Heart of Darkness 7
People are not always what they seem. Those appear to be the most civilized may in fact prove to be quite barbaric and savage. Those who appear sweet and kind can prove that unbeknownst to them they are hiding beneath their angelic faces and innocent smiles a heart of stone with no feelings, no compassion and no love. Throughout Marlow's journey into the dark jungles of Africa we come to realize that Marlow's heart is cold and dark and hidden deep within himself. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is actually the story of Marlow's journey and self realization of his own heart of Darkness. From the very beginning of the story that Marlow tells his civilized friends, there are signs of the misfortunes and chaos that Marlow is about to step into. Conrad uses the symbolism of light vs. dark to create the foreshadowing and ominous future ahead for Marlow.In Heart of Darkness, there is a real contrast between what is light and what is dark. These contrasts work within the reality of what is considered civilized and uncivilized. The light representing civilization or the civilized side of the world and the dark representing the uncivilized or savage side of the world. Thro
symbol of evil. This reference has its roots in the Bible when the snake, or serpent, The images in the final chapter are perhaps some of the most illuminating in the area of defining light with civilization and dark with the uncivilized. When Marlow finally reaches the camp where Kurtz is to be located, he finds a reality that is not civilized. The first sign he encounters is the broken roof on Kurtz's house. It has a "black hole." This is a sign of the uncivilized. At first, one may represent the hole as representing living in the open, the wild, but Marlow refers to it as a black hole. A black hole in contrast represents the unknown the unconquered, and therefore the uncivilized. Also, Marlow encounters "black heads" on Kurtz's fence. These once again represent the idea of savegery with the color black. He also describes them as "black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids." This is once again a representation of dark colors being assocaited with all that is ugly, bad, and uncivilized. He also shows the savagery of the black natives when describing how they protect the yellow ivory. He claims they are armed to kill. However, one must remember that the ivory is once again for the whites. With the success of the mission, Marlow and Kurtz head back in a desperate attempt to beat Kurtz's death in the Congo. While leaving the Kurtz's camp, Marlow screeches the whistle on the boat to scare off the savages who begin to collect on shore. After doing this, all the natives, except the beautiful one, run. Once again Marlow shows how the whistle of a civilized world scares off the savages. And once again, the beautiful native remains behind not scared by the horn. This again shows how Marlow views the native as being civilized. The ending of the novel also proves to continue to contrast between light and dark, especially when speaking of the savages Marlow encounters when attempting to save Kurtz. With their escape and these words comes the title of the book, Heart of Darkness. That "the river was t
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Approximate Word count = 1354
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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