Thesis:
How does Joseph Conrad convey the darkness he is referring to in the novel
Heart of Darkness?
Conrad
constantly is referring to things on the continent of Africa as dark. He also
uses symbolism to show us this darkness, he does this through the black wool
that the women he first meets when he goes to his interview for this new job. It is very ironic that at the start of this
journey he ends up going on for this new job he sees this black dark wool. This could be a symbol of what the whole trip
will be like, dark. As Marlow arrives in
Africa he again sees objects that he sees as dark. He arrives to his first stop where he will be
assigned a boat and set out on his first mission he sees a dark forest full of
dying African slaves. They have been
worked to death, not only is the dark forest a symbol of the darkness but the
fact that they have been worked to death is dark in itself. “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.”(Conrad, 67) This sacred fire that
is talked about in this quote is referring to the fire that is in hell. The way that these people act is quit hellish
if I must say so myself. When doing a trade
of two chickens with a group of natives from the land on of these men started
to beat their chief and was killed. I
don’t find the death of him hellish I find that him coming back and beating
this man was. Most of their actions are
very hellish and they do not even realize.
This is probably due to their different way of life. Conrad does a good
job with the repetitiveness of the word darkness throughout this novel helping
him convey the title, this land has become a heart of darkness.
Good use of symbolism, this is quite apparent throughout the entire book, and your quote worked well with your analysis. However I was a little confused as to what the "darkness" means to you, what symbolizes the darkness? It's this reoccurring motif that makes the audience see instances of the racism and immorality. Maybe you could look at another quote or analyze further to show how the darkness he is referring to is the men and their "hellish" behavior. How these men brought the darkness with them into the jungle, with their preconceived notions that the Africans were lesser beings, and needed to be enslaved. That idea seems to be what you are saying, that the darkness is there because the African's culture is different. Adding more clarity will help you more with your analysis, but overall I liked your thoughts and examples of the "darkness".
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