Comparing Heart Of Darkness: A Cautionary Tale And So Much More

Another issue that has been raised continuously throughout time has been how women are depicted in novels. Conrad in particular, reflects his original context by objectifying the women he creates in his novel ‘Heart of Darkness’. The roles of women here are hardly acknowledged and are portrayed as naïve; senseless beings having to be protected, Marlow commenting that in essence, men ‘…must help them…stay in that beautiful world of their own…’ This is characterized in Kurtz’ Intended who is pictured as an ideal woman, ‘…smooth and white…illumined by the…light of belief and love…’ The soft gentle imagery, in particular the use of ‘white’ shapes this woman as pure, submissive and weak, but also isolated in her naivety of the real world. If not white, then the other kind of woman Conrad gives a role to is the savage African mistress. ‘…Savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent…ominous and stately…’ With such large and grand descriptions, Conrad portrays the native woman as defiantly capable however fearful. ‘Wild-eyed…ominous and stately…’ illustrate Conrad’s view that the black woman is untamed and uncivilized, akin to an animal and therefore not considered as graceful or a desired woman. These opposing ideas of woman in Conrad’s text inform the audience of today, the strict and patriarchal ideals of Conrad’s context that were imposed on women.

Prior to the meeting with Kurtz, both Marlow and Willard encounter a peculiar man, in Heart of Darkness, it is the Harlequin, in Apocalypse Now, the Photojournalist - who is essentially based on the Harlequin. Both characters serve to provide final insight regarding the current disposition of Kurtz, before the inevitable meeting. Like the Harlequin, the Photojournalist views Kurtz as “a great man” and views himself as “a little man.” Thus both characters share feelings of self-doubt, a sort of insecurity, in which they feel themselves to be of less significance than “Mr.” Kurtz, despite their own achievements - as venturing this deep into the jungle, is by no means an easy task. While he does not hesitate to use violence, Kurtz is described more prominently a good speaker, in essence, “a poet warrior in the classical sense”, whose intriguing philosophical insights have enlightened both characters, as the Photojournalist concludes: “The man’s enlarged my mind.” It is the willingness of both the Harlequin and the Photojournalist to cave in to Kurtz’s words, that perhaps marks their own descents into darkness, as despite witnessing the atrocities committed by Kurtz, they fail to refute their view on Kurtz, instead choosing to defend him, as the Harlequin states: “you can’t judge Mr. Kurtz as you would an ordinary man.” The most profound difference between the two is their influence (or lack thereof) on the protagonist. While the Harlequin is convinced by Marlow to abandon Kurtz, the Photojournalist stays by Kurtz’s side with absolute conviction, and it is his profound rant that perhaps forces Willard to question everything his prejudices on Kurtz. The Photojournalist attempts to enlighten Willard, he questions Willard, asking: “why would… you want to kill Kurtz?... Because

Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness, describes a life-altering journey that the protagonist, Marlow, experiences in the African Congo.  The story explores the historical period of colonialism in Africa to exemplify Marlow's struggles.  Marlow, like other Europeans of his time, is brought up to believe certain things about colonialism, but his views change as he experiences colonialism first hand. This essay will explore Marlow's view of colonialism, which is shaped through his experiences and also from his relation to Kurtz.  Marlow's understanding of Kurtz's experiences show him the effects colonialism can have on a man's soul.

As the Heart of Darkness snakes its way into the savage shadows of the African continent, Joseph Conrad exposes a psycho-geography of the collective unconscious in the entangling metaphoric realities of the serpentine Congo. Conrad’s novella descends into the unknowable darkness at the heart of Africa, taking its narrator, Marlow, on an underworld journey of individuation, a modern odyssey toward the center of the Self and the center of the Earth. Ego dissolves into soul as, in the interior, Marlow encounters his double in the powerful image of ivory-obsessed Kurtz, the dark shadow of European imperialism. The dark meditation is graced by personifications of anima in Kurtz’ black goddess, the savagely magnificent consort of the underworld,

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has allowed me to view the world through a multitude of new lenses. In seeing Kurtz and Marlow’s disintegration when removed from society’s watchful eye, I began to understand that all people have a streak of darkness in them under the right circumstances. While the narrator, and many readers at the time of this novella’s publication, believed that the African natives being colonized were “savages”, this book sheds light on the true brutes in this scenario: the thoughtless Europeans. The other complexity that I never truly understood until reading this book, is the idea that there is a single story told about Africans in Western literature. Africa is portrayed as weak, primitive, and impoverished in most books

Kurtz’s lack of restraint and hunger for ivory consumes not only his soul but drains all of his physical existence. Upon seeing him, Marlow states, “I could see the cage of his ribs all astir, the bones of his arm waving (126)”. Conrad focuses on the physical features of Kurtz to display the madness that has consumed him. However, though Kurtz’s body is deteriorating, Kurtz’s mind continues to thrive. Conrad shows this in Marlow’s shock of witnessing a flame of passion that remains in Kurtz’s eyes as he converses without signs of exhaustion (126). Conrad continues to describe Kurtz as a shadow composed of tranquility and satisfaction. Conrad’s incorporation of this detail signifies the evil and greed that consumes Kurtz and is reflected through his physique. However, the power of Kurtz’s presence is personified through the action of his words. As the strength in his voice captures Marlow’s attention, it merely reflects his influence upon his followers. The power reflected through his voice displayed his confidence as well as his position as a leader for the natives. Hi demeanor displays an air of arrogance that makes others feel less equal to him. Those who follow him fear him, but also continue to respect him.

