In Section II of the novel, Conrad parallels Marlow’s travel deeper inland to his psychological journey further into the unknown wild. Marlow states that moving inward is like “travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the Earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest” (Conrad 49). This connection with traveling back in time is an important message about the novel’s setting. As Marlow narrates the river on a different river in a different land, the notion of traveling backward in time alludes to the fact that England’s past is compared to Africa’s present, a territory being conquered by a more civilized group of people. Marlow’s physical change of location, …show more content…
Marlow narrates that he later judged the apparent attack as “really an attempt at repulse. The action was very far from being aggressive–it was not even defensive, in the usual sense: it was undertaken under the stress of desperation, and in its essence was purely protective” (65). After earlier stating that he did not expect the natives to attack, the ominous white fog lifts and the natives attack the steamboat out of surprise and fear. They are hidden in the brush, almost as if to suggest that Marlow views them as little more than part of the land, animals of a new terrain to conquer. Marlow’s immediate reaction to the helmsman’s murder is to keep focusing on steering the boat, despite blood literally seeping into his shoes. In spite of that, Marlow has developed a bond with his associates that he only becomes cognizant of after the helmsman dies, when he realizes that he misses the man. Unable to wear shoes soaked in blood, and unable to bear the death of the man with every step, he disposes of his shoes. Present-narrator Marlow suggests that the blind shooting of the Europeans is like the barrage into the coastline earlier in the novel, an inappropriate reaction to largely protective actions by the indigenous people. The natives are attacking out of fear for their lives and land, but the pilgrims are shooting out of a fear of the unknown, a fear of the Africans’ percepted savagery, a fear of darkness. From when they began to plunge into the continent, the colonists still are afraid of the immense darkness that lies more inside them than out, as becomes more and more
Furthermore, when Marlow first arrives at the Central Station, he spots the manager. “His eyes, of the usual blues, were perhaps remarkably cold, and he certainly could make his glance fall on one as trenchant and heavy as an axe” (Conrad, “Chapter 1,” Paragraph 52). Consequently, after Marlow states that the manager's eyes are very intense, it appeared as if the manager transpired someone who was quite aggressive and very scary. Correspondingly, the characterization of the manager continues to be as someone who invigorated anxiousness, “he was obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect. He inspired uneasiness” (Conrad, "Chapter 1,” Paragraph 52). Not to mention, although he inspired uneasiness and anxiousness, Marlow describes the manager as someone who occurred to be an extremely uneducated person that sustained the manager profession owing to the fact that he was never unhealthy. “He had no learning and no
The mysteriousness of the title is the first indicator of the mysteriousness of Marlow's journey into Africa. Seemingly no one--Marlow, Kurtz, the reader--is quite certain if any conclusions he draws over the course of the story are completely accurate.
At the beginning of Marlow’s journey his aggressively states he hate of liars and hypocrites, yet at the end Marlow lies to Mr. Kurtz fiancé, “But I couldn’t. I could not tell her. It would have been too dark- too dark altogether… (Page 72).” The journey changed this aspect of Marlow’s personality. As Marlow faces the horrors of the Congo River he learns that some lies are necessary to spare others. In How To Read Literature Like a Professor, the author Thomas C. Foster states, “Okay so here’s the general rule: whether it’s Italy or Greece or Africa or Malaysia or Vietnam, when writers send characters south, its so they can run amok… if we’re being generous, that they can run amok because they are having direct, raw encounters with the subconscious (Foster, 179).” As Marlow travels down the Congo River he continues to here about Mr. Kurtz and he begins to relate himself to Kurtz. As Marlow’s journey continues he begins to realize that Kurtz is crazy. As marlow begins to realize that As that happens Marlow begins to connect himself to Mr. Kurtz but as he continues to relate to Kurtz he begins to realize hat Kurtz is not the man Marlow believed him to be. This realization of how Mr. Kurtz is subconsciously hurts Marlow because Marlow saw himself and Kurtz as kindred spirits and no that Marlow sees that Kurtz is a horrible person
The novel, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, portrays a dark and somber theme throughout the entirety of the book. Even in the end, the darkness is still there. But even so, the end is difficult to understand. The ending is very vague on certain perspectives. Conrad intentionally does this, not to detract from the rest of the novel, but to sum the entirety of his main point up.
