Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Language in Conrad's Heart of Darkness

Powerful Essays
2032 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Language in Conrad's Heart of Darkness
The Segmentation of Language in Heart of Darkness Language in the broadest sense is communication between species, with varying degrees of complexity. The purpose of all human languages is to communicate – to transfer a message from one person to another. The message content consists of facts and meaning; being the logical and emotional elements, respectively. Messages may consist solely of facts -- “It is five o 'clock.” -- or purely meaning, such as “I love you.” However, most messages require both elements, yet developed countries ' elevation of fact over meaning has hamstringed language 's efficacy. Throughout Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad focuses on this divorce of fact and meaning, providing an interwoven critique of the segmentation of language using frame narrative, analysis of written word, and juxtaposition of modern language with the raw language from untouched Africa. Marlow begins and ends his tale in a lotus position, evoking the concept of mind over matter. But how accurately does this describe Marlow? At many points Marlow loses his composure due to his inability to convey meaning. In the beginning, the “outside” narrator equates a story’s meaning with a “haze”, or fog (1893). In his analogy, the meaning is “brought out” with a “glow” of light. But shine too much light, and the fog envelopes the path (i.e. facts of the story). This is what happens when Marlow concentrates solely on the point he wishes to convey; the meaning is lost in a sea of emotions with no facts to anchor them, producing anger and frustration that destroy his Buddha emulation.

Fernandez 2 Conrad’s use of a frame narrative serves multiple functions. First, in adding another layer to the story, Conrad purposely obscures and encodes the intended meaning from the reader. A story meant to incite public outcry cannot afford to have its meaning obscured implying that language inadequacy is a more prominent theme than exploitative imperialism. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, published only four years later, may not have proved as effective if wrapped inside a frame narrative. The enigmatic and paradoxical use of narration to explore the problems of narration constitutes a récit. Marlow is effectively trying to narrate something impossible to narrate., confessing “it is impossible to convey the life sensation of any given epoch of one 's existence” (1909). The pervasive inconclusiveness in Heart of Darkness “challenge[s] the very possibility of narrative” (Dhareshwar 75). While potentially clouding the writer’s meaning, the frame narrative allows the reader to mentally insert himself among Marlow’s attentive crew. Marlow 's utter frustration concerning his inability to convey the meaning of his tale is personally experienced by the reader, because Marlow is talking to the reader outside of the story. The same phrases conveyed through an ethereal narrator would lack the emotional content. The reader empathizes with a human narrator who has emotions, while an ethereal narrator conventionally can convey options but not utter doubt. The frame narrative underscores the irony that African natives have little difficulty orally telling a story. Civilization’s mass production of the written word has atrophied its citizen’s ability to tell a simple story. Interestingly, the fact that Marlow lived this tale actually frustrates rather than buttresses his ability. Bruffee points out Marlow’s “disillusionment with words” grows as he gets closer to Kurtz, all the while “becom[ing] less and less enamored of words as

Fernandez 3 the verbose Kurtz talks” (Bruffee 327). As a seaman, Marlow may feel inadequate to perform a job that is outside his profession. The industry of storytelling discourages laymen from attempting this refined skill. Heart of Darkness does have an “outside” narrator (not Marlow) who is a crewman aboard the Nellie. While nothing is known about this narrator crewman, the other three Nellie passengers represent civilization’s upper-middle class. The Accountant and the Lawyer are fitting recipients of a tale of unethical corporate greed, while the Director, looking “so nautical” (1891) embodies industrialization’s excessive segmentation, for his position keeps him ashore. Unlike Heart of Darkness, The Return – an earlier work of Conrad 's – uses a conventional, omniscient narrator that clearly indicates the internal tensions the protagonist feels. Conrad was criticized for this excessive narratorial spoon-feeding, and the novel lacked public appeal. But like Marlow, The Return 's protagonist struggles with a dichotomy of language. Upon learning his wife has left him, he exclaims, “She’s gone!... It was terrible – not the fact, but the words; the words charged with the shadowy might of a meaning” (Kramer 8) (emphasis added). Skilleas refers to Conrad’s theme of restraint as the “saving grace of… work” that anchors one to reality (Skilleas 53). Specifically, it is industrialized work, or work that does not directly provide food, clothing, or shelter, that vaccinates Marlow from insanity. “[I]ndeed,” says Marlow, “to be busy with material affairs is the best preservative agent against reflection, fears, [and] doubts” (McIntyre 193). Industrialized work depends upon facts; little emotional meaning is needed to monitor a boiler. Kurtz, alone and engaged in less monotonous work, becomes susceptible. While benign, the native’s culture mixed with paternalistic ideals produces megalomania within Kurtz.

