Heart of Darkness and
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, and "Hollow Men," by T.S. Eliot have several comparative themes, though each author has an entirely separate way of conveying them. Each work displays a darkened and dismal mood, separation, and obscurity, which are depicted through different characters and environments. The authors both have a disdain for the hierarchy in society, which they cannot escape, and the destructive consequences that occur because of a higher authority's demands. And, both authors portray characters who are observant, though one observes the tactile, and the other looks deeper into the spirituality of himself and others. Conrad and Eliot make darkness, death, impending doom, and separation the main focus in these two pieces of work. On page one of Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses descriptions like "haze, dark, mournful, brooding, and gloom" to set the general scene and mood for the continuum of the novel. Eliot sets up a similar scene by using "death" several times throughout the poem (line 14), and parallels life with "fading" or "dying stars" (line 28, 44, and 54). In lines 39-44 Eliot even goes so far as to give a morbid depiction of a graveyard,
This passage can be seen as an interpretation of the emotions of the narrator and the people around him; the want, the violence, the force, the struggle for existence, human nature, and mental descent all linger in the darkness of human souls. Although the setting is a huge part of depicting the mood, the characters and their personalities cannot be forgotten; their personalities also convey the theme of darkness. While Marlow is in the waiting room he feels "slightly uneasy," and as if there is "something ominous in the atmosphere" (8). Conrad continues to use such descriptions through Marlow to delineate the feeling of darkness within himself. Marlow says that "instead of going to the center of a continent...[he feels he is going into] the center of the earth" (10). Conrad views this adventure as not only an exploration of the shadowy interior of the earth, but also a darkened descent into Marlow's soul. Eliot uses confusing metaphors to convey his intent, instead of simply laying out average descriptions that the reader can easily understand; although the basic meaning of "Hollow Men" parallels that of Heart of Darkness. Eliot says that "Between the emotion / And the response / Falls the Shadow" (line 80-82), meaning that how one feels about something is distorted by the "Shadow"(line 82); so, the outcome is darker than it would be with normal emotions. This is what Marlow experiences on his journey to the Congo; trying circumstances directly affect the emotions of both
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Approximate Word count = 1000
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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