ipl-logo

Heart Of Darkness Character Analysis

828 Words4 Pages

Everyone in the world has their own way to fight off the evil and the darkness in their minds, but sometimes it can be difficult. Marlow, and ordinary sailor, goes on a fascinating yet dark adventure, as a newly hired river boat captain to find the legendary Belgium Trading company that is located up the congo river. When describing the events and the sites along the Congo River, Joseph Conrad wrote “The Heart of Darkness” in a first person view with Marlow as the main character. In this novella, the large, unknown landscape of the unexplored lands of Africa represents the darkness and corruption in people 's lifes, that everyone struggles to overcome, especially Marlow.
The protagonist in this novella would be Marlow. Throughout the story he is seen as “not typical” and “he had the appearance of a Buddha preaching in European clothes”. Another main character in the story would be Kurtz, he is not seen as an antagonist, but could be a foil of Marlow. Kurtz and …show more content…

Throughout the novella Marlow is lured into the theme of darkness. At the beginning of the book while Marlow was sitting on a dock waiting, he was thinking about how Native England is “one of the darkest places on earth” ( ). While Marlow is reflecting he thoughts, it foreshadows his untold story, referring to england 's horrible colonial practices and his witnesses of the direct and indirect harm to the natives. Conrad does this to present the darkness in the evil. Once the story begins, Marlow informs the reader about his childhood and explained how he loves maps and hoped to visit the unexplored areas in Africa, especially the Congo. As a young man he got the chance to go to the congo, and he realized that “by this time it wasnt a blank space anymore” ( ) and “had become a place of darkness” ( ). The darkness stated in the quote is to represent the danger and the unknown in Africa. The colonization of Africa by the Europeans was for the use of their resources.

Show More
Related

  • Heart Of Darkness Dialectical Journal

    1556 Words  | 7 Pages

    The book serves as a sharp contrast with the deception of Colonists as well as a symbol of solid realness within a fantastical dream where truth is impossible. When describing the book, Marlow’s diction are highly positive, using words like “honest”, “humble” and “simple”. The direct expression and singleness of intention serves as a contrast with the lies the Colonists tell to conceal the reality in Africa. Europeans justify their bloodthirsty conquest as something they did for a greater cause. In 1876, at the Geographical Conference on Central Africa, King Leopold justified “To open to civilization the only part of our globe which it has not yet penetrated, to pierce the darkness which hangs over entire peoples, is, I dare say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress” (Cleary).

    Read More

  • Comparing Poisonwood Bible And Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    774 Words  | 4 Pages

    “ It was the same kind of ominous voice; but these man could by no stretch of imagination be called enemies” (Conrad 19). Upon seeing the beaten and broken “enemies” Marlow realizes that the European subjugation is not all that it is cracked up to be. It causes serious pain and suffering for the natives of the country, which is particularly shocking to Marlow as Europe claims to be so elevated and

    Read More

  • Wolf Hollow Character Analysis

    665 Words  | 3 Pages

    Annabelle McBride, the main protagonist in Lauren Wolk’s Wolf Hollow, is forced to grow up in several harsh situations. In the novel, Annabelle witnesses unjust deaths and is forced to act alone when she is fighting to prove the innocence of Toby Jordan. He is a reclusive war hero, who some think is a mad man. He is being convicted for pushing Betty Glengarry, the antagonist of the novel, into a well. When Annabelle goes to Toby’s smokehouse in an effort to find him, when she blames herself for Betty’s death, and when Annabelle’s brother Henry gives Annabelle time to process in a hard time -- they are forced to grow up before they are ready.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: A Lesson Before Dying

    1627 Words  | 7 Pages

    What can i do that you haven't done the past twenty-one years?"(Gaines pg.13)I believe the antagonist would be Jefferson. His mindset that's keeping him from acting like a man subdues his emotions and throws himself into despair. My first impression of him was that he was an innocent man, but he's being punished anyway and that makes him depressed. “Nothing don't matter"(Gaines

    Read More

  • Into The Darkness: How And Why Is A Social Group Presented In A Particular Way?

    1119 Words  | 5 Pages

    Into the Darkness: How and why is a social group presented in a particular way? Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness takes a multi-faceted approach to the issues that surrounded 19th century colonization and imperialism in Africa. Marlow’s journey into the heart of Africa serves to highlight the hypocrisy of this endeavor, and how this deceit followed the rhetoric utilized by the colonizers in order to justify their colonization of Africa and the treatment of the natives. As the novel progresses, Africa becomes more of a backdrop for Conrad to truly expose the depravity of European intervention in Africa. Through Marlow’s narrative, varying connotations of words and his own main character’s reactions,as well as copious amounts of descriptive imagery, Conrad casts Europeans in a negative light in order to criticize imperialism and colonists.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Ignorance In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1186 Words  | 5 Pages

    He claims “ten days [is] an eternity,”(18) when ten days of waiting is trivial compared the terrible lives of the slave labor, where Marlow observes the natives “dying slowly”(17) and likened their demeanor to the “deathlike indifference of unhappy savages”(16). Here, Marlow’s ignorance of the hardships of the natives is dreadfully obvious. He does not consider the struggles of the natives around him as toilsome as his own, even though the reader can clearly see the opposite is true. The native's lives are far worse than Marlow having to idly wait for 10 days before continuing his journey. Marlow represents the reader, so this is Conrad’s first step to making the reader self-aware of their own apathy and dehumanization of black people.

