Many books are written by an author purely for informational, recreational, or monetary reasons, but some books are written to demonstrate a point. Joseph Conrad's book Heart of Darkness is one such book. If the book is examined only superficially, a tragic story of the African jungle is seen, but when the paragraphs are picked apart, a deeper meaning arises. Joseph Conrad uses the theme of light and dark to contrast the civilized with the savage in Heart of Darkness. The next 5 pages analyze Conrad's use of light and dark in Heart of Darkness. First, they explain how Conrad's past and experiences affected his writing. Then, they show how light versus dark is used to contrast the civilized and the savage. Finally, they will examine Conrad's use of light and dark in Heart of Darkness to contrast the civilized and the savage.

Joseph Conrad's past experiences contributed greatly to his literary style. He was born December third, 1857. His childhood was unstable; "Conrad's parents came from families that sacrificed property, liberty, and life in the futile struggle for independence." (Gillon-3) His father, Apollo, "joined a radical patriotic group which was working for another

1. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Middlesex, England: Penguin Publishers,

In Heart of Darkness, Conrad again uses light and dark to symbolize good and evil, except the roles are reversed. "It is whiteness that is truly sinister and evil, for it symbolizes the immoral scramble for loot by the unscrupulous and unfeeling Belgian traders in ivory and human flesh; the whiteness of ivory is also contrasted with the blackness of the natives whose lives must be destroyed for its sake." (Gillon-25)

In Conrad's first influential novel, The Nigger of the Narcissus, the central idea of light and dark first arises. The sailing ship Narcissus is caught in a storm, and the only black mate aboard, James Wait, has a symbolic meaning. He is the stopping point on the ship, because none of the sailors trust him. He, as his name suggests, always waits before acting. Wait is a "jinx" (Gillon-39) and "the ship will not reach land safely until Jim (James) dies." (Gillon-39) "the images of light indicate the simple, good life of a seaman, while those of darkness are associated with the evil and mystery of the jungle, the corruption of the life on the land." (Gillon-25) In this case, black, or dark is bad, and the white, or light is good.

York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1942. 307-9

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Approximate Word count = 1465
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)