...1 Discuss the relation between narrative style and mo ral judgement in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The relation between narrative style and moral judg ement in literature is an issue in aesthetic philosophy that stretches back to Plato. ‘Narrative style’, I define as those formal literary aspects employed by the writer, in order to construct a narrative that is unique. By ‘moral judgement’, I refer to the messag e conveyed by a given text when referring to objects beyond itself. The above quest ion presupposes a relation between narrative style and moral judgement, and as such, part of my analysis will be to determine whether such a presupposition is wa rranted. Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness has been celebrated for its detailed examination o f European values and conduct. Ian Watt argues that ‘ Heart of Darkness embodies more thoroughly than any previous fiction the postu re of uncertainty and doubt.’ 1 But is this reading accurate? And if so, what stylistic devices does Conrad use in order to convey this position of ‘uncertainty’? Heart of Darkness uses an oblique narrative style, that is to say, t hat an unnamed narrator relates the narrative as it is in turn rel ated to him by Marlow, Conrad’s main protagonist in the novella. It is thus we can be to ld that for Marlow: ‘the meaning of an episode was not inside like a ke rnel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as...
Words: 1472 - Pages: 6
...Heart of Darkness There are many themes that run through the novel Heart of Darkness. There are however two main and significant ones. These are the theme of restraint and man's journey into self. The importance of restraint is stressed throughout Heart of Darkness. In the novel Marlow is saved by restraint, while Kurtz is doomed by his lack of it. Marlow felt different about Africa before he went, because the colonization of the Congo had "an idea at the back of it." Despite an uneasiness, he assumed that restraint would operate there. He soon reaches the Company station and receives his first shock, everything there seems meaningless. He sees no evidence here of that "devotion to efficiency" that makes the idea work. In the middle of this, Marlow meets a "miracle". The chief accountant has the restraint that it takes to get the job done. He keeps up his appearance and his books are in "apple-pie order." Marlow respects this fellow because he has a backbone. "The cannibals some of those ignorant millions, are almost totally characterized by restraint." They outnumber the whites "thirty to five" and could easily fill their starving bellies. Marlow "would have as soon expected restraint from a hyena prowling amongst the corpses of a battlefield." The cannibal’s action is "one of those human secrets that baffle probability." This helps Marlow keep his restraint, for if the natives can possess this quality Marlow feels he certainly can. Kurtz is...
Words: 765 - Pages: 4
...Heart of Darkness Essay Light and dark imagery is one element most commonly used in literature, and has held specific symbolic meanings for hundreds of years. Simply stated, light generally symbolizes good, while darkness symbolizes the complete opposite, evil. More specifically, Conrad uses detailed imagery of light and dark to show that white men can in fact be more savage than the natives. While the contrast of light and dark, white and black, and good and evil is a common theme in his novel, Conrad reverses the meanings of the two. In his story often the light is viewed as more menacing and evil than the darkness, and the white characters more spiteful than the black. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses light and dark imagery and the reversing of their regular meanings as a main focal point throughout the novel. Conrad establishes throughout this the theme that not everything is as it seems. Conrad uses light imagery as a symbol of civilization. Darkness is defined as the absence of light just like the black jungle is defined as the absence of white man’s civilization, a civilization full of corruption and evil. Conrad’s first description of Brussels is an example of this. “In a very few hours I arrived at a city that always made me think of a white sepulcher.” It is significant that Conrad describes the building as a white coffin, because the job there is sending men out to retrieve ivory, ultimately resulting in their death. This cycle of evil begins and ends in...
Words: 984 - Pages: 4
...in Heart of Darkness, “Heritage,” and “An Image of Africa,” has drastic effects on individuals that force them to alter both their presence in and their view of the world. Heart of Darkness illustrated the effects of imperialism on two main characters: Marlow and Kurtz. Marlow’s experience and awareness of the struggles in...
Words: 1347 - Pages: 6
...Heart of Darkness Imperialism has always had certain negative effects. Not only are the victims of imperialism exploited economically but they are often bound to experience racism. The natives are forced to abandon their political and spiritual views to learn the ways of the imperialists. In Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, Conrad describes the negative consequences affiliated with imperialism for not only the indigenous people, but also the imperialists themselves. In the beginning of the novel Heart of Darkness, Conrad shows that the British believed their imperialism had a positive influence on the Congolese by introducing them to civilization and the British way of life. "Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of the might within the land, bearers of a spark from the sacred fire. What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unknown earth! … The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires." (pp. 2-3 ll. 29-2). This is an optimistic statement describing the British mentality. They assume that they are imperializing for helpful reasons when they are truthfully just attempting to obtain Congo's resources. Marlow undermines the good intentions of the explorers. In the quote, "Mind, none of us would feel [...] at the back of it; not a sentimental pretence but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea." (pp. 4-5 ll. 26-5), Marlow...
Words: 1111 - Pages: 5
...Heart of Darkness is about humanities’ self-interest. Throughout the book, greed and plotting eventually lead to paranoia and self-doubt. Paranoia, self-doubt, and mental instability are inevitable when greed takes over people’s lives. In this way, Kurtz was affected exactly in this manner. Marlow went into this adventure looking to make money to survive, but more so he was looking for adventure. When he was little, he dreamed about exploring the world and was his true intention for going on this exploration. Marlow had a feeling that the Company was all about the money, however, Marlow was looking for something more than the money. He wanted to help civilize foreign lands. In speaking with his aunt, Marlow got the first hint as to what the Company was all about, however he joined the adventure anyway, “She talked about ‘weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways’ till, upon my word, she made me quite uncomfortable. I ventured to hint that the Company was run for profit.” The Company was lucky to have Marlow in their expedition. Among the greedy, plotting workers, Marlow was a kind man, taking everything in without any bad intentions. Marlow felt terrible about the way he saw the natives treated. While on board Nellie, he regretted that the boiler operator was stuck on board the ship rather than out dancing with his fellow natives. Throughout the story, Marlow mentioned how bad he felt for the “slaves” also. He even gave one slave something to eat. All the petty...
Words: 538 - Pages: 3
...Heart of Darkness Criticism Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a novella that despite its short length constructs a tale that is as dense and complex as the undergrowth of the jungle through which the main character travels. The tale, which begins as a frame narrative on the Thames in London, chronicles Charlie Marlow’s descent from Belgium into the heart of Africa in search of Kurtz, the infamous chief of the inner station. As Marlow travels through Africa, we are treated to a wildly different view of Africa then we typically see in popular culture, with the book portraying the harsh realities of Colonialism while also creating an atmosphere of dread and horror. This atmosphere is incredibly critical to the way in which we view the story, which has been criticized both as a racist text and as the first truly critical account of Imperialism. The journey culminates at the inner station where Marlow meets the legendary Kurtz, a character so complex that critics are still analyzing his purpose in the story. Heart of Darkness, is certainly one of the most polarizing novels of the last few centuries, with critical essays singing its praises and damning its aesthetics being almost equal in sheer volume. The watershed of criticisms towards Conrad’s visionary novella burst with Chinua Achebe’s scathing write up of the story, with its famous defaming of Conrad as a “bloody racist” (Achebe 343), that ends with the suggestion that it be banned from student book lists. Achebe’s essay...
Words: 987 - Pages: 4
...Heart of Darkness vs. Apocalypse Now Both the novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad and the movie "Apocalypse Now" are about one man's journey through Africa and Vietnam. A comparison and contrast can be made between the two. Both have the same themes but entirely different settings. Heart of Darkness takes place on the Congo River in the Heart of Africa while Apocalypse Now is set in Vietnam. The stock characters in both have the same general personalities but have different names. Of course, Kurtz is Kurtz, Willard twins Marlow, and the American photojournalist relates to the Russian Harlequin. Willard is a lieutenant for the US Army while Marlow is a captain of a steamboat of an ivory company. The first looks of Willard and Marlow differ a little. The movie begins with Willard lying in an apartment room completely out of touch with reality. He is haunted by his earlier deeds and he is getting very plastered. Willard smashes the mirror while fighting himself and cuts his hand. He falls to the bed crying. Marlow is portrayed as a traveler of the sea. The narrator described him as a hero somewhat. Their mission is to find Kurtz and take him down.. In both stories Kurtz is a psychotic rebel, worshipped as a god, who threatens the stability of his unit, but in one it is an ivory trading company and in the other it is the US Army. Kurtz, who had begun his assignment a man of great optimism and the highest morals, had become peculiarly savage. Tribes of natives worship...
Words: 963 - Pages: 4
...Casey Lanier Mrs. Harmon AP English Literature 17th September, 2014 Heart of Darkness is a well-known book, full of irony and violence. But the main part of the book is about Marlow and his surroundings. Joseph Conrad reveals Marlow’s characteristics when he changes Marlow’s environment from civilized to barbaric, through the use of imagery, symbols, and the intensity of his diction. Language and the diction of language is one of the most idealistic topics. Since Marlow is narrating most of the entire story, it’s styled to sound like a drawn out monologue. It’s stop and go with his story, while he remembers different topics and materials of his adventure. The long paragraphs are spoken, and read, without a pause for a breath to be taken. This causes the text itself to feel like its creating a difficult, and even imprisoning scenery. Marlow also throws in a lot of repetition, which causes a dark and frightening atmosphere. “Trees, Trees, millions of trees, massive, immense, running up high; and at their foot, hugging the bank against the stream, crept the little begrimed steamboat, like a sluggish beetle crawling on the floor of a lofty portico. It made you feel very small, very lost...” (12) Makes the jungle feel claustrophobic and overbearing of the humans that are traveling through. The humans are like the beetles since their size variation is so different from the trees. He makes you feel that as you go through the jungle, you’re not in harmony with it. And at any point...