From the short story “Heart of Darkness,” by Joseph Conrad, a character named Mr. Kurtz is introduced through the narration of a man named Marlow. In this frame narrative, Marlow embarks on a journey up to Congo River to meet the remarkable Mr. Kurtz. Similar to Holmes’ character, Mr. Kurtz is described of highly – God-like, powerful, brilliant, and overall a great person. Mr. Kurtz is known as the one who obtains more ivory than everyone else combined. People

Joseph Conrad 's Heart of Darkness is both a dramatic tale of an arduous trek into the Belgian Congo at the turn of the twentieth century and a symbolic journey into the deepest recesses of human nature. On a literal level, through Marlow 's narration, Conrad provides a searing indictment of European colonial exploitation inflicted upon African natives. By employing several allegoric symbols this account depicts the futility of the European presence in Africa.

The novella, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, is a piece that pushed the envelope of its time due to an oppositional stance on the forced imperialism of primitive and/or impoverished countries. The protagonist of this story is the self-proclaimed explorer, Marlow, who decides to leave the heart of light and purity (Europe) and take a job as a steamboat captain in the dark jungles of the Congo Free State in Africa. Upon his arrival, Marlow begins to see the impact of Belgium’s intrusion on the Congo by means of implementing slavery, commandeering ivory (a valuable resource), and presenting a negative attitude toward the primitive population. Marlow eventually becomes obsessed with an ivory

Marlow out of curiosity wanted to explore, he expected more. He goes off on this curiosity, adventure to meet a man with a great reputation named Kurtz. Marlow’s trip was not at all easy and timely. At one point he had to wait for several months to repair his steamboat, before he could continue his journey. This long period of time taken away from Marlow’s journey, made him more eager to meet Kurtz. Continuing his trip to Kurtz, Marlow and the others on the boat were fired at from the outskirts of the forest. Upon arrival, though, they are greeted and warned of Kurtz abnormal behaviors. The independence for Kurtz is now shown. The fact that Kurtz has put himself in the position to rule over the natives has caused widespread mayhem. In the search for ivory Kurtz went on brutal raids and even went to the extent to put severed heads on the fencing around the station. His independence lead to the fate of others and to his own fate eventually. This trip effects Marlow’s morals to do good deeds and know right from wrong. Prior to leaving, Marlow had a good foundation and knew clearly how to distinguish the two. While on his trip the reader can tell that this is becoming harder and harder. Kurtz is seen to do all these wrong deeds, because he is the God to the natives. Yet, the native woman, that was his lover had complete influence over Kurtz. At the end of the story when Marlow is speaking with Kurtz’s fiancé, he

Marlow tells us about the Ivory that Kurtz kept as his own, and that he had no restraint, and was  " a tree swayed by the wind” (Conrad, 209). Marlow mentions the human heads displayed on posts that “showed that Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts” (Conrad, 220). Conrad also tells us "his... nerves went wrong, and caused him to preside at certain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rights, which... were offered up to him” (Conrad, 208), meaning that Kurtz went insane and allowed himself to be worshipped as a god. It appears that while Kurtz had been isolated from his culture, he had become corrupted by this violent native culture, and allowed his evil side to control him.

In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the imperialism of Africa is described. Conrad tells the story of the cruel treatment of the natives and of the imperialism of the Congo region through the perspective of the main character, Marlow. Throughout the novel, Marlow describes how the Europeans continuously bestow poor treatment to the native people by enslaving them in their own territory. Analyzing the story with the New Criticism lens, it is evident that Conrad incorporates numerous literary devices in Heart of Darkness, including similes, imagery, personification, and antitheses to describe and exemplify the main idea of cruel imperialism in Africa discussed throughout the novella.

A famous criticism of Conrad’s novella is called An Image of Africa, which was written by an African native named Chinua Achebe. In Achebe’s criticisms of Heart of Darkness, he points out the difference between descriptions of the European woman and the African woman, who was Kurtz’s mistress. The narrator describes the European woman as being calm and mature, and the African woman as being “savage” (341 Norton). Even though many writers claim that Marlow is kind to the Africans by bringing light to their situation, the real problem does not lie in his description of their situations, but his descriptions of the people themselves (30 Heart of darkness Interpretations).

Kurtz, who has an obsession to power is included in the novella by Conrad to symbolize the greediness for ivory and the immoral values of the Europeans. Initially, Kurtz was out to explore and actually benefit the natives, but that changes when he becomes powerful. Eventually, Kurtz makes it obvious that he is out for one thing, and that is ivory. Unlike the Company, he actually displays his greediness for ivory by threatening his own employees. Kurtz “[declares] he would shoot [the harlequin] unless [he] gave him the ivory” and then commands him to leave the country (126). This presents how he utilizes force to achieve his goals. Kurtz represents the unconcealed avarice of the Company. Kurtz is also another one of the characters that knows that he is harming others, but still desires to get as much ivory as he can. Ivory “was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were

Written in 1899, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad conveys a story of European colonization along the Congo River in Africa. Although his work lacks central female characters, some of those mentioned hold great influence in society and the power to predict the future. Despite these abilities, women are still largely ignored by the men in their midst. Conversely, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart features a multitude of female figures, including oracles and priestesses, but much like Heart of Darkness, the majority of women in his work are belittled and viewed as unimportant. These two authors both showcase sexism in their works, as they promote stigmas surrounding females and a sense of male superiority that leads men to treat women as inferior. While the writers of Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart highlight the values certain females possess, they chose to depict sexist societies in which women are viewed as largely irrelevant and impotent.