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Literary analysis for the heart of darkness
Impact of colonialism and imperialism in Africa
Analysis of the book "heart of darkness
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The Company strives to obtain as much possible ivory as they can, but the cause of this obsession as well as business is the deterioration of the people living in the Congo, and the mindset of their own men. Marlow, since a child, was always fascinated with maps, and to travel to all the blank spots on their. With the help of his Aunt, Marlow sets across a journey to the African Congo. In Joseph Conrad’s, The Heart of Darkness, Marlow retells his physical and mental expedition to the Congo. Marlow has heard so much of the praised Mr. Kurtz, who brings in as much ivory as all the other agents put together, but as Marlow travels to the Inner Station to meet him he witnesses the truth behind how this ivory is obtained. The Company and Mister Kurtz, …show more content…
In this frenzy though they lose sight of what effect they are giving to the natives of the land. This harassment and discrimination spreads hate and despair among everyone in the region. When Marlow first gets off his boat and sets foot at the Outer Station, he states, “I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were connected like the knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them rhythmically clinking” (pg. 12, para. 4). Marlow is the first person to recognize the ill treatment of these African Americans who have just been turned into slaves. This insatiable greed that everyone in the Company possesses is hindering them from seeing the true outcome of darkness. The lives of the natives are changed to a poor, rib-cage showing hunger, and lack of even basic freedoms and rights. Nobody even ponders the question or look at the point of view of the natives; if they did they will surely see the wretchedness in their …show more content…
In Marlow’s previous encounter with a doctor in the Company, he gets a scientific insight at the changes of a human being. Marlow states when he thinks about the doctor, “I remembered the old doctor-‘It would be interesting to watch the mental changes of individuals on the spot’. I felt I was becoming scientifically interesting” (pg. 17, para. 1). Marlow states that he is becoming “scientifically interesting”, so here it means that he is being changed mentally on the spot. Despite his usual state of mind, he begins to be influenced by the thoughts and ideas of the people in the Company. This supports the fact that the Company is willing for anyone new to change their mindset into thinking that what they are doing is right and legal. The Company changes the minds of the normal people into a greedy mind filled with desire for ivory. Marlow is at the brink of being affected by this technique for obtaining wealth and
In Heart of Darkness, all of Joseph Conrad’s characters seem to have morally ambiguous tendencies. The most prominently morally ambiguous character is Kurtz, whose distance from society changes his principles, and leads him to lose all sense of decorum. Conrad takes a cynical tone when describing Marlow's journey. Marlow's voyage through the Congo gives him insight to the horrific, dehumanizing acts that his company and Kurtz conduct. Conrad creates a parallel with the tone of his writing and the misanthropic feelings that the main character experiences. Furthermore, Conrad creates a frame story between Kurtz and Marlow, adding to the symbolism and contrast between contextual themes of light and dark, moral and immoral, and civilization and wilderness. After being sent on a horrific journey into the Congo of Africa, as an agent for the Company to collect ivory, Marlow finds the infamous and mysterious Kurtz. Kurtz, who has totally withdrawn from society, and has withdrawn
...art of his own self-knowledge. But he deliberately lies, submerging himself in the detested taint of death and mortality, for the greater protection of civilization and humanity from the subversiveness of naked truth. Marlow comes to the realization that he must live and sometimes bathe in the appalling waters of human limitations in order not to disrupt the whole human world.
Heart of Darkness is Joseph Conrad's tale of one man's journey, both mental and physical, into the depths of the wild African jungle and the human soul. The seaman, Marlow, tells his crew a startling tale of a man named Kurtz and his expedition that culminates in his encounter with the "voice" of Kurtz and ultimately, Kurtz's demise. The passage from Part I of the novel consists of Marlow's initial encounter with the natives of this place of immense darkness, directly relating to Conrad's use of imagery and metaphor to illustrate to the reader the contrast between light and dark. The passage, although occurring earlier on in the novel, is interspersed with Marlow's two opposing points of view: one of naïveté, which comes before Marlow's eventual epiphany after having met Kurtz, and the matured perspective he takes on after all of the events leading up to his and Kurtz's encounter.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a novel about a man named Marlow and his journey into the depths of the African Congo. Marlow is in search of a man named Kurtz, an ivory trader. Though Marlow?s physical journey seems rather simple, it takes him further into his own heart and soul than into the Congo. The setting, symbols and characters each contain light and dark images, these images shape the central theme of the novel.
An example is his inability to deal with the dying natives at the “grove of death”, offering a native a biscuit as an apparent gesture of kindness. Yet this is only due to him not being confronted with situations like this previously where his own values, and the whole premise behind colonialism, the exploitation is revealed. The patriarchal views of women he displays also outline the background of Marlow and the associated values.... ... middle of paper ... ... "This heart is drowned in a bath of light shed by the advent of civilization.
