Applying Edward Said’s Concept Of Orientalism On The Novella Heart Of Darkness

Abstract

A field of philosophy and activity known as orientalism creates images of the East or the Orient. This paper examines how Orientalism, according to Said, is used to stereotype the east as exotic, feminine, frail, and vulnerable in the book Heart of Darkness. The study's major claim is that, while viewing the East as something different, the west has been able to dominate, recreate, and exercise authority over the Orient. Postcolonial theory is the foundation of the study. The terms self or Occident and "other or Orient" are strongly related to this idea. The Occident is constantly in control and regarded as superior, whereas the Orient is seen as inferior and weak in contrast. Later, Orientalism developed into a colonizer's mindset and was frequently applied in occupied territories. The study found that the colonisers, the Europeans treated the colonised, the Africans, as others. It also explores that orientalism is an overtly political work that aims to analyse discourse from the perspective of an oriental where the East is associated with danger and menace.