Essay about Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad's short novel Heart of Darkness (first published in 1902) is undoubtedly critically acclaimed, moreover, it is considered to be one of the greatest English novels. Conrad, who is of Polish ancestry, is as well considered to be an outstanding storyteller and a great stylist of modern fiction (Achebe 2). Even though this novel was written more than hundred years ago, it still draws many people's attention. The plot of the novel revolves around the main character, Marlow, and his journey to the heart of Africa (the Congo River). Marlow accepts to work as a steamship captain for a Belgian ivory-trade company and seeks to meet Kurtz, another important character in the novel whom many people admired, including, to a point, Marlow. On

At the End of the book it is evident that Marlow does not believe in colonizing Africa. When he goes back to England and walks through the streets, he becomes disgusted with the people going through their everyday lives which are surrounded by money, greed, and bettering themselves. He has seen the horror and "darkness" which this greed is doing to a people of another land by imperialism and colonialism.

Some critics believe that in Heart of Darkness Conrad illustrates how ‘’the darkness of the landscape can lead to the darkness of the social corruption.” This statement means that if the environment is dark, then the people in that environment will match the surrounding feeling, which is dark and depressing. For example, if it is a gloomy rainy day, most people feel tired and not as happy. If it is a bright sunny day, the most people feel motivated to get things done and joyful. Yes, this statement is believable because I have noticed that the weather, my surroundings, and even other people’s behaviors around me affect my mood. Today, for instance, it rained all day and the sky was dark, as a result I slept throughout the whole

Marlow’s evolution renders ‘Heart of Darkness’ a remarkable work of literature, but it is not simply the budding of the narrator’s mind that makes the novel sensational. Marlow’s perception of the voyage is what truly renders the work exceptional. European expansion, as written by European writers, was generally cast in a positive light. When Conrad depicts the desolation of the journey and reveals the sanities and lives robbed through the conquest, he clearly does not conform to the writers of his time. This exposure of European expansion in such a sinister a fashion was innovative for writers of the late 17th century. This revolutionary perception is what truly allows ‘Heart of Darkness’ to be considered a novel rich in moral and detail.

One of the first glimpses into the frivolous occupation of Africa by the Europeans is seen when Marlow recounts his journey to Africa aboard a French steamer. The immensity of Africa is describe as "The edge of a colossal

It is incredible that a single character can bring such wonder, curiosity, and darkness. Anyone who has read further into the novel “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad will see the ironic, and mind-twisting aspects of imperialism, colonialism, racism, savagery, and insanity throughout the book, brought by the unique characters. One of these characters was Marlow, who was a thirty-two-year-old sailor who longed adventure and fulfilled his dreams of exploring the “blank places” of the map as a young man by taking a job as a riverboat captain with the Belgian company as he travels into the dark heart of Africa. The most important character that truly brings those aspects to the story is Kurtz. Repetitively throughout the journey, Marlow hears

Marlow states, “She seemed to know all about them and about me, too. An eerie feeling came over me.” about the old knitter (Conrad 63). According to Thomas Dilworth and Joseph Labine, these women are symbols of the fates in greek mythology which Marlow finds eerie (45). It is important to note that he does not feel eerie or even disgust toward Kurtz who even went through this change, moreover, at the end he still praises him. Comparing these to reactions to the knowledge of fate and the morality of the world, it is clear that Marlow even before knowing the true knowledge of the world is uncomfortable with women knowing it showing his sexism and lack of enlightenment in this

This contrast of light and darkness implies that there is a gap between them because the Europeans seem to represent all that is right and good, whereas the Congo represents and evil and wrongdoings. Marlow thinks that many of the men in Congo are mistreated and lead horrible lives and calls them “ants”, but these men do what they have been brought up to do. They represent the working class, and even the lower class; they blast holes, build railroads, and gather ivory. Marlow can’t understand how men can enjoy doing this and living this lifestyle, for he is used to living in an upper class world where people do not have to dirty their hands with “common work”. I think that Conrad is further expressing the point that Marlow’s world in London was a pure illusion, unreal almost because he took luxuries for granted. In the Congo, people work hard to do what they need to do to get by, and know that it is a dog-eat-dog world, which more thoroughly represents reality.

     Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, was written to explore the soul of man. If the book is viewed only superficially, a tragic story of the African jungle is seen, but when examined closely, a deeper meaning arises. Through his narrator Marlow, Conrad uses the theme of light and dark to contrast the civilized with the savage.

Marlow, then continues to represent the Africans and Africa in terms of 'blackness' as 'black limbs', 'black bodies', a 'black and incomprehensible frenzy', so that by absentingly unconsciously any re-evaluation of the Africans or Africa as 'evil', 'dark' and 'other', Marow's

Joseph Conrad created a character called Marlow. Marlow narrates the journey that he was taking. However, it is through this journey that the entire story of Heart of Darkness is narrated to us. This book is not entirely a fictitious story because the reader partly gets to know the authors own experiences. This book mainly talks about colonization and is often taken as a voice against colonization. Even though, the book on many levels shows the negative impacts of colonization, the readers need to take into consideration the way the natives, the Africans have been portrayed as an inferior race compared to the colonizers because of the words used, the incidents, narration and the mixed feeling of Marlow and other Europeans towards them.

In his story, Conrad uses the title “Heart of Darkness” to represent the impeding themes that he reveals about humanity. The themes that Joseph Conrad reveals to the reader include the idea that humanity, throughout all ages, has struggled with such ideas as corruption, greed, morals, and other problems. By titling the story with the word ‘darkness’ he connects the evils of people with the title, concluding ‘darkness’ to be the full of humanities evils. “The point was in his being a gifted creature, and that of real presence – the pulsating stream of light, or the deceitful flow from the heart of an impenetrable darkness.” (P. 222) Through the title word ‘darkness’ Conrad explains how the gifts, talents, and abilities humans have available to them can be used for both good and evil – how humanity has the choice between the two sides available to them. He uses this title to help shape how the reader sees the world around them – how they process actions

According to Said we cannot judge Conrad to be racist in a time where there was not such a word. Heart of Darkness was written in 1899, so at the time black and Negro were not considered as offending. “Said sees the novella more as an important time-document which displays a vision that was seen as “normal” and correct at the time.” Said sees that we cannot judge a writer’s thoughts and ideologies in another context and time, because an ideology can change by the passing of time and so do thoughts. “As a creature of his time, Conrad could not grant the native their freedom, despite his sever critique of the imperialism that enslave

The novella is about a white man who is going into the African jungle, this white man is a nameless narrator a board of the cruising yawl Nellie, held in the Thames River in England who begins to relate the story of Charlie Marlow’s river voyage in the Belgian Congo. However, this voyage is not telling us an adventure journey, there is something beyond, we penetrate into the deep soul of the man. Joseph Conrad's phrase "heart of darkness" is a clear concept that represents the contrast of darkness and light in the characters, the mood, the struggles, and the theme. At the end of the story, Marlow returns to Brussels to visit Kurtz’s fiancee. The Setting of Heart of Darkness is practically equivalent from the novella’s symbolic framework where we find a rich cultural detail and natural symbols managed by the African landscape. This essay is going to show the symbols of light and darkness in Conrad's heart of darkness and their symbolic meaning to reveal the knowledge of the truth. Conrad uses symbols as light and darkness to contrast the civilized European world with the primitive African world. But it is not also presenting the symbolism of darkness and light, at the same time he is hiding the real meaning of darkness, the real knowledge

“Heart of Darkness” is a story of Marlow, the protagonist from whom the theme of ‘colonization’ is