Heart Of Darkness Meaning

Student name: David Mier Zhang
Student ID: ZHMJD13

Every Coin Has Two Sides

The title Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, suggests the endless darkness, however, the foundation of the darkness is light. Also, May Day by F. Scott Fitzgerald, literal meaning of the title is opposite from the meaning of the story. When most people hear the phrase "May Day", the first thought cross mind is the French Word M’aider, which means help, however, during the story, mayday is not the help; it is a helplessness and hopelessness. In a word, the literal meaning of Heart of Darkness tells the reader is about darkness, but in the story the resource of darkness is love, which is from light side. And May Day in general meaning is help, however,
Kurtz is “a remarkable man”(70). The reason why Mr. Kurtz, a star agency of Company who works in true ivory country, went to Africa and killed natives to get ivories to pleasure his fiancée. In a word, Mr. Kurtz kill people because of love. Mr. Kurtz was an ambitious and charismatic person, which because Mr. Kurtz “All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz, and by and by I learned that most appropriately the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs had entrusted him with the making of a report for its future guidance.”(49) Somehow, in Mr. Kurtz’s deep heart, he “struggled with a soul”(66) and “being alone in the wilderness” (66). In Mr. Kurtz’s heart “the night did not seem to last an hour, everything! Everything! Of love too!”(55) Before Mr. Kurtz die, it is obvious that Mr. Kurtz felt regret about killing people, at least we know Mr. Kurtz’s “soul was mad” (66). Mr. Kurtz kept saying “horror, horror”(69). After all, Mr. Kurtz “was the expression of some sort of belief”(70). In Mr. Kurtz’s deep heart, he knew he was doing the wrong thing to kill people, and he struggled with his soul, he did everything for love, and the love is pure and divine. In another hand Mr. Kurtz is remarkable man, the reason he got into darkness is love. Therefore, the Heart of Darkness is not darkness, but light side
From the situation, the only friend that Gordon had did not want to hear his experience. That was the first time that Gordon felt the helplessness. And the second time, that Dean “took a five-dollar bill from his wallet and tossed it over to Gordon” (16). At this point, two of friends, Gordon and Dean, “quite suddenly and definitely hated each other” (17), in Gordon’s mind, a person who tosses money over you is not called friend. Even Gordon faced his low-class wife, Gordon thought he was a “damn miserable” and “awful mess”, and Gordon told his wife “the best thing you can do is to pretend not to know” (46) him. In Gordon’s mind, even “love is fragile” (48), and “perhaps the pieces are saved, the things that hovered on lips, that might have been said. The new love words, the tendernesses learned, are treasured up for the next lover” (48). This time Gordon not just felt the helplessness, and he can felt the extreme hopelessness led on him. For Gordon, sometimes maybe the death is the best way to solute all the problems, but death is not the only way to go, if he get some help. Before Gordon suicide he knew “the wealthy, happy sun glittered in transient gold though the thick windows of the smart shops, lighting upon mesh bags and purses and strings of pearls in gray velvet cases; upon gaudy feather fans of many colors; upon the laces and silks of expensive dresses; upon