Quasi-Religious Rhetoric in Scientology and Heart of Darkness, by Ashley Anne Ullrich.
This essay appears in Volume 5 (2013) of Brainstorm. Brainstorm is the Expository Writing Program's journal of student writing at the University of Oklahoma. I am going to excerpt a short portion from the middle of the eight page essay, as well as the conclusion, as teasers.
Quasi-Religious Rhetoric in Scientology and Heart of Darkness, by Ashley Anne Ullrich
http://ift.tt/291UIRg Religious Rhetoric.pdf
* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *
These dark motivations for a religion of greed are not entirely unprecedented. Hubbard’s religious pretext for the sake of personal income has a parallel in Joseph Conrad’s portrayal of the European colonists’ missionary greed in Heart of Darkness. The Europeans had come down to the Belgium Congo under the philanthropic pretext of spreading Christianity and modernizing the native population, but this farce masks the truth that they are only there to collect a profit from gathering Ivory. One of the most profitable of these immigrants is Kurtz, a man who has “collected, bartered, swindled, or stolen more ivory than all the other agents together” (Conrad 107). Ivory is the main conquest of most of the colonists who have flocked to the Congo, but for Kurtz, “that [ivory] was not the point” (Conrad 107). The point, Conrad shows us, is that Kurtz has this “gift of expression,” a presence of voice that entrances those around him, allowing him to manipulate others into following his cause. The ivory, like the religious pretense of the colonists, is only another pretext for a deeper motive. The power obtained by the manipulation of others is Kurtz’s true conquest.
* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
* * * * * BEGIN CONCLUSION * * * * *
Scientology has been protested for many reasons: for being too much like a business, or a selfhelp scam, or oppressing its members. All of these reasons have merit, but one must remember that, as Marlow said of Kurtz’s ivory lust, “that was not the point” (Conrad 107). Looking past layer upon layer of abstractions of enlightenment and money, we can see an even darker inner truth that vies for absolute dominance over everything and everyone. Hubbard’s control maintains its hold over others even after his death. The idea of him is now an insatiable hunger that has been nourished to thrive without any earthly vessel. Hubbard, much like Kurtz, is now an idea that compels red-eyed and weak-eyed devils alike to pursue unobtainable goals they do not understand for rewards they can never secure. However, such a devilish compulsion is not only given birth by such characters as Hubbard and Kurtz. The inner truth is the monster that exists in all of humanity, compelling us forward without direction.
* * * * * END CONCLUSION * * * * *
Quasi-Religious Rhetoric in Scientology and Heart of Darkness, by Ashley Anne Ullrich
This essay appears in Volume 5 (2013) of Brainstorm. Brainstorm is the Expository Writing Program's journal of student writing at the University of Oklahoma. I am going to excerpt a short portion from the middle of the eight page essay, as well as the conclusion, as teasers.
Quasi-Religious Rhetoric in Scientology and Heart of Darkness, by Ashley Anne Ullrich
http://ift.tt/291UIRg Religious Rhetoric.pdf
* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *
These dark motivations for a religion of greed are not entirely unprecedented. Hubbard’s religious pretext for the sake of personal income has a parallel in Joseph Conrad’s portrayal of the European colonists’ missionary greed in Heart of Darkness. The Europeans had come down to the Belgium Congo under the philanthropic pretext of spreading Christianity and modernizing the native population, but this farce masks the truth that they are only there to collect a profit from gathering Ivory. One of the most profitable of these immigrants is Kurtz, a man who has “collected, bartered, swindled, or stolen more ivory than all the other agents together” (Conrad 107). Ivory is the main conquest of most of the colonists who have flocked to the Congo, but for Kurtz, “that [ivory] was not the point” (Conrad 107). The point, Conrad shows us, is that Kurtz has this “gift of expression,” a presence of voice that entrances those around him, allowing him to manipulate others into following his cause. The ivory, like the religious pretense of the colonists, is only another pretext for a deeper motive. The power obtained by the manipulation of others is Kurtz’s true conquest.
* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
* * * * * BEGIN CONCLUSION * * * * *
Scientology has been protested for many reasons: for being too much like a business, or a selfhelp scam, or oppressing its members. All of these reasons have merit, but one must remember that, as Marlow said of Kurtz’s ivory lust, “that was not the point” (Conrad 107). Looking past layer upon layer of abstractions of enlightenment and money, we can see an even darker inner truth that vies for absolute dominance over everything and everyone. Hubbard’s control maintains its hold over others even after his death. The idea of him is now an insatiable hunger that has been nourished to thrive without any earthly vessel. Hubbard, much like Kurtz, is now an idea that compels red-eyed and weak-eyed devils alike to pursue unobtainable goals they do not understand for rewards they can never secure. However, such a devilish compulsion is not only given birth by such characters as Hubbard and Kurtz. The inner truth is the monster that exists in all of humanity, compelling us forward without direction.
* * * * * END CONCLUSION * * * * *
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