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Heart Of Darkness Not Having Names

Decent Essays

Known for its dark and controversial subject matter, Heart of Darkness remains one of the most profound novellas of the present day. Written by Joseph Conrad in 1899, the author arguably recounts an experience mirroring his own life, using Charlie Marlow as his faithful story-teller. Unlike most late-nineteenth century pieces of fiction, Conrad’s masterpiece does not contain ten or twenty different names for different characters. In fact, it only contains two. Although Heart of Darkness has an actual narrator, he remains relatively quiet and represents the reader in a way due to his unobtrusive manner, revelling in his anonymity as he listens to the protagonist: Charlie Marlow. Moreover, all of the other characters, including the narrator, …show more content…

Each serves a specific purpose in the story to help the plot move forward for what the writer envisioned. Although the Manager has no real name, he still plays a vital role in the story, for he is responsible for introducing Charlie Marlow to Kurtz and vice versa (46). It is important to remember that Charlie Marlow is recalling his past and sharing his experience with a crowd of relatively uninterested people, so the idea of the minor characters not having given names highlights Charlie Marlow as an unreliable story-teller, since he is trying to remember a time long ago and only remembers clearly the person with the most effect on him: Kurtz. More often than not, people come and go throughout life, but there are a few whose memories remain completely intact, as Kurtz is to Charlie Marlow. Along with that comes the responsibility Charlie Marlow feels to Kurtz, since he truly believes it is up to him to keep the legacy of Kurtz alive (69). Overall, Jospeh Conrad portrays those with names as the major characters of the story, but does not demean the importance of those with no names, since each plays a vital role in the evolution and progression of Heart of

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