fate in Heart of darkness
The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of destiny in Conrad’s criticism of colonialism. We will avail ourselves of the two knitting women to explore the relationship between Marlow and destiny and, thus, discover the philosophical ideas through which Conrad achieves his purpose.
The story that we are told in Heart of Darkness is actually a frame story full of symbolism that reveals some of the features by which modernist literature would come to be distinguished at the beginning of the 20th century. In that respect, the literary devices that are present in Heart of darkness, such as the relativism of perception heightened by symbolic density, the sharing of emotions with the reader, irony and allusions to myth are devices that would be found later in significant modernist works such as Eliot’s the waste land, Joyce’s Ulysses and Woolf’s Jacob’s room.
Heart of darkness is not only an attack on colonialism, but also a criticism of the dark greed that the human heart retains. Moreover, most of the content of the novel is pervaded by symbolic meanings among which destiny and foreshadowing play a leading role, and such is their relevance that both of them are consistently present explicitly and metaphorically throughout the novel. Therefore, the apparently innocent journey to the Congo to meet Kurtz masks a deeper meaning, a symbolic journey to the bottom of the human heart, a heart thirsty for power and wealth ―the heart of darkness ― which is represented by Kurtz and the colonialist lifestyle that surrounds him. “Kurtz 's methods had ruined the district… They only showed that Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts, that there was something wanting in him -- some small matter which, when the pressing need arose, could not be found under his magnificent eloquence”. One of the main concerns of Conrad’s works is the quandary between good and evil. In this quandary, Conrad shows some degree of willingness to at least being
The story that we are told in Heart of Darkness is actually a frame story full of symbolism that reveals some of the features by which modernist literature would come to be distinguished at the beginning of the 20th century. In that respect, the literary devices that are present in Heart of darkness, such as the relativism of perception heightened by symbolic density, the sharing of emotions with the reader, irony and allusions to myth are devices that would be found later in significant modernist works such as Eliot’s the waste land, Joyce’s Ulysses and Woolf’s Jacob’s room.
Heart of darkness is not only an attack on colonialism, but also a criticism of the dark greed that the human heart retains. Moreover, most of the content of the novel is pervaded by symbolic meanings among which destiny and foreshadowing play a leading role, and such is their relevance that both of them are consistently present explicitly and metaphorically throughout the novel. Therefore, the apparently innocent journey to the Congo to meet Kurtz masks a deeper meaning, a symbolic journey to the bottom of the human heart, a heart thirsty for power and wealth ―the heart of darkness ― which is represented by Kurtz and the colonialist lifestyle that surrounds him. “Kurtz 's methods had ruined the district… They only showed that Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts, that there was something wanting in him -- some small matter which, when the pressing need arose, could not be found under his magnificent eloquence”. One of the main concerns of Conrad’s works is the quandary between good and evil. In this quandary, Conrad shows some degree of willingness to at least being
Bibliography: Conrad, J. (1996):Heart of darkness, London, Everyman L. Nadelhaft, R.(1991): Feminist Readings: Joseph Conrad, Great Britain, Harvester Wheatsheaf Sherry, N. (1976): Joseph Conrad: A commemoration. Impressionism and symbolism in “Heart of darkness” , Bristol, The Macmillan Press Verleun-van de Vriesenaerde, J.(1988): Conrad criticism 1965-1985: Heart of darkness, The Netherlands, Phoenix Press