Imagery In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

Authors often use imagery in their writings for the purpose of forming a mental picture in the mind of the reader and to create a more descriptive, interesting and interactive text. For example, colours may be associated with the emotion of characters or animal imagery may be used to define a particular character’s behaviour. Imagery can be a key component in a story, when used in an effective manner. Often the colour red is used to show anger, while the colour green represents a character’s envious attitude. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad makes particular use of imagery throughout the novella, and most effectively to highlight two apparently contradictory aspects of Kurtz’s personality. First, Kurtz is portrayed as a character with an

First, Kurtz is shown to be a remarkable man when he is described by other characters in the novella. Marlow hears about Kurtz’s positive qualities from several characters before he ever meets him and starts to perceive him as someone of interest whom he would like to meet, and hear speak. He develops an admiration for his apparent knowledge and feels a connection to him based on his own traits. At the Central Station, Marlow hears the brick maker speak of Kurtz and how he believes he will one day take control of the company. To emphasize Kurtz’s superiority, the brick maker exclaims, “He is a prodigy… He is an emissary of pity and science and progress, and devil knows what else” (Conrad 94). The brick maker uses imagery as a way to compare Kurtz to a prodigy, a person with exceptional qualities not usually seen by most people. Kurtz being compared to a prodigy truly stresses his incomparable talents because of the uniqueness associated with the title, and also generates his identity for the reader. An important

In the novella, Marlow is told of Kurtz’s incredible and passionate speaking skills and desires to have a conversation with him. His speaking skills highlight another way in which Kurtz has positive qualities to his character. Marlow outlines his skill and clarifies, “Of all his gifts the one that stood out pre-eminently, that carried with it a sense of real presence, was his ability to talk, his words- the gift of expression, the bewildering, the illuminating, the most exalted and the most contemptible, the pulsating stream of light, or the deceitful flow from the heart of impenetrable darkness” (Conrad 124). Marlow uses imagery to emphasize Kurtz’s impressive and how he is able to draw people into his conversation. He states that Kurtz’s greatest gift is his ability to speak charismatically because he is able to connect to others and learn what they want to hear. Marlow describes Kurtz’s speech as a stream of light that he uses to enlighten people by drawing them closer to him by acknowledging their best qualities. One of the characters who favour Kurtz’s speaking abilities the most is the Harlequin, who shares the idea that one does not speak to Kurtz, but instead they listen to him to fully understand his brilliance. Kurtz’s talent is important to the novel because it explains another positive feature of the man who is described without flaws. The