their actions. The fire at the Central Station was obviously not caused by the African native who was beaten, but the pilgrims’ pride was so overwhelming they took out their anger on an innocent human. To the white men in the Congo, mistreatment of the Natives came naturally. There was no second thought about abusing the workers in the stations. The pilgrims were greedy. All they wanted was to get rich. Their every effort went toward finding and harvesting ivory. They would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. Not even the “stupid” Savages could get in their way.


4. Lifestyle:
“They passed me within six inches, without a glance, with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages. Behind this raw matter one of the reclaimes, the product of the new forces at work, strolled despondently, carrying a rifle by its middle… seeing a white man on the path, [he] hoisted his weapon to his shoulder with alacrity. This was simple prudence, white men being so much alike at a distance that he could not tell who I might be. He was speedily reassured, and with a large, white, rascally grin, and a glance at this charge, seemed to take me into partnership in his exalted trust. After all, I also was a part of the great cause of these high and just proceedings” (70).
The white man on the path, upon seeing Marlow, stiffened his posture and looked more attentive. Why? Because Marlow was white. There was no reason other than Marlow’s skin color. He did not even know who Marlow was. Every action in the Congo was centered around the mistreatment of and prejudice toward the dark-skinned natives. To the pilgrims, it was first instinct to give more respect to the other white men, and none to the savages. The pilgrims’ entire lives had been changed by their experiences in the African jungle. Before, they may have simply been naïve, foolish men who did not notice the evil around them, but after spending time in the selfish air of the Congo, they themselves were producing evil. They were the very basis of prejudice in Africa. Greed, blindness, ignorance, and selfishness all continue to grow and increase the growth of hatred toward the natives.


*insert pictures: thoughts/match, words/small fire, actions/destructive fire, lifestyle/ruins