    Read More

  • The Controversy In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    97 Words  | 1 Pages

    Hunt Hawkins presents the controversy that Joseph Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness, encounters, as its contents portray Africans as dehumanizing, savage, and uncivilized beings. In order to provide a sufficient amount of information with regards to the controversy, Hawkins introduces the analysis of distinct scholars to describe racism, imperialism, and human nature. As a result, an analysis of the characters are provided to the audience and allow an individual to understand why Conrad decided to write Heart of Darkness the way he did. Thus, during this process, Hawkins describes the manifestation of the darkness that eventually consumes Kurtz.

    Read More

  • Imperialism In Heart Of Darkness

    1238 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the imperialism of Africa is described. Conrad tells the story of the cruel treatment of the natives and of the imperialism of the Congo region through the perspective through the main character, Marlow. Through the lens of New Criticism, it is evident that Conrad incorporates numerous literary devices in Heart of Darkness, including similes, imagery, personification, and antitheses to describe and exemplify the main idea of cruel imperialism in Africa discussed throughout the novella. Throughout Heart of Darkness, Kurtz and other men that are known as strong, greedy, European leaders of the movement to imperialize Africa, are mentioned multiple times.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racism In Heart Of Darkness

    1066 Words  | 5 Pages

    Heart of Darkness is a novella describing a British man 's journey deep into the Congo of Africa, where he encounters the cruel

    Read More

  • Theme Of Order And Chaos In The Heart Of Darkness

    1102 Words  | 5 Pages

    This book represents order, and it was heavily used by the white man; this implies that this book was his way of protecting himself from the chaotic jungle around him. As Marlow read this book, he began to forget about the chaotic world around him, and it made him feel something normal from civilization. Conrad is using this plot event and the setting of the cottage to show the difference in the Europeans principles of order and chaos, as well as show how some of them use this order to shield themselves from the chaos. Conrad also uses many examples of how the sham of civilization hides the truth of our human nature. Conrad compares the Native Africans to the raw

    Read More

  • Good Vs. Evil In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    807 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the narrator Marlow the readers come to know about the Natives that they are actually innocent people who were under Europeans. In relation to this it deals with the theme of Good vs. Evil, in ‘Heart of Darkness’ which is presented when Marlow who is a good character encounters the situation where he is confused between good and evil, whether Mr. Kurtz is really a

    Read More

  • Savagery In Heart Of Darkness

    2048 Words  | 9 Pages

    This is the first image shown by Conrad that depicts the madness displayed by Europeans who venture into the “heart of darkness”. At the Company’s headquarters, Marlow meets a doctor who “… in the interests of science, to measure the crania of those going out there” and admits later on that the changes happen inside. At the headquarters, Marlow sees a map “marked with all the colours of a rainbow.” This map shows the colonial powers present within the continent. As Marlow journeys to his destination, he reaches the Company’s Outer Station upon which he sees images of devastation brought about by the actions of the Company.

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness Research Paper

    915 Words  | 4 Pages

    Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a story that centers around Marlow, an introverted sailor, and his treacherous journey up the Congo River in search of a man name Kurtz. Unfamiliar with the terrain and natives, Marlow faced many different obstacles that made his journey even more tough. Obstacles like the Congo River and the dense jungles that surround it not only limited the crew progress, but also aroused confusion as well. Joseph Conrad amazing use of descriptive wording and imagery help the readers understand why their surrounding was giving them uneasiness throughout their expedition to meet up with Kurtz. The readers can understand why nature was truly an adversary to Marlow and his crew.

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness Essay Questions

    475 Words  | 2 Pages

    1. How does Marlow feel when he hears the tribesmen howl and watches them dance? How does he explain that feeling? What keeps him from joining the tribesmen? Marlow identifies with the howling, dancing tribesmen, feeling that he and the tribesmen have a “remote kinship” that he believes all white men need to recognize and acknowledge.

    Read More

  • Beasts Of No Nation Character Analysis

    648 Words  | 3 Pages

    Navigating our social surroundings and social interactions correctly can help develop character, discernment, and independence. The social growth of two protagonists was displayed in both Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala and Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth. Agu, who was introduced in the novel Beasts of No Nation as an innocent, young boy, eventually turned into a ‘beast’ because of several influential factors. Like Agu, the protagonist in Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth, Gopal, underwent a similar transformation as the plot progressed. Gopal’s change, however, affected his perception on others and the amount of trust he allows for others.

    Read More

More about Heart Of Darkness Character Analysis

Open Document