Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad Madness Analysis

Psychotic Darkness
A gun gives you the opportunity, but a thought pulls the trigger. In this world, there are many life changing situations that can test one's sanity. Such situations can capture one's mind leading the mind to be on the verge of psychotic. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, grants the characters with a series of insane scenes that can generate question of psychotic characters. Conrad uses psychological influence throughout the novella specifically in the areas of, physical health, geographical surroundings, and eerie obsession to lead to the overall truth of madness.
An image of such madness is apparent through Conrad's works of psychological influence within physical and mental health. The mental well-being of the characters,

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.” With the provided dramatic diction, such as the words ‘sluggish’, ‘deserted’, ‘gloom’, a reader develops imagery of a dark place, where almost nobody would want to spend time, except Kurtz. Is it in fact the geographical surroundings causing him to go mad? With the already dreadful diction, Marlow leads into the psychotic side of Kurtz, by stating, “The wooded Islands; you lost your way on that river...you thought yourself bewitched and cut off for ever from everything you had known once-’”somewhere”. Conrad is providing proof of his “lost ways” due to the geographical surroundings. Showing more in depth that the environmental factors play an important role in the ideology of Mr. Kurtz emotions. Conrad’s diction provides a view of colonialism, proving the impact the surroundings and culture had on Mr. Kurtz, in a discreet manner. The doctor states with the warning, “I always ask leave, in the interests of science, to measure the crania of those going out there...Oh I never see them come back.”

With the confusion Conrad provides leads Marlow to allow for his curiosity to advance to an obsession. There is a mere difference between having an idolization and an obsession, Marlow went from a moment of idolization and jumped straight to a dramatic obsession. This turning point happens through Marlow ghoulishly stating “Where the pilgrims imagined it crawled to I don't know. To some place where they expected to get something. I bet! For me it crawled towards Kurtz-exclusively.” The curiosity has instantly birthed a new obsession. The wilderness isn’t Marlows destination now; Kurtz is. With this confusion leading Marlow to allow his curiosity lead to a strange obsession. Likewise, Marlow appears to be an observant young man, who is confused about his own curious thoughts going on inside his brain. With this present, he creates a confused mood stating “He originated nothing, he could keep the routine going--that’s all. But he was great.” His contradiction allows readers to form an opinion of the confused narrator, with possible signs of going mad. Stating that the station manager “isn't much” and then going on to say “he was great” shows the confusing contradiction, proving the point of madness. The repetition the narrator uses to describe the station manager allows readers to proceed to a mysterious trait about the station manager (another eerie