Fernandez 4 The restraint of industrialized work goes both ways. Both the chief accountant’s laundress and Marlow’s fireman (boiler operator) were “improved specimen” after learning a skill (1916). While this implies that civilization protects humanity from savage insanity, Marlow goes out of his way to normalize the natives and their culture. “Prehistoric man[‘s]” rituals may be “ugly” (1916), but he likens them to “the sound of bells in a Christian country” (1904). Within Heart of Darkness are two written works: Towson’s An Inquiry into Some Points of Seamanship and Kurtz’ pamphlet to the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs. Both are instructional in nature. As Towson’s book teaches a technical skill, it need solely focus on facts to accurately convey its message. Kurtz 's pamphlet is an analysis of how to better the natives. This pamphlet provides the most severe example of language segmentation. An accurate assessment must contain both facts and meaning, yet al the meaning has been stripped from the message. Only facts remain, obscuring and encoding the recommendation to be more palatable, prefiguring Adolf Hitler’s “Final Solution.” Marlow comments that “what saves us is efficiency – the devotion to efficiency” (1894). But efficiency is mocked by the pamphlet’s content – seventeen pages are summarized by the postscript’s four words that convey the pamphlet 's true meaning: “Exterminate all the brutes!” (1927). Marlow amusingly juxtaposes the European 's English with the native crew mates ' language when their steamboat is attacked by Kurtz 's natives. The scene begins with the war-cry. (While Marlow later describes the cry as “protective” (1921), war-cry remains a valid label.) Besides ethically announces the natives’ presence (something eschewed in modern warfare as inanely chivalrous) its piercing tone conveys – in a few syllables – the fact that the Europeans are trespassing and are to turn back. The underlying meaning – “I am dangerous” – is also

Fernandez 5 conveyed. In this capacity the war-cry mimics nature, as a cobra’s hissing and rattling convey the most lucid message “Back away or else!” War-cries exist in other cultures. Many Native American tribes used war-cries, and all hand-to-hand combats (i.e. pre-WWI) employed them to different extents. High schools and colleges have extended the practice to the observers, where fans shout chants to spur on their team. The war-cry appears universal. The war-cry has the intended effect on the Europeans, instilling fear and confusion. Their native crew mates, however, display “an alert, naturally interested expression” (1918). The superior firepower of the Europeans should have alleviated much of their concern; it initially did not, perhaps because none of the Europeans were soldiers. Division of labor, or maybe diplomacy, stripped them of this warrior faculty that is just another facet of the natives’ lives. After the initial shock of the war cry, the Europeans are “greatly discomposed”. In contrast the natives “exchange short, grunting phrases, which seemed to settle the matter to their satisfaction” (1919). The breadth of meaningful content exchanged in a couple of grunts is astounding. Industrialization champions the virtue of efficiency, yet the inevitable segmentation under the banner of specialization tends to impede efficiency. For example, current military personnel must be taught code and gestures – a new language – to communicate effectively during battle. While a nation may speak one dominate language, industry jargon and socioeconomic dialects serve to limit the transmission of meaning. Communication is now a college major, creating uncertainty as to who is actually qualified to conduct such a task. Shortly afterward, the manager asks Marlow if he thinks the natives will attack. Marlow responds with a long lecture, stupefying his fellow Europeans. This soliloquy is probably ten to twenty times longer than his fellow natives’ assessment. Many valid reasons, such as

