Literary Impressionism in Heart of Darkmess

Working thesis: In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad employs the impressionistic technique in his writing style, using the polarity of light and dark to set the tone and mood of the narrative, to convey meaning and to demonstrate the duality of man.

The beauty of Heart of Darkness is the impressionistic language Conrad uses, allowing readers to experience the novella for themselves, and leaving the story open to interpretation.

Introduction

Joseph Conrad’s highly debated novella, Heart of Darkness demonstrates impressionistic style of work in which Conrad uses words to paint a visual depiction of a man’s journey to discovering self. It is “an impression taken from life…” (Garnett 307).

According Guy Hubbard, the impressionist painters “tried to capture… the effects created by light as it was reflected from objects, rather than solidness of the shapes themselves.”

Watt claims that “[l]iterary impressionism…distort[s] human perception” through “internal and external” factors and “our interpretations… are normally distorted by habitual expectations,” (Watt 357).

“Conrad’s main objective is to put us into intense sensory contact with the events,” (Watt 357).

Tone and Setting

The contrasting of light and dark imagery paints the setting with such phrases as, “a brooding gloom in the sunshine,” (5) and “the blinding sunshine of that land…the gloomy circle of some Inferno,” (16). In his essay, “Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness,” Ian Watt claims that “the most distinctive quality of Conrad’s own writing…is its strong visual sense,” (355). The narrative’s use of a story within a story allows the unnamed primary narrator to create the framework for Marlow, the secondary narrator, to set the mood and tone of both narratives...

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...nrad. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. 4th ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2006. 386-95. Print.

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. 4th ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2006. 3-77. Print.

Garnett, Edward. "Unsigned Review from Academy and Literature." 1902. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. Heart of Darkness: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. By Joseph Conrad. 4th ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2006. 307-08. Print.

Hubbard, Guy. "Impressionism." Arts & Activities 130.1 (2001): 33. Professional Development Collection. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.

Watt, Ian. “Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness.” 1972. 1902. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. Heart of Darkness: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. By Joseph Conrad. 4th ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2006. 349-65. Print.