"He owes no allegiance to anything except those animal powers, those various lusts, those unpermitted aspirations lurking in the darkness of his inner station. Marlow also responds to these dark callings, and he almost becomes their captive. He confuses the beat of the drum (the call to man's primitive side) with his own heartbeat, and is pleased.
The horrors of the past do not fade with time - whether the horrors are contained in one’s lifetime or occurred decades before. In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey, characters are depicted as they struggle to overcome the demons of their personal histories and of history itself. With persistent reflection, both characters achieve a clearer understanding of their pasts, allowing them to transform according to the truths they have discovered. Conrad and Trethewey use water as a symbol to express the shift in their characters’ identities: Marlow from apathetic detachment to passive awareness and Trethewey’s speaker from confused turmoil to a defined identity.
... to a man's soul. Marlow's journey was not only into the heart of Africa, but also into the heart of Kurtz where he realizes the truth of colonialism and the potential evil it entails.
Comparisons and contrasts are important devices which an author may use to help convey his thoughts and feelings about a situation or an event. Joseph Conrad makes use of these devices in his novel Heart of Darkness. Throughout the novel when he was trying to convey a deeper meaning about a situation or a place, he would us a comparison or contrast. The comparative and contrasting themes in the story help to develop Conrad's ideas and feelings in the Heart of Darkness. Light verses dark, the Thames verses the Congo, the Savages compared to the civilized people, and the darkness of both worlds are all contrasts and comparisons that are important to the meaning as well as the understanding of this novel.
Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, was written in the year 1902, a time of modernist literature. Heart of Darkness talks about the problems with alienation and confusion as much as it does about imperialism. In the early 1900’s, the lifestyle in England veered towards the Victorian values. Conrad’s novella makes a bridge to connect the Victorian values with the ideas of modernism. Thus “it belongs to a period of change.”(Sardar) For example, the natives are following in the footsteps of their predecessors, following a life of tradition, and their ideas of life are constantly being attacked by people like Mr. Kurtz who think they are doing what is best, when in reality they are creating more confusion
While Heart of Darkness offers a powerful view into the hypocrisy of imperialism, it also delves into the morality of men. Darkness becomes a symbol of hatred, fear and symbol of the power of evil. Marlow begins his story believing that these elements exists within the jungle, then with the natives and finally makes the realization that darkness lives within the heart of each man, even himself. People must learn to restrain themselves from giving into the "darkness." Marlow discusses at one point how even suffering from starvation can lead a man to have "black" thoughts and restraining oneself from these thoughts would be almost impossible in such hardship.
Marlow has gone through three mental phases throughout his trip to Africa which have forever changed him. He has become wise. He has not just experienced new cultures but he has completed an extremely tough mental journey. After this journey had ended he experienced extreme changes to his psyche which had occured on his way to and from the Congo. He begins as a naive sailor who longs for adventure, which represents the superego. Then as he became isolated on the Congo, away from society’s restraints his id instincts came out. He has the courage to continue and when he returns to society, his ego balances his id and superego.
Though honest, Marlow is a prejudiced man; he is the epitome of colonialism. Going into the Congo, Marlow views the natives as prehistoric evils in desperate need of white influence and civilization. Throughout the physical journey, Marlow is confronted with the natives time and time again, seeing them chained as slaves, living in a village and attacking his own steam boat.
The value of restraint is stressed throughout Heart of Darkness. On one hand, Marlow is saved by his self-discipline while on the other hand; Kurtz is doomed from his lack of it. Before Marlow embarked on his voyage to Africa, he had a different view. Due to propaganda, he believed that the colonization of the Congo was for the greater good. In his head, he judged that the people of Africa were savages and that colonization would bring them the elation and riches of civilization. Despite an apparent uneasiness, he assumed that restraint would function there. When he reaches the Company station, he obtains his first astonishment. Everything seems worthless. Marlow finds no evidence of any devotion to efficiency but finds what he considers a miracle among the disorder. This “miracle” is the chief accountant. The reason Marlow finds this man so phenomenal is because he shows restraint. He maintains his appearance and his books are in “apple-pie order.” Marlow finds respect for this complete stranger because this chap shows backbone and self-discipline.
The main character in Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, isKurtz. Kurtz no longer obeys the authority of his superiors who believe that he has become too extreme and has come to employ "unsound methods" (Coppola, 1979; Longman, 2000). Marlow is sent to retrieve Kurtz from the evil influences in the Congo, and a wild journey on a tainted river ensues. Along the way, Marlow learns about the real Kurtz and finds himself identifying with and becoming dangerously fond of the man.