Literary Elements Of Symbolism In Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad

"Without a heart transformed by the grace of Christ, we just continue to manage external and internal darkness" (Chandler). In this quote by Matt Chandler, he explores the side of man consumed in sin without Christ. Depravity overcomes humanity when the civilized world is stripped away from them. Furthermore, Joseph Conrad exemplifies this idea in his novel Heart of Darkness by showing firsthand how evil man can become when isolated with only his own sinful nature. Conrad uses the depths of the Congo to show how morals, restraint, and conscience escape from man when he is taken out of civilization. In his novel, Conrad uses the literary element of symbolism through the painting, darkness, and the white sepulcher to demonstrate the theme of

As Marlow continues to work for the Company, he continues to see darkness revealed in a plethora of ways. As the story begins, Marlow talks about how the Congo is dark. Readers later come to see specific examples of what he meant. " 'And this also, ' said Marlow suddenly, 'has been one of the darkest places of the earth '" (Conrad 3). Conrad uses darkness to symbolize the journey into the heart of humanity. When Marlow first begins his story, he uses darkness to physically describe the Congo, but darkness later takes on an ambiguous meaning. Marlow sees darkness represented in the European 's cruelty to the innocent Africans. For example, when he sees the heads on the poles outside of Kurtz 's hut or the natives under the tree being forced to act like animals simply to drink water (Conrad). Humanity is inherently evil, and this only increases when they are removed from civilization and God. What was once considered immoral and wrong suddenly becomes normal and okay, such as Marlow and his view on lying. One night, while Marlow sees the uncle extending his flipper to the manager, his nephew, he realizes that in order to succeed in the Company he will have to accept evil and darkness (Conrad). Humanity has embraced its darkest parts of nature while on the hunt to fulfill their obsession with ivory and wealth. Darkness takes on the form of depravity, greed, madness, and cruelty. It is clearly seen that the heart of man turns dark when God is shut