Words: 668 - Pages: 3
...Women Joseph Conrad's, Heart of Darkness, brings to light the heavy suppression of women’s presence and opinion in Western patriarchal times. Women are heavily absent from the bulk of the narrative, and when they do make an appearance they are identified through the powerful narrative viewpoint of the character Marlow, who constructs them in terms of the values of the dominant principles of the British gentleman. The contrast between Kurtz's intended and his mistress reveals to the contemporary reader this undeniable Victorian background - women are effectively downgraded from power and silenced by the writings confirmation of British values. "The women", Marlow declares, "are out of it". Indeed, the five women of Heart of Darkness make only brief appearances and are given only a passing mention in Marlow's narrative. His aunt, given a cameo role in the text, is supremely naïve and "out of touch with truth"; she reminds him to "wear flannel" when he is about to "set off for the center of the earth". The knitters of black wool in the company headquarters are defined by classical mythology, taking on a symbolic significance by "guarding the door of Darkness"; they are not characters in their own right. Kurtz's mistress is identified as a product of the wilderness, "like the wilderness itself", and is described in terms of natural processes, a "fecund and mysterious life". Kurtz's intended, by contrast, lives in a place of death rather than of life, darkness rather than lightness...
Words: 520 - Pages: 3
...Throughout of the book, Heart of Darkness, madness is shown as a key element. The reader can relate to the desire of adventure that Marlow expresses, but what many readers don’t see is the madness that can come from the desire to explore. During the scene where Marlow finally meets the Harlequin the reader sees that madness is not only within Marlow's own crew, but with those who went before him. " You can't judge Mr. Kurtz as you would an ordinary man. No, no no!" ( Line 1) Marlow experiences first handily of the madness that lies in the jungle of Africa through the eyes of the harlequin. Marlow is shocked and appalled by Kurtz's madness and his failure to restrain himself. Mr. Kurtz actions it just a display of the insanity that has grown...
Words: 317 - Pages: 2
...he titled it Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness begins on a ship on the Thames River with the protagonist, Charlie Marlow, and a few of his crewmembers. Marlow describes his one trip to Africa and his experiences to the crew. Along the way, Marlow learns of a man named Kurtz who is stationed at an inner station along the Congo River. Kurtz is often described as remarkable and this piques Marlow’s attention. Marlow becomes consumed with the idea of Kurtz and does all that he can to find and talk to this man. Marlow travels by steamboat to the third station, moving deeper and deeper in the dense jungle. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad’s...
Words: 1108 - Pages: 5
...Heart of Darkness is a book mostly narrated by Marlow, a very introverted sailor. The book focused on his voyage through the Congo River to meet Kurtz (who had a reputation to be a idealist legend and a man of great means). Marlow gets hired as a riverboat captain for a Belgian company whose interest lies in making profits by trading in the Congo colony. During his journey through Africa followed by Congo, he is whiteness to multiple inequalities, lack of maintenance and brutalities in the Company’s stations. His journey makes him mature as an individual as he is confronted with many physical and emotional conflicts with a variety of characters, “cultivated or savages”. At the time Heart of Darkness was written, the British Empire was at its...
Words: 1008 - Pages: 5
...the message that the Africans are savages and that Africa itself is a place of no order and no civilization. To begin, on page 17 of Heart of Darkness, Conrad has his protagonist Marlow describe the Africans in many inhumane ways. “Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth in all attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation One of these creatures rose to his hands and knees and went off on all fours towards the river to drink.” After calling the African people creatures and shadows of disease and starvation, it was apparent that Conrad definitely did not think of the Africans as human beings. This portrayal shows the natives as "shadows" and unearthly "creatures," not as dying and sick men. The men are not other human beings, but in fact incoherent shapes with no humanizing characteristic to classify one man from another, which furthermore makes the indigenous Africans people into animals. Although the story has many different statements such as the one above, due to the time period of this story, I do not believe that it can be seen as racist. In our time, statements such as these would be seen as complete and utter racism and totally unacceptable. However, at the time of when Heart of Darkness was written, things like these were not only said, but also widely accepted. For this reason, I believe that now obviously this would be...
Words: 545 - Pages: 3
...Fortunately, they are many different ways people approach curiosity. It can be a sense of seeing it in a perspective of fear or a way to explore more about the unknown. Some people like to open their mind and figure out what’s out there. Curiosity stems from the unknown but can lure someone into consequences. Heart of darkness depicts the story of how curiosity indulges madness and is evident in both Marlow and Kurtz. Marlow’s curiosity led him to witness uncivilized human interaction. Kurtz wants the Africans and Europeans to become more civilized but his curiosity allured him to know how the Africans became savages and eventually Kurtz became one himself. For example when Marlow spots the harlequins, “ He looked like a harlequin. His clothes had been made of some stuff that was brown Holland.” (Conrad 64) he notices how primitive they are and their interaction with them is unusual but to them it is normal in their society. Marlow knows that going more into his journey he will spot uncivilized human behavior and eventually causes some madness....
Words: 461 - Pages: 2
