ipl-logo

Heart Of Darkness Essay

722 Words3 Pages

The story follows a sailor named Marlow on his journey through the Congo to retrieve the infamous Kurtz. Marlow arrives at Central Station to find the ship he is supposed to captain is damaged and he must wait to sail. Here he observes the inefficiency, corruption, and brutality that comes with imperialism. When they arrive at the Inner Station, run by Kurtz, they find that the man is mad and dying. It also becomes quite evident that Kurtz had lost his humanity, “Everything belonged to him—but that was a trifle. The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own. That was the reflection that made you creepy all over... He had taken a high seat amongst the devils of the land...” Kurtz dies on the journey back his last words being, “The Horror! The Horror!”. Marlow falls ill, and nearly dies …show more content…

That is what makes Heart of Darkness an effective horror story. Once again, a man played god and paid dearly for it. Frankenstein through the loss of his loved ones, but Kurtz lost his life to his obsession. While dying Kurtz entrust his personal documents and pamphlets to Marlow. Once Marlow examines these pamphlets along with the Russian trader’s tale it becomes clear that Kurtz led the natives to believe that he was a god so that he could succeed, “and by ¬and ¬by I learned that, most appropriately, the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs had in-trusted him with the making of a report, for its future guidance. ... He began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, 'must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings—we approach them with the might as of a deity.” Kurtz grew power hungry and committed horrible acts, and the longer he stayed in the Congo the more his health failed. Eventually dying in that ‘Heart of Darkness”. Kurtz is not the only monster. The longer the men are in the Congo the less they

Show More
Related

  • Heart Of Darkness Dialectical Journal

    1556 Words  | 7 Pages

    It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream — making a vain attempt, because no relation of dream can convey the dream-sensation… No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one’s existence — that which makes its truth, its meaning — its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible” (Conrad, P.24). In addition to the collection of absurd events and imagery Marlow encountered, the surreality of Marlow’s adventure is also due to the ineffable feelings intermingled together. Under the emotions and feelings that is incapable for expression, lies Marlow’s inability to make sense of his own feelings.

    Read More

  • Into That Darkness Analytical Essay

    1004 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gitta Sereny's book "Into That Darkness" illustrated a disturbing perspective into the life of Franz Stangl, a former police officer of Schloss Hartheim which was part of the Nazi's Tiergartenstrasse 4 (T4 program) of murdering individuals with disabilities, he was also a former SS commandant of the Sobibor and Treblinka camps. Stangl was held accountable for the deaths of thousands of Jewish people and other minorities during the Holocaust, with this, Sereny sought to understand how a seemingly average and intelligent individual such as Stangl could take part in participating in genocide. Stangl attempts to resolve his cognitive dissonance through the rationalization of his actions, manipulating his memory of events through selective attention,

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Poisonwood Bible And Heart Of Darkness

    1794 Words  | 8 Pages

    After having spent time with the natives, however, Kurtz flips his viewpoint and wants to become part of their wild and uncivilized life. The Poisonwood Bible introduces a similar contradiction in the American ideals of democracy being transferred into Africa and the natives’ belief that they are superior because of America’s power in the world. Anatole describes that “most of [the natives] believe white people know how to turn the sun on and off and make the river flow backward [...] They think [the white people] represent a greedy nation” (Kingsolver 281) which further emphasizes the importance of contrasting viewpoints to portray the cultural differences of both America and the Congo. This also presents the assumptions the Congolese people make based on white stereotypes.

    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

    Throughout the novella, Marlow chases Kurtz, who is seen as a great man and a genius, deeper into the jungle. However, similar to how a robot can become self-aware, Kurtz slowly understands the reality of his actions and the corruption of the white imperialist system that he is part of. Kurtz is described as more of a voice and less of a man. His final words, “The horror! The horror!”

    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

  • Theme Of Order And Chaos In The Heart Of Darkness

    1102 Words  | 5 Pages

    Conrad uses examples of order and chaos throughout his novel to aid in the delivery of the differentiation of the truth of human nature and the sham of civilization. In these examples, order represents civilization and chaos represents the wilderness of Africa. When Marlow finally left the central station to retrieve Mr. Kurtz, he and his crew stop at an abandoned cottage in the middle of the jungle where a European once lived and noticed an old book on the table. Marlow says, “Not a very enthralling book; but at the first glance you could see the singleness of intention, an honest concern for the right way of doing work, . . . The simple od sailor, with is talk of chains and purchases, made me forget about the jungle and the pilgrims in a delicious sensation of having come upon something unmistakably real” (78).

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad Madness Analysis

    1320 Words  | 6 Pages

    Kurtz, allowing readers to see the overall madness recurring. Conrad uses specific diction to force readers to imagine the madness that must be going through Mr.Kurtz mind because of his geographical surroundings. Furthermore, Marlow disturbingly states “the air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of the sunshine... deserted, into the gloom.”

    Read More

  • The Symbolism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1041 Words  | 5 Pages

    Africa in this novella is portrayed as “the Heart of Darkness” the place where the men’s inner evil is exposed, this is done through their thoughts and actions. The contrast between the Thames River and the Congo River is also made evident in the novella. The Thames River is described as calm and peaceful. It is viewed as a city of light that is not mysterious.

    Read More

  • Greed In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1366 Words  | 6 Pages

    Tryston Strickland Dr. Norwood Honors English IV March 8, 2018 The Flaw: Human Nature In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad shows human nature’s tendency toward callousness through the use of greed, imperialism, and darkness. Throughout the book the topics of greed, imperialism, and heartlessness give examples of the flaw that humans cannot fix. Humans tend to help others when there is a benefit for them to gain.

    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

  • Essay On The Physical Journey In Heart Of Darkness

    813 Words  | 4 Pages

    At last, when they remove Mr. Kurtz from the Congo, he cannot handle it and sickness overcomes him. Marlow ties his identity so closely to Mr. Kurtz that when Mr. Kurtz dies, “they very nearly buried” Marlow as well (87). By seeing the monster that Mr. Kurtz becomes, Marlow eventually sees his own dark potential. The jungle could just as easily corrupt him and cause his

    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

  • Reflection Of Heart Of Darkness

    1822 Words  | 8 Pages

    When he encounters the people and places, he describes them so detailed, it is a joy for one to read. Especially the parts where they are moving on on the river before the hullabaloo prior to arrival in Kurtz’s station. The passage that starts with “Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world…” (41) describes the place so profoundly, readers can almost see and feel it once they shut their eyes. The “silence” and the “warm, thick, heavy, sluggish” air is enough to make one feel uncomfortable while the “reaches opened before us and closed behind” description for the river that is surrounded by an immense crowd of trees definitely makes it possible for one to feel the exact feeling Marlow tries to describe by saying “It made you feel very small, very lost, and yet it was not altogether depressing that feeling.” (43).

    Read More

  • Summary Of Racism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1807 Words  | 8 Pages

    The main character, Marlow, in Joseph Conrad’s 1910 novel The Heart of Darkness begins his journey into Africa skeptical of what might occur, but naive to the true horrors that were in stake for the young man. Marlow’s detailed descriptions of the sights and torturous actions towards the natives he witnesses along his journey lead to many literary critics to deem Conrad a racist. One author notorious for calling Joseph Conrad out on his racist remarks is Chinua Achebe who gained fame from his article “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”.

    Read More

More about Heart Of Darkness Essay

Open Document