Heart Of Darkness Civilised Analysis

Published in the year 1902, Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” is a story told in the frame narrative voice. The story talks about a voyage the main character, Marlow, embarks on. Throughout Conrad’s novella, Marlow journeys up the Congo River which is assumed to be in Africa. “Heart of Darkness” can be observed and viewed as a mythical journey in search of oneself as well as the search for what we believe is the truth. Marlow also travels up the Congo River in pursuit of a white man, Kurtz, who is an ivory trader. Kurtz sees himself as a demigod and the natives of Africa idolizes him. With all different things being said about Kurtz, Marlow becomes curious to meet Kurtz to see what kind of a man Kurtz really is. The selection of the specific

In the same way of the Thames and the Congo River, Conrad makes use of different symbolisms and illustrations to show the divergence between that of civilised and savagery. The civilised world is a warped relation between the ideals and the actual behaviour. Being civilised means coming from a place that has fine behaviour and good morals and values. Being civilised means doing things for a purpose and making sure that the specific task gets done efficiently, “efficiency is what saves us”( ). Furthermore, the issue of savagery is clearly understood as a place that is infected, corrupt and has a lot of uncertainties. The savage place described is assumed to be Africa, where everything is nothing but a big mess. The character of Kurtz in “Heart of Darkness” is very vague at the beginning of the story. Marlow learns tit bits of information about Kurtz from different people and Marlow finds Kurtz to be a very interesting character. It has been said that Kurtz was one of the most successful ivory trader the Company has ever had. In the beginning, Kurtz is viewed highly, but this positive feeling lasts until Marlow meets him. Kurtz is actually savage and he ignores his so called European morals and