Heart Of Darkness Allusions

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"So long as there is imperialism in the world, a permanent peace is impossible" (Nasrallah). This quote by Hassan Nasrallah alludes to the belief that imperialism results in worldwide conflicts. Throughout the course of human events, nations have sought to take over a specific area to benefit their nation economically. In fact, one of the prominent purposes of Heart of Darkness is to highlight and expose the devastation that King Leopold of Belgium imposed on the Congo. King Leopold began is campaign in the Congo during the late 1800s, causing death to the natives and stripping the vast land of resources like ivory (. In Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, he uses the literary elements of Biblical allusion, characterization, and setting to show …show more content…

One of the many Biblical allusions Conrad uses is the white sepulcher which is a symbol for hypocrisy. Conrad compares the company and the men who came to imperialize the Congo to a white sepulcher, or a tomb (Conrad). "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (ESV, Matthew 23:27-28). This exhibits that imperialism caused hypocrisy in the mindset and actions of the colonizers. Thus, these men appeared to be pure in their physical appearances, yet were dirty and unclean in their hearts and minds. As seen throughout the novel, imperialism took a toll on the colonizers by bringing about their hypocrisy. Furthermore, another Biblical allusion is the shape of the river in the Congo. This river is in the distinct outline of a snake which refers to the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis (Conrad 7). In this story, the snake is a representation of the darkness that stems from deception. Therefore, the river in Heart of Darkness symbolizes the deception that is found at the core of every human. For instance, the colonizers deceived the masses of civilians in Europe who thought that these …show more content…

For instance, Conrad uses the jungle and the natives to be the victims of European imperialism. In the opening of the novel, Marlow uniquely describes the Congo, "And this also has been one of the darkest places of the earth" (Conrad 3). Marlow reflects on the imperialism he experienced in the Congo, which lays the groundwork for the darkness in the novel. Additionally, Marlow uses an analogy to compare the European conquest of the Congo to the Roman conquest of Europe. Yet, Marlow alludes to the fact that the Europeans in the Congo were no colonists because they were imperialists who sought to conquer and gather strength from the weaknesses of the natives (Conrad 3-4). Moreover, the manner in which the colonizers treated the natives are rooted in their imperialism. In fact, Marlow witnessed the devastation imposed on the natives as he observed a chain gang. "I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck..." (Conrad 12-13). As the colonizers imperialized and aggrandized their sphere of influence in the Congo, they treated the natives with no deference by malnourishing them and forcing them to perform egregious labor. Thus, the principles of imperialism altered the human characteristics of emotion and compassion in the colonizers by encouraging the defilement of the

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