Symbols, Setting, and Ironies of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    Within the text of Heart of Darkness, the reader is presented with many metaphors. Those that recur, and are most arresting and notable, are light and dark, nature and Kurtz and Marlow. The repeated use of light and dark imagery represents civilization and primitiveness, and of course the eternal meaning of good and evil. However, the more in depth the reader goes the more complex it becomes. Complex also are the meanings behind the metaphors of nature included within the text. It represents a challenge for the colonists, often also signifying decay and degeneration. Finally Kurtz and Marlow represent imperialism and the colonists. All these metaphors come together and contribute not only to

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.

Beyond the shield of civilization and into the depths of a primitive, untamed frontier lies the true face of the human soul. It is in the midst of this savagery and unrelenting danger that mankind confronts the brooding nature of his inner self.  Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, is the story of one man's insight into life as he embarks on a voyage to the edges of the world. Here, he meets the bitter, yet enlightening forces that eventually shape his outlook on life and his own individuality. Conrad’s portrayal of the characters, setting, and symbols, allow the reader to reflect on the true nature of man.

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

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.

In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, the interpretation of pre-colonial times is interesting in a way that supersedes other books I’ve read because it’s very honest with how the world worked it that era. The central aim which the shipmates in Heart of Darkness are pursuing is the expansion of their home countries’ empires. Yet many people are hurt in this enterprise, and it’s not only the colonized territories that are impacted negatively by imperialist Europe. Europe’s explorers that go to the Congo are constantly dying of sickness. Compare the ways in which the consequences of imperialism affect the different groups of people in the book, the more one can understand about characters’ actions.

    Literature is never interpreted in exactly the same way by two different readers. A prime example of a work of literature that is very ambiguous is Joseph Conrad's, "Heart of Darkness". The Ambiguities that exist in this book are Marlow's relationship to colonialism, Marlow's changing feelings toward Kurtz, and Marlow's lie to the Intended at the end of the story.

Imperialism and its oppressive processes have affected societies as well as individual lives for centuries. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, oppression through imperialism demonstrates how a certain civilization, the Congolese, is affected negatively by imperialism. By focusing on Africa, it allows for a graphic recount of the many years spent reigned by foreign oppressors and tyrannies. In Heart of Darkness, the Congo is oppressed by the imperialists economically and geographically. As well, the oppressed people are taken advantage of spiritually. Conrad describes how the ruling tyrant is affected by the process of conquering a local people and this draws a parallel to the ruling empire. Conrad, through his novel, attempts to

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.

The two major themes of Heart of Darkness are the conflict between “reality” and “darkness,” and the idea of restraint and whether or not it is necessary. Conrad’s passage describing the restraint of the hungry cannibals exemplifies both themes:  It describes how reality shapes human behavior, and contrasts the characters of Kurtz and Marlow.  “Reality,” as it is used here, is defined as “that which is civilized.”

  In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, challenges a dominant view by exposing the evil nature and the darkness associated with the colonialist ventures. It is expressed by Marlow as "robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as it is very proper for those who tackle a darkness." The European colonialists are portrayed as blind lightbearers, people having a façade of progress and culture, yet are blind of their actions. They think they are brining a light to a darkness, yet they are the real darkness or evil. Conrad's critique of European colonialism is most apparent through the oppositions of light and darkness, with the

The United Nations labeled and sold European colonization in the Congo during the early twentieth century as the idea that the Congo would be transformed from a savage jungle into a place of international trade, education, and development. The harsh realities of imperialism crushed this idealistic idea of having a flourishing civilized place in Africa. The King of Belgium exploited the Congo along with its people and used it as slave labor in order to personally profit off his new purchase. Joseph Conrad’s novella “Heart of Darkness” reveals these truths about European colonialism through the main character’s recollection and retelling of a past voyage to the Congo he had experienced. The novella tackles problematic Eurocentric ideas of Africans and their culture, while also revealing European supremacy as the white washed illusion it is. The author draws on his own past to tell not only a thrilling adventure, but also expose Europe for its exploitative actions during the early twentieth century.

European colonization in the Congo during the early twentieth century was labeled and sold as the idea that the Congo would be transformed from a savage jungle into a place of international trade, education, and development. This idealistic idea of having a flourishing civilized place in Africa was crushed by the harsh realities of imperialism. The Congo along with its people were exploited and used as slave labor for the King of Belgium to personally profit off his new purchase. Joseph Conrad’s novella “Heart of Darkness” reveals these truths about European colonialism through the main character’s recollection and retelling of a past voyage to the Congo he had experienced. The novella tackles problematic Eurocentric ideas of Africans and their culture, while also revealing European supremacy as the white washed illusion it is. The author draws on his own past to tell not only a thrilling adventure, but also expose Europe for its exploitative actions during the early twentieth century.

One event in the novel that displayed darkness was when the Europeans was cruel to the Africans. The main character, Marlow, went on a voyage to the Congo River. When Marlow arrived in Africa, he recognized that the Africans were being treated in an evil manner. In the novel, Marlow states, “They were dying slowly-it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now-nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom” (Conrad, 82). This displayed that the Africans were in harsh conditions that caused the majority of the Africans to die. The Africans were put under these conditions because the Europeans had imperialistic behaviors and wanted to take over their land. In order to accomplish their goal, the Europeans forced the Africans into slavery, which definitely presented that the Europeans had hearts of

In 1885 to 1960 Belgian colonized the Congo and people and the resources are being exploited by the colonizer. In the novel “Heart of Darkness” Conrad use various symbols to explore the theme or to show the concept of the novel. The author use various symbols in the novel from which there are several symbols which represent the theme and the concept of the novel. The symbols which helped to explore the theme of the novel are colonization by the European country to African people, ivory which made the Native people slave and the moral degradation of the women in the country.