Heart Of Darkness Research Paper

Symbolism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Essay

Symbolism plays a major role in the portrayal of some of the basic concepts in Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness. In the beginning of the book, the symbols of darkness and light appear with their universal meaning, which, with the progress of the novel, is broadened so that it completely changes in the end. In the beginning, darkness seems to show the backwardness of the African continent and its people, whereas light stands for the enlightened, civilized world of Europeans. Later, the author takes a slightly different course with his work, which can be seen in the interrelatedness between the two opposing forces of the dark and the light. The black, savage natives that are often
The imperialist’s outer appearance, connected to light, certainly cannot conceal the ignorance, brutality and cruelty with which the white men treat the enslaved black Africans. The colonialist nature of European presence in the Congo leaves its imprint over the heart of the Dark Continent. Marlow, a new visitor at the ivory station, is primarily shocked by the disinterest the ivory traders show for the dying workers. But it seems as if the narrator gets accustomed to the sufferings of the “niggers” as he starts calling them later. The fact that “the beaten nigger groaned somewhere” (48) does not seem to bother anyone, not even Marlow. At this point the novel suggests that the agony brought by “whiteness” is darker than the defenceless, obedient “darkness” of the Africans. To further illustrate this point, Conrad mentions Europeans’ obsession with the white ivory – “You would think they were praying to it” (44). To the Europeans ivory represents wealth, success, maybe even fame. The whites’ eager pursuit of materialistic welfare, represented by ivory, is actually the “timeless evil” that destroys nature and kills the people and animals of Africa. In their grandiose plans and desires, the Europeans actually turn into evil characters whose souls are overwhelmed by the darkness of their
Kurtz. Even though the reader’s interaction with the trader occurs at a quite late point in the novel, he is indirectly present there all the time. The agents and managers in the Outer and the Central stations, as well as Marlow, constantly mention Kurtz as the most successful ivory producer on the Congo River, praising, admiring, and envying him. Kurtz is portrayed as a god, invincible and almighty. Marlow is fascinated with him – he is the one who, by using European knowledge and his broad experience has managed to prove that “the mind of man is capable of anything – because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future” (63). However, whatever Kurtz has achieved is nothing more than an evil empire for money making, a creation of ‘civilization’. Kurtz and his little kingdom created in the inner part of Africa do not only contradict the idea of Europeans as a humanizing, building force, but proves that the real “darkness” has edged into the minds of the white men, who only manipulate the innocent blacks – with dark skins, but light souls. With Kurtz, the symbol of the “white” totally loses its traditional meaning and turns into “the deceitful flow from the heart of an impenetrable darkness”