What do you make of the strange episode of the fire and the hole in the bottom of the watering pail? What does this event contribute to Marlow's and the reader's sense of European life in Africa?
Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, relies on the historical period of imperialism to illuminate its protagonist, Charlie Marlow, and his struggle with two opposite value systems. Marlow undergoes a catharsis during his trip to the Congo and learns of the effects of imperialism. I will analyze Marlow's change, which is caused by his exposure to the imperialistic nature of the historical period in which he lived. Marlow goes to the Congo River to report on Mr. Kurtz, a valuable officer, to their employer. When he sets sail, he does not know what to expect. When his journey is complete, his experiences have changed him forever.
Marlow is, in a sense, a pawn in these events. Because he does not have a clear understanding of his experiences or of their effect on him personally - he walks into the meeting with the Intended with no principles; no inner
Through this, Conrad invites his audience to discover their own darkness as the textual form pulls in the reader to symbolically join Marlow’s journey “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. It was very quite there.” The truncated sentences emphasise the poetic tenets utilised and generates second-hand revelations to the reader. Conrad utilises this and characterises ‘Marlow’ as a foil for the responder’s own discoveries in the text. “There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies” through this, Conrad provides the audience with a reliable storyteller as the responder discovers Marlow’s legitimateness, highlighted through sensory language.
Heart of Darkness Lens Essay Novels often contain a complex story line to attract the attention of its audience. Sometimes authors use complex themes and ideas to convey their story. The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad uses a variety of indirect literary structures which help to expand the deeper meaning of the story. Through application of critical lenses, Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness unfolds multiple interpretations which help reveal the source of its literary merit.
Marlow has become conclusive that he had indeed witnessed a nightmare that will eternally haunt his imagination—a nightmare in which we all live full of dark human hearts hidden in a whited
Marlow's oscillation between viewpoints is almost startling in its rapidity. On his very first meeting with the natives of the Congo, he swings from one pole to the other in only a few sentences:
Some critics believe that in Heart of Darkness Conrad illustrates how ‘’the darkness of the landscape can lead to the darkness of the social corruption.” This statement means that if the environment is dark, then the people in that environment will match the surrounding feeling, which is dark and depressing. For example, if it is a gloomy rainy day, most people feel tired and not as happy. If it is a bright sunny day, the most people feel motivated to get things done and joyful. Yes, this statement is believable because I have noticed that the weather, my surroundings, and even other people’s behaviors around me affect my mood. Today, for instance, it rained all day and the sky was dark, as a result I slept throughout the whole
In the novel Heart of Darkness, Joesph Conrad uses the symbol of the river to show change and how the the river is deceiving and evil. Conrad uses the Congo river, which in its time was a key element in the conversion of Africa to the imperialistic country it is in the novel. The Congo river allows access into the interior of Africa, referred to as the “Dark Continent” in the novel. The river is more than definitely one of the most important elements and symbols of Heart of Darkness.
Although, as a society, we discourage the process of not judging a book by its cover, we have all been guilty of doing it at some point. The first item we look at when we pick up a new book is the title and the cover as a whole. These are two key components when it comes to using our heuristics to decide if a book is worthwhile reading or not. With only two items to judge by, each has to hold significant importance in order to draw a reader into reading the novel. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad represents a mysterious title to draw readers into reading the novel, but hold a much more significant underlying meaning which represents many elements in the novel, while also symbolizing external concepts in the overall plot. The title represents many important elements such as the character of Mr. Kurtz and others, to the setting of Africa in the novel, and to the concept of the evil nature of imperialism outside of the novel. Through the title, Conrad has created significance for elements of the novel creating a very large impact on readers of the book.
Marlow’s attempt at recreating his subjective past is met with unease on the part of the narrator and like a litmus paper he brings out the intellectual and emotional effect the author is seeking. When the effect has been so affirmed, the author proceeds to manipulate it. When, for example, we see Marlow’s desperation for having missed the chance to speak to Kurtz as absurd, Conrad makes the listeners sigh with the same reaction. Marlow reacts heatedly- “Why do you react in this beastly way, somebody? Absurd? … This is the worst of trying to tell… Here you all are, each moored with two good addresses, like a hulk with two anchors, a butcher round one corner, a policeman round another.” Pp 53 This chastisement by Conrad gets displaced from Marlow’s companions to the reader. Marlow is trying to prevent us from judging Kurtz and by doing so highlights his importance in the tale’s critical discourse.