Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad In Joseph Conrad's novel, 'Heart of Darkness', the term "darkness" can be related to a few different meanings. Conrad uses this term in various ways to characterize social, political and psychological affairs in order to help the reader get a feel of his attitudes towards things, such as colonialism, Africa, and civilization.The first impression of the word "darkness" in relations to this novel that I understood was its reference to racism. This, I got from the way Conrad writes about the White people and how they treated the natives (Black), in Africa. During the colonization of Africa, forced ideals of a race that thought of themselves as more superior than those who occupied that land before them existed. This is demonstrated as Conrad writes about how the Whites completely dominate the Blacks in Africa. A significant passage from the novel illustrating this point is when Marlow describes, " Black shapes crouched, lay...The work was going on...this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die...they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom" (34-35). The natives were not "helpers", but sl
Kurtz represents what every man will become if left to his own natural desires without a protective civilized environment. Even then we see no glimpse of humanity in their characters through Conrad's writing. He sees the wild dancing and chanting of the natives, and though he says at first that it is incomprehensible to him, upon reflection he admits that he does feel some kind of connection to the "passionate uproar. Thus, in the story the wilderness is more than a backdrop for the plot. You would think they were praying to it. It is difficult to say, however, what the intentions of the wilderness actually are. From the passages quoted earlier, when Marlow calls the workers "black shadows of disease and starvation" (35), Conrad is reinforcing the idea that Blacks and the dark images they project are uncivilized and they are nothing to be wishing for. Marlow comments, "The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. The wilderness brings Kurtz to the point where he has a full awareness of himself, and from there he makes his affirmation about all mankind. aves who were forced to work till physical exhaustion under the orders of the White colonist. The full significance of the wilderness can be seen only through Kurtz, because he gives in to the powers of the wilderness. As long as they keep themselves busy with surface activities, they cannot hear the whispers of the wilderness, and the darkness in their hearts can remains buried. Through Marlow's eyes, it is always somewhat of an enigma. Not as a man, but a "dog in breeches".
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