Conrad’s usage of imagery in the - Heart of Darkness -
Aristotle, a famous Greek philosopher, said that the aim of art is to
represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward
significance. If that is the case, then Joseph Conrad is a true artist
regarding the pictures he paints with his words. Conrad's most
effective literary tool for plot development and expressing the theme
is his use of imagery. Karl, a noted critic, explains this technique
that Conrad uses. “The scenes and images (that Conrad depicts) are a
variety which permits extension and almost a limitless number of
references are possible”(168). His use of imagery is so detailed and
accurate, one feels as if they are in the scene he is describing.
Conrad's work that best represent his profound usage of imagery is,
"Heart of Darkness." In this famous short story, Conrad creates these
evocative images of Britain and other parts of the world showing his
readers the negative side of humanity. He does this by describing
historical events, different races, and the environments in which his
characters dwell. Conrad uses imagery in his short story, "The Heart
of Darkness," to establish a criticism towards western civilized
society and an exploration through the Human Psych.
During his time, British Imperialism spread all across Eastern Asia
and the Africa. Regarding Africa, British colonies could be found in
the southern and central part of the African continent. British
settlers scrambled all across Africa to collect raw natural resources.
Their purpose was to establish new markets for the benefit of their
homeland country (Dahl 168). When Conrad set out to explore the Congo
in 1890, he experienced the horrors of colonialism and imper...
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...s time as well as the human
mentality. He uses this literary tool to give the reader a historical
perception of British imperialism in Africa. Also, he describes the
effects of a dark environment on the human heart. Surprisingly, he
paints a better picture of the black race than he does with the white
race at a time where there was bigotry with the Africans. He also uses
imagery to characterize Kurtz which is not often found in the literary
world. His philosophies of man is also evident in this story
concerning the capability of the mind, significance of work, and the
strong belief in the truth no matter how harsh it is. Garnett, an
acclaimed critic, summarizes Conrad’s usage of imagery by stating
that, “the quality of Mr. Conrad’s art is seen in his faculty of
making us perceive men’s lives in their natural relation to the seen
universe around them”(8).
What is the important message, or theme, in this book? Why do you think the author felt this message was important? Support your answer with three specific quotes or pieces of evidence from the text.
Watts, Cedric. 'Heart of Darkness.' The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad. Ed. J.H. Stape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 45-62.
In the book “Heart of Darkness”, Joseph Conrad wrote about the horrors that were committed by Leopold’s regime. As one of the first insider to witness these horrors, he wrote “Heart of Darkness”, with this book, he was able to spread the word about the atrocities he had seen in Leopold’s greedy pursuit of rubber and ivory in the congo. This book details closely how Leopold made his humongous profit. Leopold issued decrees on the Congo such as that the native people may only trade with his state agents or with his concessions. Leopold’s concessions were private companies that would sell the ivory and rubber, they would give Leopold 50% of their profits. The Abir Congo Company was one of these concessions that harvest the natural rubber of the Congo.They were granted a large portion of the land in the north and had the right to impose a rubber tax on its inhabitants. It was through concessions like these but also from his personal company (the Congo Free State) that Leopold created his personal wealth. This book brings us one step closer to answering our question since it tells us how Leopold got ahold of all of his profits. But this brings us to another question of, exactly how much money did the Congo bring to Leopold II?
In Joseph Conrad’s short story “The Heart of Darkness” we see many comments and terms that directly relate to people of color and women. We see that Marlow doesn’t believe that women are equal to him, and how Europeans viewed colored people differently at the time. I wouldn’t say that story was racist or anti feministic due to the time period that it came out in. Viewing it today I can see why people view the story as being racist. As for being anti feministic there are only a few comment that really stood out to me. At times Conrad makes points in which he views
...o, while the novella’s archetypal structure glorifies Marlow’s domination of Kurtz. These two analyses taken together provide a much fuller and more comprehensive interpretation of the work. Conrad presents the idea that there is some darkness within each person. The darkness is is inherited and instinctual, but because it is natural does not make it right. He celebrates – and thereby almost advises – the turn from instinct. By telling Marlow’s tale, Joseph Conrad stresses to his audience the importance of self-knowledge and the unnecessity of instinct in civilization.
Conrad uses light and dark imagery to help create the setting for the story; light represents civilization while darkness suggests the uncivilized. The novel opens on the deck of a boat called the Nellie, as we are introduced to the passengers we are told how the sun is slowly fading, and soon darkness will engulf the area. This image is Conrad?s first use of light and darkness; he uses it to foreshadow the ultimate darkness Marlow will face. Conrad is warning his readers to be careful, lest they let down their guard and allow the darkness to come them. The other character in the book, Kurtz, is taken over by the evil embodied in the darkness. During Kurtz?s journey into the heart of darkness the isolation, darkness and power all made him lose control of himself and allowed the darkness to take over.
A dark, unfamiliar setting and a suspenseful plot give Heart of Darkness the characteristics of a good novel, but what really stands out is Conrad's writing. The story is full of vague imagery and descriptions that the reader must contemplate in order to fully understand. Writing so vividly was an impressive feat for Conrad, who was actually not a native English speaker. (Dintenfass) His style includes a great deal of subtlety and complexity. Although it may seem as if Conrad was trying to confuse the reader, his actual goal was to create a work of art, rather that just a novel.
Throughout its entirety, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness utilizes many contrasts and paradoxes in an attempt to teach readers about the complexities of both human nature and the world. Some are more easily distinguishable, such as the comparison between civilized and uncivilized people, and some are more difficult to identify, like the usage of vagueness and clarity to contrast each other. One of the most prominent inversions contradicts the typical views of light and dark. While typically light is imagined to expose the truth and darkness to conceal it, Conrad creates a paradox in which darkness displays the truth and light blinds us from it.
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness takes place in the late 19th century at the height of colonialism in Europe and tells the tale of an experienced sailor named Marlow, who is hired as a riverboat captain for a Belgian company in the Congo and is responsible for collecting ivory and transporting it back to Europe. The contemporary film adaptation of the novel, Apocalypse Now (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is set during the peak of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War in 1970. Captain Willard, played by Martin Sheen, goes on a journey upriver to find and assassinate Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando, with “extreme prejudice”. Louis K. Greiff, in “Conrad’s Ethics and the Margins of Apocalypse Now,” claims that Coppola
Heart of Darkness describes a voyage to Africa, common for the British still, despite the horrific treatment which was apparent of colonization. The chaotic, stream-of-consciousness style Conrad took on helped to display the confusion, and made the reader have to interpret for themselves what they thought the writer meant. Conrad experiments with this style, leaving some sentences without ending: "not a sentimental pretense but an idea;…something you can set up…and offer a sacrifice to…." (Conrad, Longman p. 2195), a very choppy form of literature and causes the reader to fill in the holes and interpret themselves, alone. Conrad skips about from talking of the "two women knitted black wool feverishly" at the gate of the city (of hell), to his aunt which he feels women are "out of touch with truth," to how the British are as "weak-eyed devil(s) of a rapacious and pitiless folly" (Conrad, Longman pp. 2198, 2199, & 2202). Conrad's mind moves about as ours do along a large duration of literary monologue to convey to the reader the author's ideas, as interpreted by the reader.
Often a person whom is discussing different from popular belief, they will put in more detail. Although not always, this can often make up for the non-popular belief they are stating. When evaluating two opposing articles by Achebe and Canon I had a hard time not being convinced by the more detailed article by Achebe. