Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad is dramatic tale of an arduous trek into the darkest part of Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. The story follows the protagonist Marlow, an English marine merchant, as he travels through the African jungle up the Congo river in search for a mysterious man named Kurtz. Through Marlow's narration, Conrad provides a searing indictment of European colonial exploitation inflicted upon African natives. Through his use of irony, characters, and symbolism in the novel, Conrad aims to unveil the underlying horrors of colonialism. By shedding light on the brutality of colonialism in Heart of Darkness, Conrad shows that European values have been irrevocably eclipsed by darkness.

The Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is one of the most critically debated novellas of its time. It is about a man, named Marlow, who joins the Trading Company, specifically having to do with the ivory trade, so that he can adventure into the African Congo. The setting of this story is around the time of the colonization of Africa. Due to the time period and the sensitive things that are addressed in the story, there are many ethical decisions and dilemmas found in the Heart of Darkness. This is discovered in the time period itself, in Kurtz’s decisions, and in Marlow’s loyalty.

Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, was written in 1899, near the end of the imperialism of Africa. Far from European civilization, the imperialists are without rules and ransacking Africa in search ivory and glory. One of the most significant themes in Heart of Darkness is the psychological issues catalyzed by the lawlessness of the jungle. Due to the breakdown of societal convention, the characters of Heart of Darkness are exposed to not only the corruption of imperialism, but the sickness of their minds.

Written in the late 1800’s, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a novella about one man’s travel into the Congo Free State by way of the Congo River. The title “Heart of Darkness” actually holds two different meanings. Heart of Darkness is both a metaphor for a psychological “dark side” of man, and an allusion to Africa. The title suggests both a physical and mental reference.

Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, relies on the historical period of imperialism to illuminate its protagonist, Charlie Marlow, and his struggle with two opposite value systems. Marlow undergoes a catharsis during his trip to the Congo and learns of the effects of imperialism. I will analyze Marlow's change, which is caused by his exposure to the imperialistic nature of the historical period in which he lived. Marlow goes to the Congo River to report on Mr. Kurtz, a valuable officer, to their employer. When he sets sail, he does not know what to expect. When his journey is complete, his experiences have changed him forever.

The book The Heart of Darkness talks about a guy named Marlow that shows leadership traits. A good leader should have willing to pay the consequence in order to succeed. In the book The Heart of Darkness Marlow explains, "I don't like work but, I do like what is in the work." This trait is an important trait because a leader is willing to work and get the benefit of it later on. Marlow connects back to this and shows good examples because he really does not like work but always does it in order to find the outcome of it in a near future. In addition a great leader needs to learn to deal with confusion. According to Cashman, "As leaders too often we step forward with action to deal with complexity without first stepping for the clarity we need."

Joseph Conrad in his book, Heart of Darkness, retells what he experienced in the Congo from the point of view of his main character, Marlow. Conrad uses many characters to express Freudian Psychoanalysis, and through each of these characters, Conrad depicts something about European culture. One of the most prevalent characters that represents this is Kurtz. Kurtz is the most imperialistic character in the entire book. Conrad, by using Id, Ego, and Superego, shows how complete lack of society can cause people to devolve as shown by the character of Kurtz and the difficulties of Conrad’s life are also shown through characters and by Marlow who is a representation of Conrad.

There once was a story of a girl set apart, for inside her she carried a great light, so great in fact was this light that all who came in contact with it were changed, however because of this great light shining within her she was forced to see the world as it was. From a young age she understood to be covered in a powerful darkness with all the evil and the hate which that entails.

Heart of Darkness is an exploration of Marlow’s reactions to a world of hypocrisy, ambiguity, and moral confusion. As an idealistic Marlow is forced into either allying with the rule-defying, malevolent Kurtz or the malicious colonial business, it becomes increasingly clear that there is no correct choice. Rather, the world is filled with undeniably ambiguous situations. In this way, the novel examines Marlow’s choice between the lesser of two evils: Kurtz or the bureaucracy. Marlow condemns the Company because of its hypocritical and dishonest behavior while siding with Kurtz because his upfront nature.

