Heart of Darkness

A detailed Summary of Heart of Darkness

In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad displays the imperfections of Imperialism. Conrad uses symbols and contrasts to portray theses imperfections. The novel is about a young man traveling up a dangerous river in the heart of the jungle. He gets a job as a captain of a steamboat to collect ivory. As a newcomer to this position and to this part of the world, he discovers the gruesome truth about Imperialism. This young mans quest quickly changes from ivory to the truth and a quest for the soul. Conrad also points out that the savages are not always the dark people, but the whites that use cruel tactics to show their superiority towards the natives. Through the course of the novel Marlow finds out about the injustices done to the natives, but does nothing about it. This partially stems from his fear of being shamed or losing his position as captain. He knows the truth, but withholds it for his own selfish needs. Marlow totally ignores his self-conscious to protect himself. Instead of being a leader he just points his finger at his comrades.

joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had

Part of Marlow's disregard for the native stems from his fear of not being accepted. He fears that the other white men will verbally or physically harm him. When he finds out about Kurtz his initial reaction is to meet this person that thinks like him. Once he finds Kurtz he is ashamed to have the desire to meet him. He is a waste of a human being. He scorns Kurtz for his wrong doings, but never focuses on his own. He, in turn is doing the same thing Kurtz is doing, which is ignoring the facts.

Marlow's justification for not helping anybody is that he acknowledges what he is doing is wrong and immoral. He is basically learning a fact and turning his cheek and pointing his finger.

is for ivory, but it later becomes a personal quest. Marlow's first realization of the injustice done to the indigenous people is when he sees the chain gang.

In conclusion, Marlow is a confused young man that needs to find the right path. In this novel he chooses to stray down the wrong path. He knows of the wrongs

Some common words found in the essay are:
Imperialism Conrad, Appalled Marlow, Joseph Conrad, European Marlow, acknowledges doing wrong, acknowledges doing, Heart Darkness, pg 33, ignores self-conscious, stems fear, chain gang, beginning novel, marlow's disregard, heart darkness, towards natives, doing wrong,

Approximate Word count = 727
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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Heart of Darkness

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