Essays On Heart Of Darkness

Essay about Heart Of Darkness
"Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme
moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision–he cried out
twice, a cry that was no more than a breath: The horror! The horror!"
What horror is Kurtz recounting as his final words? Truths lie inside the inner soul of all human
beings, it is just a matter of when and where they will come out. Kurtz choose to let his be known as
his passing words. An epiphany, a passing glimpse, the realization of what he has created and
destroyed, willingly, or blindly going about hacking through the jungle blindfolded, searching for
something of extrinsic importance. The narrator of Heart of Darkness never lets the...show more
content...
The savagery, when imagining those millions of Africans murdered all for the sake of ivory tusks,
is too disheartening for the uninitiated person. Some person, with the beast already inside their
soul, could approach this task with no qualms about any methods used against fellow humans.
Kurtz had this characteristic. He had gotten off the boat and into the jungle, fully. He was no
longer apart of this world, but still in it. The nature of savagery had taken his whole being over;
infact, any embodiment of European civilization had continued to fall overboard the farther
down the river he journeyed. The intricate woven fabric, with each tiny fiber being a thread of
knowledge, experience, and lessons learned make up the blanket of our personality. Kurtz had
chosen to take a very sharp pair of scissors and cut away all that warmth this personality blanket
provides. By discarding the very nature of his being this left him hollow, a creature with a
threaded existence, tattered and worn, he came apart at the seams. He could no longer feel the
same emotion, or emphasize with his fellow man. Therefore, the senseless violence he perpetuated,
did not bother him, why would it? He was the African's God, able to do as he pleased, he, and he
alone, decided who shall
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Heart of Darkness Essay
1.Some critics believe that in Heart of Darkness Conrad illustrates how ''the darkness of the
landscape can lead to the darkness of the social corruption." This statement means that if the
environment is dark, then the people in that environment will match the surrounding feeling,
which is dark and depressing. For example, if it is a gloomy rainy day, most people feel tired and
not as happy. If it is a bright sunny day, the most people feel motivated to get things done and
joyful. Yes, this statement is believable because I have noticed that the weather, my surroundings,
and even other people's behaviors around me affect my mood. Today, for instance, it rained all day
and the sky was dark, as a result I slept throughout the whole...show more content...
In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz is depicted as an upstanding European who has been transformed by his
time in the jungle– being away from the society he was used to that could have prevented him from
becoming such a tyrant. I have experienced being in a situation where I was very different from
the people around me. It forced me to figure out their interests so I was able to join in on their
conversations. By the end of the day, I no longer felt alone. So that experience taught me that I am
going to come across diversity in life, but I need to be open and accepting of it. If I had chosen to
just be shy, I wouldn't have learned this lesson. I didn't find myself being pulled toward base, cruel
instincts as Kurtz, but I think that's because Kurtz had no one to control him. If a person gains that
much power, it may lead to the transformation that Kurtz experienced. –pg. 144 "But his soul was
mad. Being alone in the wilderness, it had looked within itself, and, by heavens! I tell you, it had
gone mad."
4.Kurtz dying words are a cryptic whisper: "The horror, the horror". There could be more than one
possibility of the "horror" Kurtz could have been talking about. I think that it symbolizes the
darkness of Kurtz's tyrant and savage–like qualities that he gained when he lived with the natives.
When he

Essay on heart of darkness
Various parallels can be drawn when comparing and contrasting Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
and Frank Coppola's "Apocalypse Now", while taking into consideration Heart of
Darkness is a novella and "Apocalypse Now" is a film. These differences and similarities
can be seen in themes, characters, events and other small snippets of information including anything
from quoted lines to strange actions of the main characters. Both pieces follow the same story line
but they are presented in different contexts, allowing for many differences as well as the ability to
see how Conrad is able to write a piece of literature that can be transposed to many different settings
regardless the time period and still convey the same...show more content...
In Apocalypse Now, Captain Willard utters the line "cut 'em in half with a machine gun and
give 'em a Band–Aid. It was a lie. And the more I saw them, the more I hated lies." The
central theme in this line can be seen in both "Apocalypse Now" and Heart of Darkness.
Essentially, this line depicts the truth of colonialism and imperialism, stating that we have the `best'
intentions and are going to civilize savages, even if we have to kill them, just to gain a sense of
control and power. Unlike Heart of Darkness, "Apocalypse Now" shows the American's
viewpoint on communism, do to the setting and time period and pulls in some political viewpoints
based on the era. The United States, is horrified at the socialist idea that power at the top falls, and
one reformed class is created. The United States is afraid that since Vietnam was a communist
country that they might have influence on other countries, thus creating a sense of inferiority.
Yet another parallel can be drawn between the actions of the characters and elements of the setting.
Though it is in slightly different contexts, there are similarities between the French ships shelling
into the jungle and Willard's crew aimlessly shooting in the jungle. In Heart of Darkness Marlow's
steamboat passes a French steamer that

Essay on Heart of Darkness
The Novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is about an Ivory agent, Marlow, who is also the
narrator of his journey up the Congo River into the heart of Africa. Marlow witnesses many new
things during his journey to find Mr. Kurtz. In Apocalypse Now, the narrator is Captain Willard,
who is also on a journey to find Kurtz. The Kurtz in the movie however is an American colonel who
broke away from the American army and decided to hide away in Cambodia, upon seeing the reality
of the Vietnam War. The poem "The Hollow Men"talks about how humans' "hollowness" affects
their lives and often leads to the destruction of one's life. These three works all deal with similar
issues, and are related to one another in many ways, and also share...show more content...
"Everything belonged to him. It made me hold my breath in expectation of hearing the wilderness
burst into a prodigious laughter..." Kurtz believed that everything around him, such as the ivory, and
the river all belonged to him. This greed eventually made him forget his identity and he ended up
becoming part of the jungle and dying there as a result. Such actions done by Kurtz and his men are
a small but important example of what was really happening in Africa by the Europeans during the
colonial period. Kurtz's death represents the downfall failure of European imperialism in Africa.
The movie Apocalypse Now has a very similar thematic structure but a different issue. Colonel
Kurtz in the movie could be an example of how the Americans pretty much lost the Vietnam War.
Kurtz realized what was happening around him. "The horror" to him was perhaps the war and the
impact of this war on the people's lives. Kurtz was sent to Cambodia to immunize the children, and
was horrified to find out that the Vietcong had cut off all the inoculated arms. This showed Kurtz
the reality of war, and that was probably the point where Kurtz had lost his identity and no longer
knew why he was there and

Heart Of Darkness
Darkness is within us, whether we like it or not. However, the only thing that can conquer
darkness is light. What happens if there is no light? This dilemma is explored in Joseph Conrad's
novel, Heart of Darkness. Throughout the novel, Conrad successfully uses darkness as a symbol
through the use of flies, ivory and Marlow's journey through the Congo River. Throughout the
novel, Conrad shows how as people explore the unknown they tend to lose their innocence as they
are exposed to the negative aspects of life. One's perspective might be different from another's,
similarly, darkness can be seen in many different ways. One of the ways darkness can be seen is
through death. As Marlow's journey continues, he encounters many flies. Whenever an...show more
content...
Being lost there is horrifying as one may experience the true darkness of the river. As Marlow and
his crew travel upstream towards Kurtz, they struggle, which makes it seem that the river does
not want them to go there. This reveals that the river is trying to expel all the light remaining and
trying to embrace the darkness. Additionally, Marlow's steamboat gets caught in a white fog. The
colour white represents purity, however, in this case it illustrates darkness. The white fog distorts
Marlow and his crew's vision as a result, they have no idea what lies ahead in the open dark river.
Marlow and his team become afraid as they wonder what is going to happen next. Due to this, the
darkness which lurks in their thoughts grabs a hold of them. Later on in the novel, Marlow decides
that he will go into the yellow colour which is dead in the centre, furthermore, he says "the river was
there–fascinating–deadly–like a snake" (14). Conrad depicts the Congo River as a snake, which
reveals that the river holds a sense of danger and adds onto the illustration of darkness. In
summary, Conrad uses the nature of the river as a symbol to successfully express the true inner
darkness. Overall, Conrad successfully manages to use darkness as a symbol. Conrad expresses this
by using the flies, ivory and Marlow's journey through the Congo River. This goes to show that when
one explores the unknown, it can cause them to experience and acquire

Essay about Heart of Darkness
The Real Heart Of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is not only the title of Joseph Conrad's novella, it is also a main theme. This is
portrayed through different images of darkness, black and evil throughout his story. The setting is
often used with images of darkness; even as Marlow tells his tale, it is night. This 'darkness' is
inside many concepts of the novella such as Africa, women, black people, maps, the ivory trade
corporation and Kurtz. Through these images on his journey, Marlow has a realization about the inner
darkness of man, and thus brings out the theme, and title, Heart Of Darkness.
At the time, the Europeans often referred to Africa as the 'Dark Continent'. This is the main setting of
Marlow's story and his destination is the...show more content...
The journey he takes down the river into Africa is symbolic of a journey into ones soul, to the
center of darkness in mans heart. The darkness of the soul becomes more and more apparent to
Marlow as the crew goes deeper into Africa. This is because they start to feel more isolated and
Marlow has the opportunity to see a clear vision of himself.
As Marlow begins to realize the darkness within man's soul, he feels that women are too weak to
face this world he sees. "They – the women, I mean – are out of it – should be out of it. We must
help them to stay in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours gets worse." (p.376) Marlow feels
that the women should not be allowed to see the darkness, as they are too weak and fragile to face
the truth, and he believes they should continue to live in their own world. Marlow even lies to
Kurtz's Intended, telling her the last thing Kurtz said was her name, because the real truth was to
dark to tell.
However, women are not the only people in this novella used to symbolize darkness; black people
are also exercised as an image of darkness. Conrad uses the darkness of their skin in comparison to
the white people's skin. Darkness is used to represent barbarism, savages and evil while white
represents all that is good. This black and white comparison also becomes apparent when the white
string on a black person is pointed out in detail, "He had tied a bit of white worsted round his neck
– Why? Where did he get it? Was it a

Heart of Darkness–ISP
By: Robert Pittelli You can argue that nearly everyone on this planet has at least one desire within
that is so dark and evil that they would do anything to achieve that goal. However, most individuals
are capable of controlling and taming their greedy desires for personal gain such as wealth, power,
and fame, to the point where they are concealed, leaving their sanity untouched by the extreme
darkness of their sinful wishes. Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, provides the greatest
example of how man's appetite for greed can prevail and consume almost an entire race's soul into
complete and utter madness, to the stage where it is solely driven by the blackness and impurity of
greed. In Heart of Darkness,...show more content...
The only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading post where ivory was to be had, so
that they could earn percentages." (Conrad, Heart of Darkness 29). The European trading company
was all about hunting for ivory, and the greediest member of all was Kurtz, and coincidentally the
most deranged of them all. Kurtz would, in the words stated by the Russian, "go off on another
ivory hunt; disappear for weeks; forget himself amongst these people–forget himself–you know.'
'Why! He's mad, I said [Marlow said]." (Conrad, Heart of Darkness 70). Eventually, Kurtz reached
the point where he was solely driven by the material desire for ivory, and as a result, suffered the
fate of madness; "Evidently the appetite for more ivory had got the better of the–what shall I say?
–less material aspirations," (Conrad, Heart of Darkness 71) Marlow asserted, referring to Kurtz.
It is apparent that Kurtz longed for ivory, but why is this material good so seductive and luring to
him. What if we look at this from a psychological perspective? Stephen Ross, from the University
of Victoria, tries to answer this question by concluding that ivory's "real power lies in its status as
a fetishized signifier" (Ross, Desire in Heart of Darkness 71). He adds that ivory is "not only of the
Company's desire, but also of its employees' desire in as much as they earn percentages on the

Essay about Heart of Darkness
Post–colonial studies have often created this myth about the European intent for Africa, a tale that
has led many westerners to believe in the noble role of European policy of civilizing Africa.
However, literal materials have said little about the evils that surrounded the well sometimes
ill–disguised motives of explorers, colonial administrators and their adventures. This essay provides
an in depth review of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a classical novella that illustrates without
bias the motives behind human intentions and the extremes individuals can go to achieve wealth
and profits at the expense of others with the aim of shedding insight into the rise of European
imperialism, the imperial history, its politics and evil...show more content...
Marlow not only encounters Kurtz's corruption but also braves the forces inside him that make him
susceptible to Kurtz's tendencies. In this book Marlow says "I've had to strike and to fend off. I've
had to resist and to attack sometimes––that's only one way of resisting––without counting the exact
cost, according to the demands of such sort of life as I had blundered into" (Conrad 10).
Actually, he finds out that Africa is not as uncivilized as he was made to believe. The incident on
the river and the dignified woman believed to be Kurtz's mistress makes Marlow rethink how
civilized Africans are as he sees them as people who have some inner wisdom that is
incomprehensible to the white man (Conrad 23). He also discovers the ravage done on the
continent. Marlow goes back to Belgium after Kurtz's demise where he faces Kurtz's fiancГ©e and
is forced to lie about Kurtz's undertakings and his last words.
The close of the nineteenth century came with one of the most conspicuous forms of imperialism
ever experienced in modern history. Just like many other Europeans, king Leopold was fascinated
by illustrious accounts of explorers from Africa and he wanted a share of the wealth and power.
Through careful scheming, he ultimately established himself a territory, which he called The Congo
Free state. Congo was endowed with ivory and rubber, which could be harnessed and

Heart of Darkness Essay
Heart of Darkness Darkness permeates every circumstance, scene, and character in Joseph Conrad's
novella, Heart of Darkness. Darkness symbolizes the moral confusion that Charlie Marlow
encounters, as well as the moral reconciliation he has within himself while searching for Kurtz.
Marlow's morals are challenged numerous times throughout the book; on the Congo river and when
he returns to Brussels. Charlie Marlow characterizes the behavior of the colonialists with, "The
flabby, pretending, weak–eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly," (25). Marlow distinguishes
"the devil" from violence, greed, and desire. He suggests that the basic evil of imperialism is not
that it perpetrates violence against native peoples, or...show more content...
However, he continuously interprets the actions in the world surrounding him. "Going up river
was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world...prehistoric earth," (59) reflects the
Europeans inclination to regard the natives as primitive. Marlow's notion of traveling back in time
is later reinforced by the arrows and spears that are used in the attack on his ship, "Sticks, little
sticks, were flying about...Arrows by Jove, we were being shot at," (79). Marlow is distraught by
the natives he sees along the river bank, "...and the men were––No, they were not inhuman. Well,
you know, that was the worst of it–this suspicion of their not being inhuman," (62). Marlow realizes
though that the natives are no different from an uneducated and ignorant European. This realization
is significant to the personal development of Charlie Marlow and explains his treatment to the
natives later in the novella. Further insight to the relationship between Kurtz and the Russian trader
is offered in section three. Although the Russian trader is naГЇve, he came to Africa in search of the
same thing as Marlow; something experimental. They both aligned themselves with Kurtz. For
Marlow, Kurtz represented the choice of outright exploitation over the hypocritical justifications of
cruelty. "'Nevertheless, I think Mr. Kurtz is a remarkable man," (112) Marlow is willing to put
aside the reality of Kurtz's cruel and selfish behavior, in order to satisfy the

Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness is a dark and haunting tale about the search for a substantial
and mysteriously powerful man named Mr. Kurtz. Heart of Darkness centers around Marlow, a
sailor and also narrator of the novella. Throughout the work, Conrad uses an array of literary devices
to suggest his style of writing.
The title of the work itself, The Heart of Darkness, is an example of the use of metaphor. Darkness
is a significant part of the book's title conceptually. However, it is difficult to discern exactly what it
might mean, given that absolutely everything in the book takes place in darkness. Africa, England,
and Brussels are all described as gloomy and somehow dark, even if the sun is shining brightly.
Darkness thus...show more content...
Conrad uses repetition in a manner that allows the reader to fully see what he is attempting to
emphasize..
The irony of the work lies within the title and the central theme– darkness versus light. The irony
within the work is based on the fact that one must travel through the darkness to get to the light.
Conrad's ability to manipulate the language and it's literary elements, makes the work quite
interesting and intriguing to engage. The use of these literary elements creates an aura within the
work both complex and suspenseful.
According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, to civilize means to raise
from barbarism to an enlightened stage of development; bring out of a primitive or savage state, or
to educate in matters of culture and refinement; make more polished or sophisticated.
In Heart of Darkness,the sense of the definition is dependent upon Mr. Kurtz's mission to promote
his ideas as to what it means to be civilized. Mr. Kurtz was a well–known man who has achieved a
distinguished reputation for maintaining the ivory trade."Kurtz is a prodigy . . . He is an
emissary of pity and science and progress, and devil knows what else" (47).He could live a life of
luxury by selling his ivory in Europe. The company's Chief Accountant remarks, "He will be a
somebody in the Administration before long. They, above–– the

Heart of Darkness
The nightmare of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is found in its stark portrayal of madness
under the influence of an environment filled with desolation. Its protagonist, Mr. Kurtz, was raised
amongst civilized people, adapted virtues that were regarded proper in society during the Victorian
era, yet when he travels into the Congo, where these qualities are of no consequence, he abandons
them to become wild. To understand how Kurtz fell to this emotional corruptness, a reader must be
aware of three main elements that caused his disillusionment: power, greed, and isolation.
When Kurtz was living in England, he was a follower of the island's ruling party and conducted tasks
amongst the supervision of its...show more content...
When Marlow arrives to bring Kurtz back to civilization, the ivory trader has become supreme ruler
over most of the lands inhabitants and has brainwashed the people into following his whims. As
Kurtz's maniacal boat mate states, "they adored him"(277). How he gained power over the natives is
expressed through his ruthless treatment of traitors by putting their heads on stakes and his
disregard of implementing English customs and well–bred indoctrination into the mindset of his
people. Instead, he encourages savagery for he understands people bred from the wild will only
follow those who enforce nature's unwritten code. He grows so favorable towards his position as
ruler over the jungle that when he discovers Marlow is coming to take him back to civilization, a
place where he has no control, he tries to stop him, and dispatches natives to massacre all the
passengers on the steamer. Marlow survives the onslaught and takes Kurtz away from a place he
believes has deranged the man's mind, but has actually offered him a gift so many people seek in
life: control over the masses.
Ivory in an insurmountable supply creates greediness in Kurtz. He is renown amongst the Congo for
his expertise in the ivory trade and no one can match his production.
Boatloads of the valuable commodity are sent downstream bringing him handsome profits, yet when
he has achieved financial success the glamour of wealth becomes false to him. He begins to see his
business not through what he can get

Essays On Heart Of Darkness

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Essays On Heart Of Darkness