ipl-logo

Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad: Literary Analysis

952 Words4 Pages

"Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?" (Confucius). This quote by Confucius states the idea that, deep down, there is not much separating men from beasts and man is naturally "dark" when removed from civilization. Throughout history, man has had the opinion that there is no being that is superior; specifically, this idea is possessed by the white man. In Joseph Conrad 's novel, Heart of Darkness, he uses this idea specifically to emphasize the white man 's positive opinion of themselves and lack of respect for the natives of the Congo. The respect the white men have for themselves provide the illusion that they are above the natives, and the natives are savages; but, in reality, when the respect is taken away, and the darkness within is visible, all men are beasts. Conrad 's novel portrays this high level of respect that white men have for themselves as the darkness within the heart of man. In Conrad 's novel, Heart of Darkness, he uses the literary elements of character development, symbolism, and conflict to illustrate the …show more content…

Symbolism is used within the novel to help make the darkness throughout the story more evident. For example, an element of symbolism in Heart of Darkness that provides further illustration of the theme would be the unfinished painting of the woman on which Kurtz had been working. The painting is of a woman "draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch" (Conrad, 22). She is engulfed in darkness, unknowing of her surroundings. This image symbolizes the blindness the Europeans have to the truth, and because of the blindness, they continue their journey down the path of the darkness of man. In like manner, the River Thames is referred to as "resembling an immense snake uncoiled" and Marlow continues after this description saying, "the snake had charmed me," which symbolizes the deception of the Congo, supporting the idea that the men are blind to the truth (Conrad, 6). In addition,

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis Of The Racist Discourse In Lawrence Durrell's Justine

    1237 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although Achebe wrote this essay criticizing Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness that was published fifty-eight years before Justine, the white man’s view of “the other” is

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad Rhetorical Analysis

    1634 Words  | 7 Pages

    Joseph Conrad uses imagery to describe very cruel and brutal aspects of Charlie Marlow’s journey inside Africa. On page 95 line 27 through page 96 line 17 “ Now I had suddenly a nearer view, and its first result was to make me throw my head back as if before a blow. Ten I went carefully from post to post with my glass, and I saw my mistake. These round knobs were not ornamental but symbolic; they were expressive and puzzling, striking and disturbing— food for thought […] and there it was, black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids—a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and, with the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth, was smiling, too, smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber. “ Marlow does not just say there was head on a stick straightforward, rather he explains the event in a visual manner.

    Read More

  • How Value Of The Text Has Changed Over Time

    228 Words  | 1 Pages

    Depending on the context of reception, a text may be received in different ways, meaning that its value can differ for different groups from alternate time periods or cultures. To value something is to consider it to be important or useful and to hold it in high regard. In reference to Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, which was published in 1899, the significance and importance of the text can differ over time and place to appeal to different groups of people for different reasons. For example, a Victorian Era audience would value the text for its endorsement of the ideals of the Victorian Work Ethic, an African audience from the mid-twentieth century during the decolonisation of Africa would value the novel for its criticism of colonialism

    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

  • Power In Joseph Conrad's 'Heart Of Darkness'

    997 Words  | 4 Pages

    Heart of Darkness Response Paper The “Heart of Darkness” is a novel written by Polish-British novelist, Joseph Conrad that was first published in 1899. The novel talks about a man, Marlow telling his story about his journey to Africa and the experiences he went through. He recalls his journey to Africa to three men on the British ship, the Nellie. Marlow was an agent for the Company which was an ivory trading company.

    Read More

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

    1186 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ignorance of another's personal values or situation results in an impassable schism between the two parties. People fail to understand each other, and as such, they regard each other in lower lights. In “Heart of Darkness”, Joseph Conrad, through Marlow, writes his novella through a lense of ignorance and the perspective of the typical white person of the time in order to relate his story to the reader. Marlow and the accountant are contrasted with Kurtz to display the effects of evil on an individual.

    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

  • Uses Of Symbolism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1880 Words  | 8 Pages

    Darkness, as expected, symbolizes evil and madness. As Marlow travels into the unexplored region of the world, he discovers the evil that lives there in the form of the Europeans, who essentially were meant to bring enlightenment. In the pursuit of ivory (that is something physically light), the white man has embraced the darkest places of its nature; its primitive self. Women (Kurt’s painting)

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racism In Heart Of Darkness

    1066 Words  | 5 Pages

    Racism in Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Polish- British writer Joseph Conrad in 1899. Since it was written Heart of Darkness has been criticized as a colonial work. One of the critics who condemn Joseph Conrad and his work has been the Nigerian authors and critics Chinua Achebe in his work "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad 's 'Heart of Darkness". Achebe considers Conrad as “a thoroughgoing racist” (Achebe 5) for depicting Africa as "the other world" (Achebe 2). The aim of this study is to examine Heart of Darkness referring to the Achebe’s ideas in his 1977 essay.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Civilization In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    712 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone has their own opinions of which cultures are civilized and which are savage. A culture which is civilized is one where morals are set in place and and there is intellectual advancement. Civilized cultures follow a set a moral given to them usually by a government. A savage culture is where there are no morals in place. The people part of this culture do not follow any morals only hoping to survive, with no government intact.

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad Madness Analysis

    1320 Words  | 6 Pages

    Psychotic Darkness A gun gives you the opportunity, but a thought pulls the trigger. In this world, there are many life changing situations that can test one's sanity. Such situations can capture one's mind leading the mind to be on the verge of psychotic. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, grants the characters with a series of insane scenes that can generate question of psychotic characters.

    Read More

  • The Symbolism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1041 Words  | 5 Pages

    The lights from the city reflected the Thames River because London is described as being light, the light symbolizes Conrad’s view of civilization. According to Conrad civilization is where evil is present but ignored. The light is the knowledge that is gained through exploring. Conrad uses Africa and the Congo River to represent the evil that waits in the unknown. The darkness is said to be full of savages and cannibals it is further emphasized as being the uncivilized part of the world where people eat people and the savages wait in the trees and in the darkness.

    Read More

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

    807 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the novel, we see Conrad gives us idea about how deceiving one could be. For example when Marlow talks about the map unfamiliar Africa and where unknown part are drawn which turns out white on the map of Africa. Africa appears to be dark through exploitation, colonization and exploration of the rest of the continents. Conrad even uses the idea of light and dark to gives us more idea of the inner status of some of the specific character. In the novel ‘Heart of Darkness’ Mr. Kurtz who is an Caucasian man, who has white skin, but who has the darkest and most corrupt soul in the novel.

    Read More

  • Savagery In Heart Of Darkness

    2048 Words  | 9 Pages

    Civilization and Savagery in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness portrays the differences between the civilized Europeans and the “savages” of which they were tasked to bring into civilization. Marlow recounts a tale of his experiences as a captain of a river-steamboat for a Company that trades ivory. He retells the story of his predecessor, Fresleven, a Dane, characterized as being told of being “the gentlest, quietest creature that ever walked on two legs.” Fresleven dies in a scuffle with the natives due to an argument regarding two black hens.

    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

More about Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad: Literary Analysis

Open Document