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Theme of imperialism in heart of darkness
Theme of imperialism in heart of darkness
Theme of imperialism in heart of darkness
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In life, people tend to turn a blind eye to or find it challenging to come to terms with their inner corruption, depravity, and despair. In Joseph Conrad’s profound novella Heart of Darkness, however, humanity’s darker side is addressed in a way that is impossible to ignore. Conrad’s meticulous utilization of diction and symbols captivates and enthralls the reader while also heavily contributing to the overall success and meaning of the novella. In his passage, Conrad, instead of adhering to the traditional notions of purity and evil associated with the symbols of light and dark, intentionally subverts and intermingles them to reveal underlying themes concerning the immorality inherent in human nature and the unbelievably horrific tragedies
“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” (Frank pg). In this quote from The Diary of Anne Frank we see Anne reflecting on the coexistence of lightness and darkness, with one unable to exist without the other, while remaining in constant opposition. This illustrates how the use of light and dark imagery can be complex in literature as it can take on many meanings depending on the author’s and the reader’s interpretation. In Sinclair Ross’s short story “The Lamp at Noon” and in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, light and dark imagery are used repeatedly to convey positive and negative images.
1. One major symbol in Heart of Darkness is fog. The fog represents darkness and also helps distort the story by leaving just enough information to let the reader make their own theory of the scene. Although light doesn’t always represent goodness or enlightenment either. As Marlow had said “sunlight can be made to lie, too”.
The reader assumes when first beginning the novel that the heart of darkness only means the African jungle in which Marlow is traveling through to encounter Kurtz. However, it also symbolizes the darkness that lies in each person that is masked by civilized society. Knowing this information when the text said, “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness…the steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy” (Conrad 44) it means that the farther and longer that Marlow and Kurtz stayed in the African jungle, the more opportunity for their heart of darkness to exhibited itself and change who they were beforehand. Marlow and Kurtz both left their home and civilized society in England to a savage and uncultured country in Africa; this shift for one location to another allowed the character to experience more of the world they live in, which caused them to change over the course of time and alienate them from their past life and
Ian Watt suggests that Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (HoD) is impressionistic and also symbolistic. Watt elaborates that the descriptions of images such as mist and haze from HoD are like the French Impressionist or Claude Monet's paintings- intentionally indistinct in its representation of the scene's main focus while projecting an idiosyncratic perception. This indistinctness shows the "uncertainty" or "doubt" that forms HoD, which Watt attests that Marlow is an example of such representation as he signifies the limitations of people's knowledge. Watt also believes that Conrad uses the narrative's "delayed decoding" to present impressionistic scenes by Marlow while withholding essential meanings until it is gradually pieced together.
The motion picture, Arrival, written by E. Heisserer and directed by D. Villeneuve, depicts the story of a translator, named Dr. Louise Banks, and her job translating alien messages for the United States government. Heart of Darkness is a novel, written by Joseph Conrad, about a man, Marlow, who travels to the Congo to find ivory and meet the famous ivory collector, Mr. Kurtz. By comparing and contrasting these two stories, one can see the problems and benefits of using visual imagery versus using real images. Using visual imagery takes away the opportunity for readers to interpret the work in an unbiased way, however, it also provides a new perspective for the readers to see the story through. On the contrary, using visual storytelling forms
Conrad conveys man’s realization of futility against the constant exposure to drastic and fierce elements of nature. “Well, you may guess I watched the fog for the signs of lifting as a cat watches a mouse; but for anything else our eyes were of no more use to us than if we had been buried miles deep in a heap of cotton-wool It felt like it, too -- choking, warm, stifling” (). The cotton infers the scenery to be dense with the white fog which Marlow travels in throughout the novel. The fog here represents the ostentation of imperialism, which obscures reality in the name of justice.
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.
This is the first image shown by Conrad that depicts the madness displayed by Europeans who venture into the “heart of darkness”. At the Company’s headquarters, Marlow meets a doctor who “… in the interests of science, to measure the crania of those going out there” and admits later on that the changes happen inside. At the headquarters, Marlow sees a map “marked with all the colours of a rainbow.” This map shows the colonial powers present within the continent. As Marlow journeys to his destination, he reaches the Company’s Outer Station upon which he sees images of devastation brought about by the actions of the Company.
BRIEF ANALYSIS The use of various literary devices in Joseph Conrad’s novel helps to bring his story to life, which ultimately is to his advantage. Conrad brings the reader into the darkness, displayed the corruptibility of humankind and left them pondering the absurdity of evil and imperialism. One of the strongest literary devices that Conrad uses to engage the reader in his novella is the use of imagery. However other important literary devices that are used throughout the novel as well as in the extract above is: similes, metaphors, personification, foreshadowing, and symbolism and narrative techniques.
Heart of Darkness investigates the concerns regarding imperialism in using a complex method. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, The Hollow Men, by T.S. Eliot, and The White Man’s Burden, by Rudyard Kipling all hold a similar message. Both Conrad and Eliot express to the audience that the theory of imperialism is pure, however the reality is immoral. While Conrad’s story provides a powerful disapproval of the deceitful functions of imperialism, it also presents a set of concerns surrounding ethnicity that is ultimately disturbing. Conrad believes that the naive and pure idea in which colonialism originates from is its only moral attribute of imperialism.
Often in literature, the physical journey the main character takes represents their psychological growth. In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Marlow’s journey into the heart of the Congo represents his progression into the darkest parts of his mind. As he travels deeper into the foreign terrain, he begins to question the world around him and himself. As Marlow begins his journey into the heart of Africa, he holds onto his idealistic belief in imperialism.
‘Heart of Darkness’ was written in 1899 by a Polish novelist Joseph Conrad, about the expedition up the Congo River in the Heart of Africa. This essay will mainly deal with the reference of the ‘darkness’ in the novel and it even deals with the theme which will further support the statement. The idea of ‘darkness’ in ‘Heart of Darkness’ represents evil or dark side of Humanity. It is also related to the idea of colonization, especially when it comes to the idea of mistreatments of people and misuse of natural resources.
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.
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.