Heart of Darkness begins on the Thames river where an unknown narrator describes a night spent on a ship. He and several other men are on the deck of a ship when Marlow, a captain, begins to tell the story of an adventure he had on the Belgian Congo. Marlow had always wanted to travel to Africa and up the snakelike Congo River. With the help of his aunt in Brussels, Marlow gets a job as a boat captain on the Congo River with a company that deals in ivory. After getting his assignment at the office in Brussels, he travels to the mouth of the Congo River in a French steamer. When Marlow arrives at the mouth of the Congo, a Swedish captain takes him to the Company’s Inner Station on a smaller boat. Outside of the station he sees Africans

The constant change in scenery throughout the Heart of Darkness contributes heavily to the meaning of the novel as a whole, for it allows the novel’s author, Joseph Conrad, to expand on the effects the physical journey of travelling through the Congo has on the inner mentailites of the characters- Marlow and Kurtz- in the novel. Conrad’s continuous comparisons between characters, their surroundings, and the plot, create the genuine progression of the novel, while the physical journey that is taken allows the characters to make their own discovery of humankind. As Kurtz’s destiny and the struggles he overcomes go on to deeply affect the two characters’ journey through the story’s plot, as everything in the Heart of Darkness is linked or comes back to Kurtz and all the wrongful actions he has committed in the Congo- as he was the perpetrator of all the darkness in the novel to begin with.

Marlow, an ordinary sailor with idealistic dreams, goes on a dark yet fascinating journey as a newly hired riverboat captain, traveling up the Congo River, seeking out the legendary chief of the Belgium trading company. When describing typical sites and events situated in the Congo, Joseph Conrad wrote "The Heart of Darkness" in a first person's view, with Marlow as the highlight character. As he writes on about Marlow's experiences, he portrays typical issues set in the time period of the late 1800's, such as slavery, trading and imperialism. He emphasizes these events using pensive, pessimistic phrases throughout Marlow's train of thoughts. As Marlow travels up the river to a specific trading

Conrad’s Heart of Darkness tells the story of Marlow, an experienced sea captain, who is setting out on a mission to rescue Kurtz, an intelligent but disobedient Trading Society agent. Marlow must travel deep into the Congo, a treacherous area of Africa, in order to locate Kurtz. Conrad concentrates on the evils of European imperialism, specifically the moral corruption and the discrimination against women. However, Marlow appears unaware of the cruel treatment that women received. Marlow encounters women several times throughout his journey. He instinctively reciprocates this behavior through his prejudices and proves his attitude of superiority. Joseph Conrad demonstrates sexism in Heart of Darkness through his portrayal of women

Chinua Achebe’s controversial essay published in 1977 focuses on the racist views woven into Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella, Heart of Darkness. Achebe claims that Conrad uses many western stereotypes of Africa and subtly weaves them below the surface of his writing. However, due to the popularity of the novella and the skill of Conrad, his racist views go undetected. The most obvious indicator of Conrad’s racist views is the depictions of the people. They are described as “savage creatures,” yet Conrad’s novella is noted for its excellence and not its horrible racist claims. Conrad’s novella is full of parallels, such as the River Thames, which is peaceful and calm contrary to the Congo River, which is depicted as being a rough and dangerous place. By creating these parallels Conrad is representing the differences between the European people and the Natives of Congo because he fears the thought of having anything in common with them. Achebe declares that the racist views in the novella come from Conrad 's own beliefs but to conceal them he hides behind multiple narrators. Achebe puts forth a compelling article that delves deep into the depths of Heart of Darkness.

Imperialism has often been described as a light, a method to guide the uncivilized. However in Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad sheds true light on the subject. In the novel, Conrad exposes the situation in Congo during the era of Imperialism for the Europeans. Conrad reveals the exploitation of the natives through a tale of Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his nightmarish journey up the Congo River to meet a reputable European trader, Kurtz. As the life of the great Kurtz comes to a close, the horrors he speaks of could be referring to the atrocities that were taking place in the Congo, his realization of how horrible mankind can become without the structure and morality that are laid out by society, or the horror of Kurtz failing to carry out his grand plan of eventually becoming a godlike figure.