Haylee Hansen
Thomas Canino
English ¾ (H) 6th Period
28 February 2023
Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is a novel written by Joseph Conrad that retells the story of a man named Charlie Marlow and his job as an ivory transporter down the Congo during the 1890s. In the novel, Marlow acts on impulsive urges, loses rational thought, and loses his sense of being. As a result, if the reader were to become like Marlow, he or she would not be able to think of a future and only act on his or her desires and lusts. The theme of Heart of Darkness is that the reader should be on guard from giving into Id so that he or she will not end up like Marlow. Throughout the novel, the narrator uses light and dark images to illustrate the dangers of giving
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Although what the Europeans are doing to the Natives is horrible, Marlow sees it as an opportunity to help them by giving them work. Conrad uses a dark quote to describe the slaves, “They were dying slowly—it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now—nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom” (26). In this quote, Marlow describes the state of the Natives by saying they were black shadows of disease and starvation. This is when Marlow starts to realize that what the Europeans are doing to the Natives is horrible. However, Marlow does nothing about the abuse being given to the natives. Conrad uses another dark quote to describe how the Europeans treated the Natives and Marlow’s ignorance towards the problem, “They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect. They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness” (00). In this quote, Marlow finally grasps the realization that colonists are not good people. He describes them as robbers and murderers who are all in it for the money. Even whilst knowing this, Marlow continues to do his job while witnessing the torture of hundreds of African slaves which makes him willfully ignorant to help