Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness" tells a story of a man named Marlow who journeyed to the center of Africa, the Congo. Although implied, the actual heart of darkness does not only refer to the center of the Congo, but also the center of ourselves as human beings. Along his journey to meet the obscure Mr. Kurtz, Marlow encounters several unique people, some of whom unseemly do not belong in the Congo. Three of these people stand out among the others, and help Marlow understand his true experience in the Congo. These people are the accountant, the brickmaker, and the manager for whom Marlow works. To begin, the accountant (who by Marlow's account, looks like a stuffed hairdressers dummy) is one the first white men Marlow meets while in the Congo. Dressed in a high starched collar, white cuffs, and snowy trousers, he seems out of place. And it is from the accountant that Marlow first hears the name and location of Mr. Kurtz. The accountant himself does not give Marlow and sound advice for his journey, howev
The manager is the one that can be blamed for all of the disorder and cruelty of the three stations; he is in charge of everything. All three men, and accountant, brickmaker and manager lost their individuality, and they are trying to hide from themselves and their own hearts of darkness. Marlow also sees the appearance of the accountant as somewhat absurd, in contrast to the dark jungle that has engulfed them. He ultimately is the villain of the novella, as at his command a young native is beaten for the fire of the trash shed. To conclude, the brickmaker shows to Marlow that the darkness is more than just a blanket of shadows, but picks at the mind, and can turn rivalry into evil. Secondly, the manager is the epitome of hollowness of the white Company agents in Africa. This man has lost human dignity and is corrupted into a simple appearance of civilization, only a shell remains. He had been in the Congo for one year, and was only looking out for himself. He has been in the Congo for nine years, and Marlow sees that his blue eyes look distinctively cold. The brickmaker does not make bricks, as there aren't the materials, and instead acts somewhat as the manager's secretary. The accountant hides away in his books, while the brickmaker schemes for ways to get ahead. The Manager however keeps his sanity from slipping away, but loses all moral values. He only notices the natives suffering when their moaning is loud enough to distract him from his work. This mutely foreshadows further events, as the accountant manages to keep proper appearance and all the records in tact while in the Congo. The weaker minded accountant hides from everything in his books, while the brickmaker decidedly turned Marlow and Kurtz into his enemies for his position of assistant manager.
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Acceptance Essays
