Comparing Heart Of Darkness And The Hollow Men

Heart of Darkness and The Hollow Men Deep within every person there is a certain piece of individuality that contradicts everything that they stand for and believe in. This little piece of irony that resides within a person can become harmful in some cases and in others it can be so simple to the point that it hardly does any damage. In “The Hollow Men” by T.S. Eliot, there is a metaphor, describing eyes, and an archetypal device which highlights Kurtz as a true savage being. Also, the metaphorical device and the archetype exhibit the ironic nature of humans that is ubiquitous in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The archetypal device that signifies the Congo River in Heart of Darkness expresses Kurtz’s ruthlessly ironic nature as a human. Rivers, as an archetype, symbolically epitomize the journey and nurturing of one’s life; the process of change throughout one’s life. As Marlow travels down the Congo River, which is archetypally represented as the journey of life, he learns that Kurtz stayed
The archetype contributes to this overall idea of the irony of human nature because a river is usually a progression and stabilization of one’s foundation and ideals, but as Marlow travels down the Congo River the true essence of Kurtz is shown; that essence being that Kurtz traveled down the river and instead of becoming livelier, he became barbaric and one with the slaves. The metaphor that is used by Eliot also contributes to the ironic nature of humans because sunlight typically radiates positivity, but the sunlight in Kurtz’s manner is radiating savagery and demoralization. Also, the eyes that are described in the metaphor contribute to the humanistic part of Kurtz. Both of these devices together help to shape the irony that is possessed by all humans whether it is major as in Kurtz’s case or minor in daily life and