The Heart of Darkness

A detailed Summary of The Heart of Darkness

Every individual in this world has a heart of darkness. Some keep it tucked away, never to be seen, while others use it as a model for living. Joseph Conrad uses this philosophy to show how man struggles to find the balance between good and evil everyday. Conrad conveys his message through his character, Marlow, a simple man who is proud of his work and is only trying to survive.

The heart of darkness is something that all of the characters introduced throughout this story struggle with. Learning to fight their way to the top and overcome the obstacles that are constantly thrown in the way is what this account is all about. In the very beginning this can be seen when Marlow seeks help in finding work from his aunt. This is a great insult to a man of this time, to ask a woman for help but his desire to move up forces him to take seemingly drastic measures.

The heart of Africa is used as a metaphor for life. This becomes very evident early in the story. "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much ( Conrad 21)." When one looks into this qu

ote, one can see that through gaining in life others will suffer. As the British Empire expanded many suffered due to one thing, and one thing alone, greed. As the British spread all over the world in desire for more wealth, those who were at one time happy living in their own world became an obstacle that had to be overcome, and as they were overtaken then simply became prisoners of their own land. This can be related to everyday life in many ways, which shows that everyone has a heart of darkness.

Through Marlow, Joseph Conrad spreads his message about the heart of darkness. It is not something that can simply be ignored, nor can it be bottled up inside forever. This idea is found throughout the entire story, if it is looked for. The idea that evil lurks in the heart of everyone in the world is a very feasible thought. Evil is everywhere, and reveals itself in many different ways; this is what Conrad wants the readers of the story to take away from it. Without good and evil the world would never progress, it would become a stagnant place to live where nothing ever gets better and nothing ever becomes worse. Living in fear is not a way to live, Marlow did not live in fear, he confronted it in the most desperate of times. True, the Heart of Darkness maybe the center of an African jungle, but in the case of Conrad's novel, it is the reason for greed, power, lust, and even hope, the center of every living being.

His encounter with the station's accountant while he was waiting for the rivets to repair his ship shows how cold the accountant is. "When you see Mr. Kurtz, tell him that everything here is very satisfactory (Conrad 34)." His meeting with the accountant shows just how much the accountant wants to perform his duties well, while pleasing all those above him. Conrad writes of such encounters in attempt to push his view of the world upon all those who read his words. He is trying to show that even the smallest of individuals' sets goals and will step on anyone to obtain them.

Solitude has a strange effect over many people. While Kurtz seems to be a strong-minded individual, living in the jungle brought out the worst in his own heart of darkness. "Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn't touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of somber pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror-of an intense and

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1680
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English