Fernandez 6 unfamiliarity with Africa and a sense of diplomacy, exist for Marlow’s loquaciousness. But the contrast does suggest a superfluousness in modern language that impedes its primary goal. Marlow employs body language once, when he turns his shoulder towards the manager after he comments, “You are the captain” (1921). The natives, however, use body language, including hand gestures, more often. This utilization of the entire body gives the user more tools to effectively communicate. Kurtz’s Russian disciple (the “harlequin”) throws up his arms while extolling the virtues of his guru (1931). Before this particular gesture, the Russian had many times undulated his arms while speaking. But this occurrence drew the stare of one of the natives onboard the steamboat. The Russian 's action foreshadows the latter incident where the native woman raises her arms as a final plea for Kurtz to stay or perhaps an abject concession of loss (1940). Heart of Darkness is a journey towards a conversation, as Marlow is “looking forward to – a talk with Kurtz” (1924). Personally, Marlow’s frustrations in storytelling may be semiautobiographic, as Conrad’s mastery of written English (his third language) was spoken with a heavy French accent and many mispronunciations, proving severe enough to turn down lecturing positions (Pousada 345). Conrad also noted that writing in English “required a formidable effort on [his] part” (Pousada 346). Despite this, Heart of Darkness displays Conrad 's adept understanding of the nuances of language. Conrad withholds just enough information to force the reader to think while not inducing frustration. Marlow will never know what exactly “the horror” is; therefore, neither will the reader. Yet Marlow 's struggle with his own narration conveys the importance of incorporating both fact and meaning in order to accurately and fully communicate. Conrad 's career showcases that language is worth the struggle. For all his efforts Marlow

Fernandez 7 discovers a gilded chalice – Kurtz’s eloquent yet substantially void speech. But Conrad hopes the reader spies the Holy Grail of effective language hiding among the bushes.

Fernandez 8 Works Cited Bruffee, Kenneth A. "The Lesser Nightmare: Marlow’s Lie in Heart of Darkness." Modern Language Quarterly 25.3 (1964): 322-329. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . Dhareshwar, Vivek. "The Song of the Sirens in The Heart of Darkness: The Enigma of Récit." Boundary 2 15.1/2 (1986): 69-84. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . Kramer, Dale. "Conrad’s Experiments with Language and Narrative in ‘The Return’." Studies in Short Fiction 25.1 (1988): 1-11. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . McIntyre, Allan O. "Conrad on the Functions of the Mind." Modern Language Quarterly 25.2 (1964): 187-197. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . Pousada, Alicia. "Joseph Conrad 's Multilingualism: A Case Study ofLanguage Planning in Literature." English Studies 75.4 (1994): 335-349. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . Skilleas, Ole Martin. "Restraint in the darkness." English Studies 76.1 (1995): 52-63. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 .

Cited: Bruffee, Kenneth A. "The Lesser Nightmare: Marlow’s Lie in Heart of Darkness." Modern Language Quarterly 25.3 (1964): 322-329. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . Dhareshwar, Vivek. "The Song of the Sirens in The Heart of Darkness: The Enigma of Récit." Boundary 2 15.1/2 (1986): 69-84. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . Kramer, Dale. "Conrad’s Experiments with Language and Narrative in ‘The Return’." Studies in Short Fiction 25.1 (1988): 1-11. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . McIntyre, Allan O. "Conrad on the Functions of the Mind." Modern Language Quarterly 25.2 (1964): 187-197. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . Pousada, Alicia. "Joseph Conrad 's Multilingualism: A Case Study ofLanguage Planning in Literature." English Studies 75.4 (1994): 335-349. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 . Skilleas, Ole Martin. "Restraint in the darkness." English Studies 76.1 (1995): 52-63. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC. 13 Nov. 2008 .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Joseph Conrad 's Heart of Darkness is both a dramatic tale of an arduous trek into the Belgian Congo at the turn of the twentieth century and a symbolic journey into the deepest recesses of human nature. On a literal level, through Marlow 's narration, Conrad provides a searing indictment of European colonial exploitation inflicted upon African natives. By employing several allegoric symbols this account depicts the futility of the European presence in Africa.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Conrad, a parallel of the very experiences that Conrad has gone through and ultimately a look at human nature at its lowest and cruelest form. The book centers around Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his journey up the Congo River to meet Kurtz, reputed to be an idealistic man of great abilities, as if he was a deity. Ultimately Kurtz’s mental collapse and subsequent monstrosities culminate into a tragic anti-climatic death in which Kurtz utters the dying words “The horror! The horror!” His dying words seem to reflect Kurtz own feelings and realizations of his very being, his demise and his regret for the circumstances of his situation.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    fate in Heart of darkness

