Theme Of Symbolism In Heart Of Darkness

‘Heart of Darkness’ includes four-month of Conrad in Congo, and his command of a Congo River steamboat. Conrad experienced and saw the violence made by the European explorers and traders in Congo. He created the embodiment of European imperialism in his character, Kurtz. The novel tell the story of Marlow, a seamen who undertakes his own journey into the African Jungle to find the European trader, Kurtz.

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

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.

When Marlow first hears about Kurtz he sort of pushes it to the side. He wasn’t very interested in who Kurtz was. He didn’t want to have the same opinion about Kurtz as everyone else. He wanted to form his own. Once Marlow learns more about Kurtz, and how he gave up the rich life of Europe to stay in the jungles of Africa, he begins to admire Kurtz. As the story progresses Marlow begins to become obsessed with Kurtz and getting to meet him. For example, when the crew was on the boat and Marlow heard that Kurtz had died he became devastated that he would not get the chance to meet Kurtz. “I couldn’t have felt more lonely of desolation somehow, had I been robbed of a belief or had missed my destiny in life.” (Conrad, 67-68) “Talking with … I flung one shoe overboard, and became aware that that was exactly what I had been looking forward to – a talk with Kurtz… The man presented himself as a voice” (Conrad, 67). Marlow’s obsession with Kurtz was an obsession with his voice. I think Marlow is obsessed with Kurtz because he believes that Kurtz is different than the other men. He believes that he has some sort of restraint and can control his destiny.

Conrad’s depictions of the African natives and the operations being carried out in the stations of the Congo seem to vary throughout the entirety of The Heart of Darkness. At times there are condemnatory statements made about the so called savages, while at other times, Marlow develops a friendship of sorts with his African helmsman. Ultimately though, Conrad’s portrayal of the ivory trade and overall imperialistic policies employed by European countries upon Africa is one of denouncement. This novella is written with an unmistakable denigration for the so called civilization mission and for the ill treatment of the natives. Far more superior technology paired with the sense of duty to spread civilization resulted in the abuse of the people

In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, he explores the hypocritical and false nature of colonialism. Throughout the novel, almost everyone but Marlow continually describes colonialism as a noble endeavor, yet Marlow’s experience while in the Congo constantly and thoroughly disproves such claims.

According to Buddhist Meditation Master, Chogyam Trungpa, “Enlightenment is permanent because we have not produced it. We have merely discovered it.” This quote symbolizes how in the novel Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, the protagonist, Charlie Marlow, explores the discovery of enlightenment when telling his story of venturing into the Congo to his shipmates on board the Nellie. The Belgian trading company hires Marlow to be a representative to go into the Congo. While in the Congo, Marlow hears of this marvelous man named Kurtz who is the Company’s prize possession and brings in the most ivory for them. Marlow’s main goal is to travel upriver to meet the famous Kurtz. His journey upriver is rigorous with many obstacles in his path. While traveling to Kurtz, Marlow witnesses many things like how they were treated by The Company and he sees the brutality the Africans have to endure. He sees this constantly through his trip and realizes the Company’s true colors. Once Marlow meets up with Kurtz, he does not know what to think about him. Kurtz is not the kind of man Marlow expects out of him and he changes Marlow’s perception of him. When Kurtz dies, it brings Marlow back into the state of reality and he sees the horrors Kurtz has done. Marlow understands Kurtz’s obsession with the jungle and knowing the actions of Kurtz enlightens Marlow. By revealing the horrors that Marlow sees in Heart of Darkness, Conrad shows that when people are exposed to the savage darkness of

It seems while on the river and in the Congo people begin to change. When Marlow first arrived, one of his first sights was the natives walking around chained together at the neck, that was his first indication that he is not where he thought he was going. (MLA CITE?). Later in the novel, Marlow starts to figure out that just because Kurtz bringing he most ivory does not mean that he is so great. Kurtz is fully corrupt, he has conformed to the society that surrounds him, he has lied and cheated his way into success and pulled many people into his mischievous plan. Marlow starts to discover Kurtz's true character once he is on the boat taking Kurtz back to Europe and he realizes that Kurtz is not the man he used to be. Kurtz had become so used to the society that he was in and the decisions that he was making

In the novel Heart of Darkness, Joesph Conrad uses the symbol of the river to show change and how the the river is deceiving and evil. Conrad uses the Congo river, which in its time was a key element in the conversion of Africa to the imperialistic country it is in the novel. The Congo river allows access into the interior of Africa, referred to as the “Dark Continent” in the novel. The river is more than definitely one of the most important elements and symbols of Heart of Darkness.

In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses the symbol of the painting of the veiled woman to epitomize his thoughts on colonialism. Kurtz’s painting shows not only the disjointed, purposeless, and violent colonization of Africa but the idealized facade of a noble cause that allows it to fester. Kurtz’s painting embodies the failures of European colonization in Africa. From the futile and meaningless work to the thoughtless and brutal massacre of Africans, the

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

Written in the late 1890’s, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness holds two different meanings. Heart of Darkness is both a metaphor for a psychological side of man, and an allusion to Africa. The title suggests both a physical and mental reference. During the time the novel takes place, Africa was called the dark continent. This was because little was known about Africa, and it was rather a mystery to Europeans. The main character in the novel, Marlow describes Africa as “a place of darkness” (Conrad 43). He also compares the Congo river to a snake: its head in the sea, its body curving over a country, and its tail in the deep of the land. Marlow speaks of it with this meaning, saying the place “had become a place of darkness.” The beginning of Marlow’s journey on the French steamer starts his descent into proverbial darkness.

The theme of Heart of Darkness is imperialism, there are a many issues surrounding imperialism. Marlow travels from the Outer station to the Central station and eventually to inner station. He observed some cases of cruelty, torture and almost slavery. The Company’s workers describe what they do as ‘’trade’’ and their treatment of native Africans is just a part of a project called

In the beginning, one of the main characters, Marlow, sets out on a voyage to explore a white spot on the map service of an ivory trading company. His route is through the river Congo (although in the novel the name of the river is never expressed). Marlow is a good-hearted, noble man from Europe. Morally he is a fair character with good intentions. Throughout his travels he slowly starts seeing that not everyone is so kind and not everyone cares about being good to their fellow-beings. It is full of sinister signs that Marlows final destination will be even worse that

It has been said that although Conrad may not have been 'the greatest novelist, he was certainly the greatest artist every to write a novel';. I feel that this is an apt description of Conrad's writing style in Heart of Darkness (1902), as he paints many verbal pictures by using expressive words and many figurative descriptions of places and people. An extensive use of words relating to colour, is evident throughout the novella. The idea of darkness (and light) is emphasized from the title of the novella, and continues to play an important role throughout in the story .