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Juuxtaposition Of Light And Darkness In Joseph Conrad's 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 …show more content…

In reference to Kurtz, Marlow states, “One evening coming in with a candle I was startled to hear him say a little tremulously, “I am lying here in the dark waiting for death.’ The light was within a foot of his eyes. I forced myself to murmur, ‘Oh, nonsense!’ and stood over him as if transfixed” (64). In this scene, Kurtz is unable to see the light of Marlow’s candle even though it is only a foot away from him. The fact that he is incapable of distinguishing between light and dark anymore is extremely startling, and goes to show that the symbolic meanings of light and dark are in no way set in stone in the novella. If Kurtz cannot tell the difference between light and dark, perhaps there truly is no difference between them; Conrad is suggesting that light is an illusion which is actually infused with darkness. This is an overarching theme of the text, and is seen in various instances outside of the passage. For instance, the falsities of light appear near the beginning of the story with the image of the “whited sepulchre” (7), and appear at the end in Marlow’s quote: “I know that the sunlight can be made to lie, too” (67). In these examples, the purity of whiteness and lightness is utterly upended. Besides these examples, the theme applies to the novella’s overall commentary on basic human nature. Just as the meanings of the colors can be misleading, so can human beings. On the outside, humans present a facade of nobility and decency, but on the inside, they are comprised of

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It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream — making a vain attempt, because no relation of dream can convey the dream-sensation… No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one’s existence — that which makes its truth, its meaning — its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible” (Conrad, P.24). In addition to the collection of absurd events and imagery Marlow encountered, the surreality of Marlow’s adventure is also due to the ineffable feelings intermingled together. Under the emotions and feelings that is incapable for expression, lies Marlow’s inability to make sense of his own feelings.

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Essay Mid-Term Exam Part 1- Question #2 and #3 2. Kurtz exclaims “the horror, the horror” on the brink of his death. These last words are interpreted by Marlow, who says that these words express the evil nature of human intentions. Marlow says that Kurtz was a remarkable man because he was able to identify the wrongdoings of his life.

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When Marlow returns from the Congo he, just as Kurtz and Russian, is no longer the same man. Marlow returning to Europe to see just how ignorant the people there are, not knowing anything past their, “insignificant and silly dreams” (Conrad 70). He believing that he is no longer like them, no longer being like them since being in the Congo and seeing just what it had become at the hands of European Imperialism. Though Marlow is no different than those he is looking down upon, his ignorance coming from keeping others

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Marlow makes a numerous amount of remarks that allude to Kurtz’s inhuman nature; such as, comparing Kurtz directly to the ivory he was in possession of, observing that Kurtz’s name “means short, [and] the name was true in everything else in his life—and death” (Conrad 76) even though Kurtz appeared to be a very tall man, and mentioning how Kurtz seemed

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These comparisons continue on in the passage, another notable one found at the very end, the tone and word choice of it seemingly representing the path he could follow in the Congo: “The fascination of the abomination--you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate.” (Conrad, pg 8). As is shown in the ending, Marlow does not entirely pursue this fate, but meets a man who has: Kurtz. While it does not seem that Kurtz despises the Congo, he is truly fascinated by what he, as well as other Europeans at the time, saw as an abomination. While Kurtz thought it was unacceptable to live as the people of the Congo were living, he took an extreme interest, specifically in the manipulation of

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Hunt Hawkins presents the controversy that Joseph Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness, encounters, as its contents portray Africans as dehumanizing, savage, and uncivilized beings. In order to provide a sufficient amount of information with regards to the controversy, Hawkins introduces the analysis of distinct scholars to describe racism, imperialism, and human nature. As a result, an analysis of the characters are provided to the audience and allow an individual to understand why Conrad decided to write Heart of Darkness the way he did. Thus, during this process, Hawkins describes the manifestation of the darkness that eventually consumes Kurtz.

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Last, Marlow’s encounter with Kurtz’s intended portrays the atrocious thought that women 's lives should be governed and their naivety preserved by the men around them. On page 69, Marlow states “It was more than a year since his death” and also says the intended is still mourning showing her submission to the fact that the coming and going of men rule her life. Also, when Marlow lies and tells her that Kurtz’s last words were her name (pg 72), he is protecting her from the danger of the truth. This is once again implying that women are not capable of handling the truth. Throughout Heart of Darkness women are portrayed as incompetent and inferior to men.

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Yet, in the Heart of Darkness, the hero is sent to Africa under his company, dealing in ivory trades, who is not sent in to kill Kurtz (60). Kurtz became violent but the hero does not kill Kurtz. Kurt becomes ill and dies onto Marlow’s boat (144). The difference of Kurtz death is important because in the novel the protagonist (Charles Marlow) in my opinion is not greedy for power and control. He is more of a hero who is tough but honest.

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Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella Heart of Darkness examines colonialism within the African Congo and the social and psychological implications of British Imperialism. Conrad implements the frame narrative to demonstrate the unnamed narrator’s change of perception of England upon hearing Marlow’s story. Additionally, there is affirmation of the ideal colonialist male within Marlow’s admiration of Kurtz. Furthermore, the male voice enforces gender hierarchy and gender roles throughout the novel. Lastly, the male voice draws attention to the hegemonic control over the natives and the European viewpoint of the native’s culture.

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Krutz is seen as a “shade” because, although Marlow only has second hand encounters with Krutz, Krutz is the embodiment of Marlow’s enlightenment. Marlow follows Kurtz 's shadow until the fog is lifted and Marlow is able to see the true darkness within man that the Company has been attempting to hide from the view of others. In a broad sense, the darkness within humans is not openly seen as people live in a civilized society, but when the rules of society is released, the internal darkness inside men can finally be seen which is a central message of the Heart of Darkness. The inability to create complete facts about the mystery surrounding the Congo, create the sense of the discovery of the central message, the darkness within man. Without the reference to blindness and sight, the story would lose its sense of a narrative of discovery.

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In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad created the feeling of ‘other’ with the way the people Marlow encountered on the journey were described. Words are what leads a reader to form an opinion and Conrad leads his reader’s into believing the natives are wicked. In the novel, Joseph often times calls the African people savages or creatures, “...deathlike indifference of unhappy savages” (20) and “...one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees...” Savages and creatures give the connotation that they were evil and animalistic. His words impact on how we think of the African characters.

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In Joseph Conrad’s short story “Heart of Darkness,” the reader is transported to many places throughout Europe and Africa. These places all have symbolic meaning in their appearance. They reveal much of the stories theme in their appearance and show the darkness’s affect. Many of the appearances are similar in that they all contain some darkness. The darkness hides things from observation and represents the savagery that Marlow sees.

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Kurtz, allowing readers to see the overall madness recurring. Conrad uses specific diction to force readers to imagine the madness that must be going through Mr.Kurtz mind because of his geographical surroundings. Furthermore, Marlow disturbingly states “the air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of the sunshine... deserted, into the gloom.”

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Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, published in 1899, focuses on the effects that imperialism has on the human mind. However, it has been widely criticized for its racist language and depiction of Africa. Regardless, this novel serves as a literary work of art and should not be seen solely as a racist novel. Heart of Darkness shows Marlow’s shift in perspective in respect to imperialism. Marlow has an imperialistic point of view, but he is more judgmental of it than in favor of it.

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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.

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