    • 2108 Words
    • 9 Pages

    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.…

    • 2108 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Darkness, in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, functions as a dynamic extension of Marlow’s altering values. Prevailing at its attempts in conveying the various phases of Marlow’s changing mindset, darkness provides a breeding ground for contention—mainly, the questioning of its inherent meaning as the plot and text unfold to form a myriad of clashing ideologies. Despite what many consider to represent solely the depths of human indecency, darkness pushes the bounds of that conclusion and takes on the many forms of greed, despondency, primitivism, and eternal damnation as Marlow’s feelings begin to conflict with standard European ideology. Marlow, perhaps the most complex character, finds himself in the middle of this debate with the eventual…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One title that assigns the meaning of a human’s life is carved on the headstone of their tomb. The first part, their name and relevant dates, are certain. The sub-titles of appellations, favorite quotes, bible verses or aphorisms remain uncertain, dependent upon the loyalties and knowledge of the departed’s loved ones. So too, the title of Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness is at once as specific and certain as a dot on a map while also expanding in meaning to embrace a Colonialism’s piracy, a continent, the skin color of its inhabitants, the workings of men’s souls and, at last, the workings of an entire world. Conrad’s story is a complete condemnation of the evils of Colonialism. That is certain. However, because Conrad’s conclusion about…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He outwardly castigates Conrad’s novel as being racist and demeaning to non-white cultures. Chinua Achebe criticizes Conrad’s depiction of Africa as being stereotypical in the views of Western culture. One of Achebe’s fundamental arguments is that Conrad is advertising a false version of the African continent and its people. He portrays them as being hostile and uncivilized through the accounts of the main character, Marlow. Achebe is infuriated at this notion because Conrad’s style of writing covers up the true nature of its meaning. He believes that this form of writing emanates from Conrad’s own racist beliefs and upbringings as a child. Specific citations from the story indicate that Conrad put the Europeans on a higher pedestal as he characterizes them as being “illuminating”, and “twinkling” with brilliant ideas (Achebe 3). Conrad’s racism is delineated perfectly when there is an encounter with a black man and he describes his feelings as being “blind, furious, and unreasoning rage” when he encountered this man (Conrad 11). This vast disparity of descriptions of the two races show his inner thoughts and his hatred towards non-whites. According to Achebe "Conrad appears to go to considerable pains to set up layers of insulation between himself and the moral universe of his story”(Conrad 14). This is exactly how Conrad uses his stylistic form of writing to cover up these feelings of hatred and detest towards the African continent and its population. Achebe also points out that Conrad’s depiction of the rivers is a symbolic sign of his inherent racism. He states in his story that "going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world” (Conrad 9). This is referencing the Congo River that led to Africa and Conrad uses a negative connotation in describing…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Conrad abuses his power as the author in his novella ‘Heart of Darkness’, by writing in the form of a framed narrative. This leaves him distanced from the story, and allows him to make rather outlandish comments throughout, as he can claim that the views expressed in the book are not his but Marlow’s. The framed narrative makes it difficult to hold Conrad responsible for the more controversial opinions expressed in the…

