blog




  • Essay / Exploitation as presented in "Blood River"

    Throughout Blood River, the Congo is presented as a place of immense wild natural beauty, but so much so that it is intimidating and dangerous . Butcher describes it as a place that corrupts men and a place in which there is always a battle between humanity and nature. This is evident in a particularly powerful extract, on pages 110-111, where he describes to the reader a "boy" (who highlights the cruelty of the Congo as he works from a young age to survive) struggling in muddy conditions, just to find worms. The fact that so much effort is put into improving one's life, in such a minor way, shows exploitation because it is clear that the imperialist invaders took away many luxuries from the natives and kept them for their own benefit, which demonstrates their greedy nature and how they do not care about the suffering they cause to the natives. The struggle due to nature is made more evident in this excerpt when it states "ten kilometers per hour", which is a very slow movement due to the dangerous conditions and devastation that could have been caused by the powers foreigners known to have blown up parts of the Congo for fun, clearly exposing the exploitation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay This excerpt points out that the natives don't like intruders, even if they are harmless like Butcher. This is evident from the accusatory tone used by a native towards the butcher “You white men”. The use of this second person pronoun distances the speaker from the narrator, making it clear that the speaker wants no association with him and already suggests a dislike even though he does not know him. Questions like “How do I know you didn’t come here to make a profit?” » further emphasize the lack of confidence and the use of short sentences: “Stanley was the first. Then the Belgians arrived.'' once again demonstrates the accusatory tone used towards the new arrivals, and once again the lack of confidence. The repetition of "profit" also by the natives suggests exploitation because it is obvious that the only reason the countries come to Congo is to exploit its raw materials, and the fact that this is repeated suggests that the natives are bitter about this subject, and the fact that they were mistreated and robbed, which clearly testifies to the exploitation of the natives. The danger in Congo and its history is evident throughout this excerpt and it is shown in many forms. The fact that landmines are present in Congo constitutes a representation of the hidden danger in Congo, as well as a memory of previous exploitation, as devices of destruction remain from their previous devastation of the country. Butcher's statement "we followed in our footsteps" suggests an overgrown land that has not been maintained, and also suggests that there is limited security (e.g., only one safe route), which can serve as a metaphor for lack of security. the security that the natives have against exploitation, which is clear throughout the extract, that it has lasted for many years and that Congolese places are even named after exploiters, "Arabs Crossing". This shows the control that the exploiters have over the natives and that they believe they can come to Congo and change the lives of the natives to suit them without caring about the natives, showing that their imperialist nature has no limits. The “Arab passage” is described as the place of arrival of the slavers. THE..