Heart Of Darkness Symbolism

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:21). This verse states how people can compromise their beliefs and morals. Throughout the novel, Heart of Darkness, the characters are constantly compromising their values for human desires and thinking. The characters become foolish in their thinking and their hearts become dark and blind to the truth. In Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, he uses the literary elements of symbolism, character development, and setting to illustrate the theme that when humans are surrounded by darkness they can become blind to the truth. The literary element of symbolism is used in the
For example, when Marlow first arrives in the Congo, he gets off the boat and sees all the natives chained together like animals (Conrad). Marlow thought that he was going to help the natives, but is shocked at how the natives are treated by the Europeans. Later in the story, he is no longer shocked at how they are treated because he has been desensitized to the evil in the jungle. Another key point would be when Marlow is listening to the manager and his uncle discussing and notices the manager's uncle has no hand and refers to his arm as a "flipper" as he points to the jungle (Conrad ). Marlow then realizes that the Europeans are willing to hurt their own kind because of the greed for ivory. In conclusion, he realizes that the only thing everyone cares about is themselves, money, fame, and ivory. All in all, the Congo is full of darkness and causes them to become blind to the truth. Conrad uses the literary elements of symbolism, character development, and setting to create the image that when humans are surrounded by darkness they can no longer see the truth. In the novel, as Marlow travels further and further into the Congo he discovers more and more