    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, Marlow takes a similar physical journey as hundreds of travellers before him, and the exact physical journey of his companions on board the ship, but it is his inner journey and inner reactions to the physical journey that lead to his physical growth and change of perspective. On his way to the Outer station Marlow senses an anxiety within his soul: “…my isolation amongst all these men with whom I had no point of contact, the oily and languid sea, the uniform sombreness of the coast, seemed to keep me away from the truth of things, within the toil of a mournful and senseless delusion.” The strong use of imagery and high modality language reveal that Marlow, when arriving at the Outer station, will see the “truth of things” symbolising the world outside of England, such as cruel treatment of the natives. It also symbolises that he is beginning a journey into his own mind and will eventually discover “truth of things” in him self. When he experiences this reality, he reconsiders his impression of the…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Often, an author of a work of literature will raise questions in one’s mind, but will not answer it to ensure contemplation of the idea presented before the reader. In his novel, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad utilizes characterization, narration, and heavy imagery to effectively raise questions in the reader’s mind as the book continues in its tedious, yet poetic journey on the Congo.…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cited: "Heart of Darkness." SparkNotes. Ed. Joesph Conrad. SparkNotes, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. .…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is an abundance of literature in which characters become caught between colliding cultures. Often, these characters experience a period of growth from their exposure to a culture that’s dissimilar to their own. Such is the case with Marlow, Joseph Conrad’s infamous protagonist from ‘Heart of Darkness’. Marlow sets off to Africa on an ivory conquest and promptly found himself sailing into the heart of the Congo River. Along the way he is faced with disgruntled natives, cannibals, and the ominous and foreboding landscape. Marlow’s response to these tribulations is an introspective one, in which he calls into question his identity. This transcending of his former self renders the work as a whole a sensation point of view of European expansion that was a sporadic subject of Conrad’s time.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The use of language is a powerful tool used by authors to provide complexity and a deeper level of thinking for the audience. Authors such as Shakespeare and Tim O’ Brien use immense language that provides the deeper meaning for the reader. The use of imagery and symbolism in the novel The Things They Carried significantly impacts the reader’s emotions about the Vietnam War. Other language is seen through George Orwell’s Animal Farm, which uses symbolism to relate the novel back to the history of Stalin and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Through the use of powerful language, authors are able to influence the actions and ideas in a society.…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A tone of fascination dominates Conrad 's 'Heart of Darkness '. This tone is established early within the text when Marlow first goes into the Congo. It continues to be staggering when Marlow goes from the outer station to the inner and then intensifies later in the description of how Marlow reacts to the women in the novella.…

    • 754 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Brook Thomas in his essay Preserving and Keeping Order by Killing Time in Heart of Darkness extends J. Hills Miller’s “unveiling” (Miller 220) of Conrad’s narrative. Miller’s essay Heart of Darkness Revisited demonstrates how Heart of Darkness “belongs to the genre of the parabolic apocalypse” (Miller 217). Thomas responds to Miller’s unveiling “a lack of decisive unveiling in Heart of darkness” (Miller 220) by reading “historically the narrative that Conrad weaves” (Thomas 239) so that we might be able “to come closer to a truth” (Thomas 239). Thomas presents the possibilities of decisive unveiling, which Miller claims, Heart of Darkness lacks. Miller’s questions what makes Heart of Darkness an apocalyptic parable? Subsequently Miller analyzes Conrad’s narrative “in light of these generic classifications” (Miller 207). Thomas is cautious in interpreting Conrad’s narrative and questions the possibility of being able to glimpse into an essential truth by placing the text in historical context.…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The setting is the basis of every story or novel, the basis of every prose work. Heart of Darkness is by no means an exception. Joseph Conrad's nouvelle or rather said mysterious work is not being easily understood let alone assessed. But each reader of Heart of Darkness should try to solve the mystery the author has opened.…

    • 2378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays