Ann Vuong Mrs. Graham English Pre-AP 01 August 2015 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad What is the important message, or theme, in this book? Why do you think the author felt this message was important? Support your answer with three specific quotes or pieces of evidence from the text. The message or theme in the book is that greed will never benefit you in any way but will instead hurt you. Kurtz was overwhelmed by his greed to conquer and take what was most precious to him, ivory. His greed for ivory caused him to become ill and mad. His greed was what caused his “dark heart.” The book states “He died as he lived,” which was ironically true due to the fact that the character stating this was oblivious to how Kurtz really did live out his
life. He lived as a greedy person believing that he was a god, conquering lands, and taking ivory. He was described as a man of wise word, which was true until he became enveloped by his greed for ivory. Kurtz greed in the end caused him to suffer two illnesses, one ending with his death. He gave Marlow his private letters which let the reader know that Kurtz knew that his death was coming, however his death was dark and morbid with his last words being, “The horror, the horror.” Heart of Darkness is a book that makes it’s reader analyze beyond its text in order to find a deeper meaning. The author of this book states, “Its somber theme, said Conrad, necessitated that he endowed the story with ‘a sinister resonance, a tonality of its own, a continued vibration that, I hoped, would hang in the air and dwell on the ear after the last note had been struck.” This quote stated what the author wanted the theme to feel like and how he wanted to convey his theme or message to his readers.
What is the message the author is trying to convey? How does (s)he convey this to the reader?
The theme of this book is that the human capacity to adapt to and find happiness in the most difficult circumstances. Each character in the novel shows this in their way. For instance, their family is randomly taken from their home and forced to work but they still remain a close nit family. In addition, they even manage to stick together after being separated for one of their own. These show how even in the darkest time they still manage to find a glimmer of hope and they pursued on.
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 effect for the reader, but also to the overall meaning.
In the analyses of both Trilling and Achebe, the merit of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is contemplated intricately. Unlike the accusatory criticism of Achebe’s essay which considers the novella an incompetent and offensive gesture that is unfit for canonical recognition, Trilling’s analysis wrests the various themes and implications of the story, greatly rendering the ambivalent dispositions of the characters and emphasizing the historic relevance and transcendence of the content. Subjective and insightful, Trilling’s knowledge of the subject and its legacy further justifies Conrad’s novella’s rightful location in the canon.
Throughout its entirety, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness utilizes many contrasts and paradoxes in an attempt to teach readers about the complexities of both human nature and the world. Some are more easily distinguishable, such as the comparison between civilized and uncivilized people, and some are more difficult to identify, like the usage of vagueness and clarity to contrast each other. One of the most prominent inversions contradicts the typical views of light and dark. While typically light is imagined to expose the truth and darkness to conceal it, Conrad creates a paradox in which darkness displays the truth and light blinds us from it.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is one of the most widely recognized and acclaimed novellas written. But with fame and recognition comes controversy, which is clearly demonstrated by the broad interpretations of the book. Many people believe Heart of Darkness is racist, while others believe the book is perfectly civil. Chinua Achebe, one of Africa's most renowned novelists, strongly believes that the book is dehumanizing and racist; I agree with him, to a certain extent. Three of the most prominent ways that Achebe discusses Conrad’s racism is by the way the African people are portrayed, the African culture, and the comparison of Europe to Africa.
Vague Descriptions in Heart of Darkness. A dark, unfamiliar setting and a suspenseful plot give Heart of Darkness the characteristics of a good novel, but what really stands out is Conrad's writing. The story is full of vague imagery and descriptions that the reader must contemplate in order to fully understand. Writing so vividly was an impressive feat for Conrad, who was actually not a native English speaker.
The child’s game had ended. After I nearly ran Kurtz over, we stood facing each other. He was unsteady on his feet, swaying like the trees that surrounded us. What stood before me was a ghost. Each layer of him had been carved away by the jungle, until nothing remained. Despite this, his strength still exceeded that of my own. With the tribal fires burning so close, one shout from him would unleash his natives on me. But in that same realization, I felt my own strength kindle inside me. I could just as easily muffle his command and overtake him. The scene flashed past my eyes as though I was remembering not imagining. The stick that lay two feet from me was beating down on the ghost, as my bloodied hand strangled his cries. My mind abruptly reeled backwards as I realized what unspeakable dark thoughts I had let in. Kurtz seemed to understand where my mind had wandered; it was as though the jungle’s wind has whispered my internal struggles to him. His face twisted into a smile. He seemed to gloat and enjoy standing by to watch my soul begin to destroy itself.
Without personal access to authors, readers are left to themselves to interpret literature. This can become challenging with more difficult texts, such as Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness. Fortunately, literary audiences are not abandoned to flounder in pieces such as this; active readers may look through many different lenses to see possible meanings in a work. For example, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness may be deciphered with a post-colonial, feminist, or archetypal mindset, or analyzed with Freudian psycho-analytic theory. The latter two would effectively reveal the greater roles of Kurtz and Marlow as the id and the ego, respectively, and offer the opportunity to draw a conclusion about the work as a whole.
Literature is never interpreted in exactly the same way by two different readers. A prime example of a work of literature that is very ambiguous is Joseph Conrad's, "Heart of Darkness". The Ambiguities that exist in this book are Marlow's relationship to colonialism, Marlow's changing feelings toward Kurtz, and Marlow's lie to the Intended at the end of the story.
Conrad uses Kurtz’s life to caution against the detrimental effects of an addiction to greed. Demonstrated as Kurtz’s character changes dramatically; he transforms from a man in love who pursues many activates, to a cheater focused on obtaining ivory for reasons of wealth and fame. Ultimately, Kurtz realizes that his ivory is of no real value. Kurtz understands that he lost his morals, and learns that when he dies he will lose all his wealth. Kurtz learns “the horrors” of addiction, and how detrimental they are to someone’s character. Conrad uses Kurtz’s life as an example of how greed can harm someone; since it enters into their life, changes their identity, and then leaves them with nothing.
Critical Review of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness The understanding of evil and its genesis could not be achieved
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad is a story that connects the audience to the narrator’s senses. We come to understand the environment, the setting, the other charters, and Kurtz strictly from the narrator’s point-of-view, as he experiences things.
In this book review I represent and analyze the three themes I found the most significant in the novel.
Modernism began as a movement in that late 19th, early 20th centuries. Artists started to feel restricted by the styles and conventions of the Renaissance period. Thusly came the dawn of Modernism in many different forms, ranging from Impressionism to Cubism.