Interjections In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

Two sides exist in every story. One is always focused on more than the other. For example, we always learn of the backstory of every single Disney protagonist. They come from some form of hardship or struggle with themselves or others. Ariel was adventurous and wanted to know what was outside the water. Aladdin had to steal to live and wanted to be with a rich princess. Mulan just wanted to bring honor to her family but could not do it traditionally. These movies and so many others spend so much time focusing on one side and not the other. No one knows why Ursula loves to trick merpeople, why Jafar wanted to be rich and rule Agrabah, or why Shan Yu wanted to rule China. Just as this pattern is present in Disney movies, along with countless other movies, the rule applies to literature. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, a frame narrative is used to tell the story of Marlow’s travels through Africa at the height of Imperialism.

Some of these interjections serve to clarify or further elaborate on an idea such as “Their minds are of the stay-at-home order, and their home is always with them - the ship…” (Conrad 5). However, some other types of interjections serve a different purpose. During Marlow’s telling of his travels, he says “nineteen hundred years ago - the other day...Light came out of this river since - you say Knights?” (Conrad 6), which is a reminder that this piece of literature is told using a frame narrative. This interruption and the numerous others present in Heart of Darkness bring the reader back to the concept that the true narrator of Heart of Darkness is just a listener on board the Nellie. Everytime this realization occurs, it only furthers the idea that what actually happened during Imperialism is not relevant in the eyes of many. Conrad uses these subtle hints to satirize the ignorance of society in respect to the actions of Europeans during this time