What Does Heart Of Darkness Symbolize

But it is at this point of the story, that one may be taken back by the fact that Marlow did not have anything else negative to say about the matter. Still, Marlow has not done anything that can be characterized as evil. The more and more time Marlow spends with Kurtz, the more that Marlow’s philosophy changes. Despite all the bad things Kurtz has done, Marlow ends up admiring the man although Kurtz’s philosophy is immoral and unsound, such as Kurtz’ paper for the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs. During the era that The Heart of Darkness was written, natives in Africa were considered “savages” by many (although that is not the case), so it is understandable for this time frame that Kurtz wrote an essay for this society. However, it is the statement at the end of the paper that characterizes Kurtz as evil: “Exterminate all the brutes!” Yet again, the audience notices that Marlow finds this phrase somewhat strong, but never claims that killing all the rebels is a bad thing either. This is another hint that although Marlow has done nothing bad thus far, he has not disagreed with any of the wrongdoings supported by or done by Kurtz. All of this leads up to what Marlow does in the end which supports the theme that all people are

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

With the Africans holding their fellow Africans at gunpoint as slaves, Marlow is of the belief that imperialism and colonization are working in this part of the world. It is these two factors that made the Europeans come to Africa in the first place to form empires. However, Marlow is also of the belief that these empires were not only for colonization, but there is something greater such as resources that these people were coming to harvest from this Dark Continent (Conrad, p.166). This he describes as “a group of white men tearing treasures out of the bowels of the land.” In as much as he believes that Africans are being robbed, his surface character that lacks regard and is emotionless dismisses these thoughts when he states, “Africa is responsible for the colonial violence it is facing from the white

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.

Heart of Darkness, a greatly revered piece of literature for its condemnation of imperialism written by Joseph Conrad, has a lot of symbolism throughout it. One of the most important symbols that is a recurring theme is the darkness and what it represents. For Kurtz, a character that gets carried away by greed, the darkness would represent all the unspoken deeds he was able to commit in the Congo without the eyes of civilization watching him.

Marlow tells his shipmates on the boat (the Nelly) that the natives passed him “within six inches, without a glance, with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages” (16). Marlow’s story of his experience exhibits how the Europeans captured the natives and forced them to work; to strip their homeland of its resources and natural beauty. When the Europeans colonize Africa, they do not want to help the African people, but exploit them and put them to work for their own desire of obtaining ivory, rubber, and other resources and goods. As the Europeans imperialize the area, they do not build culture or assist in the development of the Congo region, but break down culture as they enslave the natives and take away their rights, along with stripping the area of resources and natural, earthly beauty, which is conveyed through the cruel physical treatment towards the natives. This treatment is also presented through the literary devices that Conrad decides to use to reveal the experiences of the natives to the

The Congo was ruled by King Leopold II of Belgium from 1876 — 1908. Conrad’s book, Heart of Darkness allows us to examine the structure of imperialism from the perspective of the winning side. This structure was founded upon the belief that one group’s knowledge, morals, religious and political views are superior than another.

Heart of Darkness, a novel by Joseph Conrad provides an in depth perspective of the imperialism that invaded the Congo in the 1800’s. Marlow, our narrator, tells of his journey sailing up the Congo river in search of the most luxurious item of the time--Ivory. While sailing this twisting and deeply mystical river, Marlow hears of Kurtz, a man with a admirable reputation within their workplace known as the Company. As Marlow travels further along the Congo river he notices a distinct change of scenery. The river acts similar to a reverse timeline, and in the center of it all, lies a somewhat prehistoric culture that the Company is exploiting. Ironically, in the eyes of the Company the natives are being saved and given purpose in life, but in

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

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.

Conrad considered the Africans inferior and doomed people. Frances B. Singh, author of The Colonialistic Bias of Heart of Darkness said "The African natives, victims of Belgian exploitation, are described as 'shapes,' 'shadows,' and 'bundles of acute angles,' so as to show the dehumanizing effect of colonialist rule on the ruled" (269-270). Another similar incident of "double speak" appeared on the death of Marlow's helmsman. Marlow respected the helmsman, yet when the native's blood poured into Marlow's shoes, "To tell you the truth, I was morbidity anxious to change my shoes and socks" (Conrad 47).

The historical basis of Heart of Darkness is the overtaking of the Congo by King Leopold II of Belgium. Leopold subjugated the indigenous people of the Congo in order to use them as slaves in his quest for rubber and ivory, much like that of the Company who said they were helping the natives while searching for ivory and Kurtz who took advantage of the peoples beliefs to have them procure the ivory for him.

In the novella Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses light and dark to represent life and death. Although the Europeans believe they are bringing light and life to the Congo, in reality, they are bringing darkness and death. Sometimes one’s real intentions can be eclipsed by their actions. While Marlow is in the Congo, he witnesses disturbing sights. For example, one of the first things Marlow sees in the Congo is a few natives “dying slowly” with looks of pain and despair while leaning against trees (Conrad 19). Even with this, Marlow is generally unaffected and focuses more on the landscape than the people dying. In order to disassociate from the bad, Marlow tends to focus on unimportant details, which plays into how the evil, underlying motives of colonization can be masked. A critique of Heart of Darkness describes this phenomenon as the “enlightened façade” the Company has for the general public to continue imperialism (Allingham). It is easier for everyone to accept that the Company is improving the Congo rather than looking deeper and seeing

There are many symbols used in the novel Heart of Darkness. One of the major and most significant symbols used is the river. One reason that the river is symbolic is that it shows a struggle between good and evil represented in the story. This is also significant because the river leads into the interior of Africa. The river is also significant because Marlow, the novel’s main character, comes to think more deeply as he travels along the river. Out of the many symbols found in this novel, the symbolism that surrounds the river is diverse and poetic for the reasons that it covers multiple major themes and does so in a figurative way.

As Marlow lands in the Congo and begins his trip overland, we listen to him describe the Africans he sees, “I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar…and all were connected together with a chain…” (Conrad 27-8) He describes another group of workers as a group of people who had “withdrawn to die.” He meets a white man, the bookkeeper, and hears the lament for how a sick African is interrupting his concentration. Slowly, Marlow builds up a picture of Africans being oppressed and killed in a variety