Heart of Darkness
Darkness permeates every circumstance, scene, and character in Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness. Darkness symbolizes the moral confusion that Charlie Marlow encounters, as well as the moral reconciliation he has within himself while searching for Kurtz. Marlow's morals are challenged numerous times throughout the book; on the Congo river and when he returns to Brussels.
Charlie Marlow characterizes the behavior of the colonialists with, "The flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly," (25). Marlow distinguishes "the devil" from violence, greed, and desire. He suggests that the basic evil of imperialism is not that it perpetrates violence against native peoples, or that it is motivated by greed. But that "the flabby, weak-eyed devil," the imperialists, seem to be distinguished by being foolish and unaware. Marlow is appalled by the apathetic attitude towards the sight of death, of the colonials aboard the Nellie. At the grove of the first station, Marlow is troubled by the sight of a man curled up, dying. "I saw a face near my hand…black bones…white flicker in the depth of the orbs, which died out quickly," (27). Marlow's horror at the grove suggests that the true evils of this colonial company are dehumanizing and deathly. Marlow offers a dying man a few pieces of a biscuit, and despite the fact that he is not particularly compassionate, the situation troubles him greatly.
During section two of Heart of Darkness, Marlow's professional skills, morals, and work ethics are contrasted with those of the other company employees. To Marlow, work represents the fulfillment of a contract between himself and the company he is working for. Repairing the st...
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.... His dishonesty was sparked by having compassion for others. Although dishonesty was something Marlow found distasteful at the start of his journey, he felt no remorse in lying to the Intended in Brussels. It is obvious that Marlow can not fully accept the truth himself, and lets the Intended believe that her husband died with a noble purpose, helping the Africans, and uttering her name as his a last words.
Fay Weldon believes that, "the writers who get a lasting response from the readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development…." In, Heart of Darkness, this statement holds true. Charlie Marlow goes through a period of moral reconciliation throughout the novella. Instances throughout Heart of Darkness show different sides of Charlie Marlow's morals. It is evident that when Marlow has returned to Brussels, that his morals have changed.
The natives who attack the steamboat as the pilgrims near the Inner Station are seen only as ‘naked breasts, arms, legs, glaring eyes.’ The effect is to cause the reader to never picture the natives as fully human.” By emphasizing the barbaric nature of the natives, Marlow shows how inconsiderate humans can be toward other humans. We look down on people who are different than us, simply because they are distinguished from us. He regards them and describes them as if they are lower life forms than him, which simply isn’t true. But the important question is why does Marlow (and all of The Company) think that these natives are simply animals? It’s because the Company holds power that the natives do not have. This goes back to the original thesis of this paper: without God serving as a strong figure in our lives, we look to
Heart of Darkness is a book that explores many different ideas and philosophies regarding human life. How people see each other and connect with each other is one of the larger aspects of human life covered in this tale. During his journey, Marlowe meets many different types of people that he is able to decipher from the good and bad personal characteristics. These people all contribute to Marlowe’s growth as a person as he breaks down barriers inside himself that deal with race, loyalty, and the way people interrelate with each other.
In the passage of Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad utilizes syntax that captures Marlow’s conscience with his mental process of perception filled with contradiction and uncertainty. Because Marlow expressed his perspective of the bond with the natives, he pointed out that every men on earth has similar characteristics of prehistorics traits. Conrad employs imagery which can permits his reader to visualize how Marlow is feeling when he took the opportunity in seeing the natives and their lifestyle. Because of viewing their natives lifestyle, Marlow has stirred his emotion in being overwhelmed and terrified. A rhetorical question was used at the end of the passage to show how Marlow is dealing with his trouble with what he sees in his surroundings.
Marlow, the main character in Heart of Darkness, often recognizes the Europeans' dehumanization of the Africans. As Marlow approaches the company offices at the Outer Station he sees "a scene of inhabited devastation" (Conrad 24). He catches sight of a chain gang of half starved, animal-like Africans. Trying to rationalize the situation, Marlow tells himself that these Africans are criminals, and somehow deserve their ...
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Marlow can be seen as the hero of the story despite his alternating morals and the fact that Marlow ultimately does nothing to improve the situation in Africa. Throughout the whole narrative Marlow finds himself thrust into many shocking situations yet chooses the path of an observant bystander, giving his own opinion at the time, but no lasting action or motivation is conceived. On top of this fact Marlow’s morals are anything but set in stone; they waver innumerable times over the course of the plot. Yet Marlow is more often than not seen as the prominent hero of the plot. How is this possible? This is because readers aren’t looking for perfection in a character, but depth, and Marlow achieves this level of depth through his epiphanies and the changes that take place in his perception of the world. These revelations in turn challenge the reader to reevaluate themselves.
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.
The novel, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is literally about Marlow’s journey into the Belgian Congo, but symbolically about the discovery of his heart and soul during his journey, only to find that it is consumed by darkness. He realizes that the man he admired and respected most, is really demonic and that he may be just like him. He is able to come to this realization however, before it takes the best of him.
Heart of Darkness is a story of one man's journey through the African Congo and the "enlightenment" of his soul. It begins with Charlie Marlow, along with a few of his comrades, cruising aboard the Nellie, a traditional sailboat. On the boat, Marlow begins to tell of his experiences in the Congo. Conrad uses Marlow to reveal all the personal thoughts and emotions that he wants to portray while Marlow goes on this "voyage of a lifetime". Marlow begins his voyage as an ordinary English sailor who is traveling to the African Congo on a "business trip". He is an Englishmen through and through. He's never been exposed to any alternative form of culture, similar to the one he will encounter in Africa, and he has no idea about the drastically different culture that exists out there.
Marlow is the raconteur of Heart of Darkness, and therefore is one of the more crucial characters within the plot. He embodies the willingness to be valiant, resilient, and gallant, while similarly seeming to be cautiously revolutionary. He is, seemingly the epitome of bravery, going into the jungle. Marlow’s voyage is, in essence, a “night journey into the unconscious, the confrontation with an entity within the self” (Guerard 38). The ominous coast is an allegory for the idea of the unconscious mind. “Watching a coast as it slips by the ship […] there it is before you—smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering” (1...
A long debated issue that has plagued human beings since the fall of man is what leads people to commit evil actions and whether evil is inherent in all people. In the literary work of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow grapples with those two similar issues. They way in which Charlie Marlow, the protagonist and skipper, goes about determining the answers are by observing his and other people's goals and motivations throughout his voyage of discovery and self-enlightenment in the Congo of Africa.
Later, Marlow encounters cannibals who are characterized by restraint. They outnumber the whites “thirty to five” and were “big powerful men, with not much capacity to weigh the consequences.” Marlow describes them as being utterly capable of simply overpowering and consuming the Europeans. He even considers that he would have as soon expected such restraint fro...
After reading this paper the reader will have a better understanding of the author and his creative writing style along with some very important literary elements that are used in most stories. In the first part of the Heart of Darkness is talking about a man named Marlow
Firstly each of the main characters in Heart of Darkness plays a significant role in the overall theme of the novel, as mentioned above. The central character is a thirty two year old sailor, Charlie Marlow. He is a dynamic character who essentially controls the development of the theme. Through Marlow's experiences and revelations, the author illustrates how forces of light and darkness serve to weave the human soul together; thus, essentially how both good and evil are reflected within the individual. Marlow's journey leads him in an urgent search for Kurtz, the one man who can provide him with the truth about himself.
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.
In Joseph Conrad's novel, The Heart of Darkness, Charlie Marlow narrates the story of his journey into the dark continent, Africa. Through his experiences he learns a lot about himself and about the nature of mankind. He discovers that all humans have the capability within themselves to do good or evil. Outside circumstances substantially influence which path a human will take. Marlow travels not only through the darkness of Africa, but also through the darkness of the human soul.