Mental and physical health can be so easily affected by an environment. In the Heart of Darkness, Conrad really emphasizes just how easily one can be affected mentally and physically by darkness. Through the characters in his book, he shows that darkness can abandon one of their physical health and provide them with an open mind that can so simply be filled with the darkness they are surrounded by. The health of the entire body is easily sabotaged in the affects of darkness and illness.
In the Heart of Darkness, Conrad throws his characters into an environment that has a very strong ability of affecting their mental sanity and physical well-being. In relation, insanity and physical illness are on different boards of the spectrum.
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He provides his readers with information on the daily life of the characters that already live in the brutal, dark life in Africa. Through these characters, his readers see the aftermath of living in such a terrible environment and how it becomes natural to be insane and ill. The Europeans are physically affected by the suffering of the body through the scorching heat that leads to a constant and daily sweat. The illnesses they receive has sabotaged the health of their inner body. With all of these rough, ill circumstances building off each other, the mind travels its way into a dark, unhealthy place. This is where the relation takes place. Once one section of the body, as in the mind or physical aspect, is affected by the darkness, it’s easy to dominate the other section. Through Marlow, Conrad gives his readers a visualization of the beginning stages of someone evolving into a local in this type of environment, “And this also… has been one of the darkest places on earth”(Conrad). Conrad shows the relation between insanity and physical illness by forcing Marlow to experience both. Among the Congo, Marlow encounters true darkness for the first time. Not just darkness as in he is unable to see light, but in a way that he is unable to feel the light within …show more content…
The environment they are placed in and the people they are surrounded by slowly begin to rub off onto them, forcing one to begin to think and act the way they do. Mental well-being can be strongly affected by a multitude of things, especially a certain environment. It seems like it would be extremely difficult to have a positive, selfless attitude in Heart of Darkness because they are surrounded by the complete opposite. Every man is for himself and over time every single person in that environment will have that exact mindset because without it, it seems nearly impossible to survive. This is where mental strength and positivity begins to majorly fail. As soon as a small part of one person begins to change, they become vulnerable and break down just to be built up in a new way according to their environment, especially their mental health. It’s as if they get put into a certain trance and it becomes impossible to get out
In today‘s civilization, we find many menacing emotions that keep us humans from doing good deeds. We have different states of mind, and consciousness. There are levels that allow us to openly express what we are thinking. But there are also levels we know exist, but we refuse to allow others to know. Also, there are even states of mind we can’t even comprehend on our own. In Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness, the 3 states of the conscious mind are connected, displayed and ignored as the Europeans conform to what everyone else is doing and disregard their own true thoughts. The consciousness of the mind is easily overpowered by menacing forces, such as conformity, savagery and ignorance. These menacing forces encircle all forms of civilization, and have an effect on the human brain whether it’s realized or not.
The most obvious contrast found in Heart of Darkness is between that of light and dark. In the beginning of the novel when the sun set upon London, the city began to light up yet the narrator describes the light as a "lurid glare under the stars" (Conrad 6). The lights from the city illuminated the Thames River. Because London is described as being light, the light then symbolizes civilization, or at least Conrad's view of civilization. Conrad's view of civilization is one of great despise. Civilization is a place where evil is ever present but ignored and people believe they know everything. The light is the knowledge that we have gained through exploration and the civilizing of places that have not yet been civilized. In contrast there is the darkness. Represented in the novel by Africa and the Congo River, the darkness is the evil that lurks in the unknown. The darkness is full of savages and cannibals. It is the uncivilized and uninhabited part of the world where people eat people and the savages lurk in the trees and in the darkness. Africa is the "heart of darkness," the place where man's inner evil is brought out in the open and is displayed through their thoughts and actions, such as those on Marlow's boat, letting the bullets fly into the jungle without reason or need.
Mental health is a relevant issue in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Not only is Kurtz’ mental health questionable throughout the novel, but Marlow also has to be examined by a physician, to check both his physical and mental status, before he starts on the journey to Africa. The mental health community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was not nearly as developed as it is today, but many developments during this time period had a profound impact on the way we analyze the human psyche and mental health today.
In analysis of Heart of Darkness, much is made of Conrad’s intentions in telling his
As Marlow assists the reader in understanding the story he tells, many inversions and contrasts are utilized in order to increase apperception of the true meaning it holds. One of the most commonly occurring divergences is the un orthodox implications that light and dark embody. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness brims with paradoxes and symbolism throughout its entirety, with the intent of assisting the reader in comprehending the truth of not only human nature, but of the world.
Heart of Darkness was a huge milestone in the history of literature do to the impeccable way Conrad used ambiguity to describe his story. He does this by using symbols, themes, and archetypal images. These include light and dark, the Congo river, colors, and by not explaining everything to the reader. While reading the novel, the reader is actually required to interpret the text and really think about what certain details mean. The way Conrad wrote the novel is for the reader is to look for clues and develop ideas. It is completely subjective and trying to find exact answers is not an option. This writing style opened the eyes of many writers and changed the way literature was understood.
In my paper, titled, The Dark and Light, the dark and light imagery in the novella Heart of Darkness, will be described as a demonstration of how much the this imagery is portrayed, and how this it was so significant in the novella. Throughout Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses a plethora of simple colors, objects, and surroundings to convey multilayered images and ideas. These numerous symbols and events in the story have a more in-depth meaning, and are extremely important throughout the story.
"Everything is repellent to me here. Men and things, but especially men...all have a gift for getting on my nerves." (103) Conrad eventually accepted himself as one of these people, and began to work on Heart of Darkness, a cathartic novel based on his journal written in the Congo. He wrote about Marlow, who will take a journey into the Congo and into his own soul, in an attempt to discuss the evil he experienced in Africa. Conrad
Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. A. The Heart of Darkness. Middlesex, England: Penguin Publishers, 1983. Gillon, Adam.
Beyond the shield of civilization and into the depths of a primitive, untamed frontier lies the true face of the human soul. It is in the midst of this savagery and unrelenting danger that mankind confronts the brooding nature of his inner self. Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, is the story of one man's insight into life as he embarks on a voyage to the edges of the world. Here, he meets the bitter, yet enlightening forces that eventually shape his outlook on life and his own individuality. Conrad’s portrayal of the characters, setting, and symbols, allow the reader to reflect on the true nature of man.
In one context, Marlow the protagonist of Heart of Darkness uses the word "darkness" when reminiscing about his boyhood dreams of exploring undiscovered places on the map. Marlow referred to the places on the map that were uncharted and unexplored as dark. Darkness represents a mystery or an adventure yet to happen.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad may be a narrative about colonisation, revealing its drawbacks and corruption, but it may also be understood as a journey into the depths of one’s psyche, if taken at a symbolic level.
Conrad uses many ecocritical elements in Heart of Darkness. The mysterious wilderness envelopes the book’s characters in a fog of confusion and danger, while falling prey to its power. Nature is everywhere in this story, that lets nature affect almost every aspect of this story. Marlow, Kurtz, and all of the other characters react to nature differently. Some thrive in it, and some perish.
"Heart of Darkness" is Conrad's journey to the Self/Autobiographical elements in the "Heart of Darkness"
“The changes take place inside you know” (Conrad 13.) advises the doctor in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Conrad hints of a mental journey that will change Marlow as his physical journey takes him through 3 stations connected together by the Congo River. “Within this conception Marlow’s journey only incidentally involves movement through physical space; in essence it represents a “journey into self”. ”(Levenson 153.) As Marlow’s journey down the river takes him deeper into the Congo, it also takes him deeper into the darkness of the mind.