The Theme of Darkness in Conrad's Heart of Darkness Essay

The truth seems to be apart of everyday life, or at least that's the way people want it to be. Life is never full of truth, there are going to be lies and deceit amongst everyone, everywhere. Whether it be the rich of England or the poor in Africa. Some lies are to try to protect the feelings of others, some are to protect the survival of the one telling the lie. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the truth is avoided in order to protect the wellbeing of others through the examples of Marlow, painting of the woman, and Kurtz.

There can be multiple inferences from the clues that Conrad gives us. It is adding to the novel and giving the meaning. It could mean that there is just as much “darkness” in Europe as there is in Africa. Conrad’s main character, Marlow, has never been one that was easy to read or figure out. So why should the intended message be given to us plainly?

One interpretation of Marlow's relationship to colonialism is that he does not support it. Conrad writes, "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" (p. 27-28). Marlow says this

“Oh, propriety...We’re always so concerned with propriety. Even in total madness, we will stick to our hierarchies and chains of command.” This concept--human concern with fitting societal standards and hierarchies--is a clear theme in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Even as ivory transporter Charles Marlow journeys into Central Africa, a land described as “mad” and “savage”, those around him remain primarily interested in maintaining a set image and social standards, a strange concept amidst such perceived “madness”. This obsession with propriety in Heart of Darkness is seen through the anomalous character development of both Kurtz and Marlow, and the Company’s response. Overall, this contributes to a larger meaning explored by the novel--the question of good and evil and whether or not the two are truly distinguishable.

In his narrative, Marlow declares, "You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me. There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies, - which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world - what I want to forget" (Longman 2210). In spite of these strong words, he lies to Kurtz's "Intended" when he visits her and tells her, "The last word he pronounced was - your name" (Longman 2246). Marlow's words, spoken in Part I to the audience, seem to contradict his words spoken in Part III to the Intended. Upon closer examination however, it is clear that it was keeping to his beliefs that caused Marlow to lie 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.

     Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a story about a man named Marlow and his Journey into the African Congo. By reading the novel and understanding all the imagery Conrad has inserted, we can get a better understanding of the

But if one accepts the title as meaning, in essence, "the heart which has the quality of being dark," one has to consider the associations of "darkness." Though darkness ordinarily connotes evil, Conrad brings still more ambiguities about light and dark into the mix as the novel progresses. Ivory, a constant presence in the novel, gains associations with the horrors of European colonialism and human materialism. The whiteness of ivory, therefore, cannot denote the positive, pure associations normally used by writers. Most critics believe "the story is set in light and dark polarities" (Ong 61), but clearly, there is vagueness and ambiguity throughout the novel. If one attempts to answer any such questions, still more arise. Watts validly concludes that the title offers "a certain disturbing mysteriousness through the immediate possibility of alternative glosses" (55).

Inherent inside every human soul is a savage evil side that remains repressed by society. Often this evil side breaks out during times of isolation from our culture, and whenever one culture confronts another. History is loaded with examples of atrocities that have occurred when one culture comes into contact with another. Whenever fundamentally different cultures meet, there is often a fear of contamination and loss of self that leads us to discover more about our true selves, often causing perceived madness by those who have yet to discover their own self.  Joseph Conrad’s book, The Heart of Darkness is a story about Man’s journey into his self, the discoveries to be made there and about

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness contrasts light and darkness, to represent the civilized and uncivilized sides of the world. Conrad uses light to represent the civilized side of humanity while contrasting the dark with the uncivilized and savage. Throughout the thematic stages of the novel, that is the Thames river London, the company's office in Belgium, the journey to the "heart of darkness" and the conclusion, light and dark is used to represent these sides of humanity, but on a deeper level many assumptions of darkness and light are challenged, with the appearance of light and dark, and in turn good and evil contrasting with the reality.

Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad used Africa as a background only, and how he "set Africa up as a foil to Europe,"(Achebe, p.251) while he also "projects the image of Africa as 'the other world,' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization."(Achebe, p.252) By his own interpretations of the text, Achebe shows that Conrad eliminates "the African as a human factor," thereby "reducing Africa to the role of props."(Achebe, p.257)

    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

The fascination of the abomination--you know. Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate"(Conrad 4). In the story, Marlow saw what he thought to be civilized British settlers, but in reality, they were savages willing to do whatever it takes to make a profit. That is why Conrad describes their mother country as “one of the dark places of the Earth”(3).

In the book, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad we are introduced to the concept of light and dark as they relate to the people of Africa and the people of Europe. In the beginning of the book the intro gives an insight into the journey that the main character, Marlow, is about to embark on. Conrad symbolically introduces the sun setting on the river as Marlow enters the mouth of the Thames. Conrad reveals this allegory by indicating that Marlow is about to enter a dark place morally, and physically as a reference to the Negro people of Africa. Light and dark are used by Conrad to represent morality and immorality.

The characteristics of Modernism are nowhere more prevalent than in his 1899 novel Heart of Darkness. It provides a bridge between Victorian values and the ideals of modernism. It is about a British seaman, Marlow, and his journey down the long River Congo into the darkness of Africa to meet up with and bring home his employer’s local representative, Kurtz. Heart of Darkness represents as well as any novel ever written the bleakness and cynicism that are characteristic of the Modernist movement. Conrad’s observations on the effects of European colonialism provided a full-scale view to the emergence of