Heart of Darkness: Evil Soul Revealed
In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, there is a great interpretation of the feelings of the characters and uncertainties of the Congo. This intricate story reveals much symbolism due to Conrad's theme based on the lies and good and evil, which interact together in every man. By probing into the heart of the jungle Conrad was trying to convey an impression about the heart of man through symbolism of the jungle itself and the manager.
The story is written as seen through Marlow's eyes. Marlow is a follower of the sea. His voyage up the Congo is his first experience in freshwater navigation. He longs to see Kurtz, in the hope of appreciating all that Kurtz finds endearing in the African jungle. Marlow does not get the opportunity to see Kurtz until he is so disease-stricken he looks more like death than a person. There are no good looks or health. In the story Marlow remarks that Kurtz resembles “an animated image of death carved out of old ivory” (Conrad page #).
Like Marlow, Kurtz is seen as an honorable man to many admirers; but he is also a thief, murderer, raider, persecutor, and above all he allows himself to be worshipped as a god. Both men had good intentions to seek, yet Kurtz seemed a "universally genius" lacking basic integrity or a sense of responsibility (Roberts 43). In the end they form one symbolic unity. Marlow and Kurtz are the light and dark selves of a single person. Meaning each one is what the other might have been. Kurtz is the violent devil Marlow describes at the story's beginning. It was his ability to control men through fear and adoration that led Marlow to signify this.
Throughout the story Conrad builds an unhealthy darkness. At every turn he sees evil lurking within the land. Every image is dreary and dark. The deadly Congo snakes to link itself with the sea and all other rivers of darkness and light. The setting of these adventurous and moral quests is the great jungle, in which most of the story takes place. As a symbol the forest encloses all, and in the heart of the African journey Marlow enters the dark cavern of his own heart. It even becomes an image of a vast catacomb of evil, in which Kurtz dies, but from which Marlow emerges spiritually reborn. Great!!!
The manager, in charge of three stations in the jungle, feels Kurtz poses a threat to his own position. Marlow sees how the manager is deliberately trying to delay any help or supplies to Kurtz. He hopes he will die of neglect. This is where the inciting moment of the story lies. Should the company in Belgium find out the truth a bout Kurtz's success in an ivory procurer, they would undoubtedly elevate him to the position of manager. The manager's insidious and pretending nature opposes all truth.
Heart of Darkness is a record of things seen and done. In the time the novel was set it was ivory that poured from Africa, the heart of darkness; now it is billions of dollars worth of diamonds. His confrontations as a man are both dangerous and enlightening. Perhaps man's inhumanity to man is his greatest sin. Conrad was depicting good and evil - both of which are inherent in every human soul.
1. The second paragraph is plot summary and it is not necessary for the development of your paper.
2. How does “the deadly Congo [that] snakes to link itself with the sea and all other rivers of darkness and light” convey impressions about the heart of man? You need to explain your symbols more thoroughly.
3. I see two main examples of evil in your paper, the jungle and the manager. These points are included in your thesis statement – Great Job !!!
4. When using quotes, you should always cite the name of the author and the page number on which the quote can be found in parentheses after the quote. “An animated image of death carved out of old ivory” (Conrad page #).
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