Heart Of Darkneess Essay, Research Paper

In Joseph Conrad?s novel, Heart of Darkness the concept of light and dark is presented to the reader throughout the book, this concept is used in order to distinguish what is good and bad. Most of this book however concentrates on the dark side.

Marlow goes on a journey to the Congo. In this journey Marlow finds that there is a dark side to many of the situations that he comes in contact with and many of the people that he meets. Marlow begins his journey thinking that everything is going to be great and wonderful. Marlow explains that ?It appeared however, I was also one of the Workers, with a capital-you know. Something like an emissary of light, something like a lower sort of apostle.? To Marlow this job is a very important one.

One dark aspect of being on this journey was becoming uncivilized. Marlow sees becoming uncivilized on his journey happen to many men, but he fails to call them men anymore he instead calls them creatures. ?One of these creatures rose to his hands and knees, and went on all-fours towards the river to drink. He lapped out of his hand, then sat up in the sunlight, crossing his shins in front of him, and after time let his wooly head fall on his breastbone.? Marlow calls them creatures because he can?t believe that human beings would act this way, he just stood horrified and watched.

The thought of cannibalism for Marlow used to be a bad thing, which would be considered dark. On this journey he realizes that the people themselves are not bad, he just doesn?t agree with them eating human flesh. Some men in Marlow?s crew were cannibals; Marlow explains ?We had enlisted some of these chaps on the way for a crew. Fine fellows-cannibals-in their place. They were men one could work with, and I am grateful to them. And, after all, they did not eat each other before my face: they had brought along a provision of hippo meat which went rotten, and made the mystery of the wilderness stink in my nostrils. Phoo!? Marlow learns that these people will do anything in the desperation to survive so he does not judge them because they really have no choice in the matter, it?s either eat the human flesh, or they can eat rotten hippos. These people were just so happy to get food that they ate what they got.

When Marlow arrives at another destination he sees humans heads on sticks. Since Marlow has witnessed such things as cannibalism he was not as disturbed by this site, he thought that it was not out of the ordinary, perhaps because he had been out of civilization for so long already.

Marlow sees a portrait that Kurtz has painted. It is of a woman holding a torch and her eyes are covered. The whole picture is dark and solemn except for the torch that is lit in the woman?s hands. Marlow thinks that this means that there may be light for Africa; maybe he just can?t see it yet.

Many people that Marlow meets have a dark side to them, both the Manager and Kurtz do, they are not how they at first seemed to be. The Manager seemed nice at first because he was helpful and such, but he turned dark too. The Manager was the one who ordered men to attack Marlow?s ship. Kurtz seemed like a god-like figure in Marlow?s mind at first. Kurtz though, turns dark too. Kurtz commits suicide. They both have a dark side to them, or they have something that is dark about them.

When Marlow goes to the doctor?s office before he ventures on his journey, the first people that he sees in the doctor?s office waiting room are two women. These two women are dressed in black and they are both knitting items that are black. These two women are a sign that something bad is going to happen. Maybe if Marlow had thought about this dark concept, he would have taken this as a hint. Marlow especially should have thought about this concept when the doctor told him that many Europeans who venture to Africa become mad. Taking the doctor?s advice into consideration, Marlow might have wanted to look into the further view about his journey and some possible consequences of it.

Kurtz?s intended was dressed in all black when Marlow met her. This made Marlow pity her. Perhaps he pitied her because he knew that these dark clothes had to mean something bad. He thought that she was depressed and waiting for Kurtz. This woman wants to think that Kurtz is a great man. She may actually believe that he is. She thinks that he has a good heart and is very generous. Perhaps this is where the title Heart of Darkness came from. Kurtz appears especially to this woman to be a wonderful man. When in fact he turns out to be the total opposite, he has a cold heart and her black clothes symbolize the pain from his heart, which may be where the title Heart of Darkness came from.Many parts of this book have dark aspects to them, these aspects are not dark when first looked at, they have a dark deeper meaning.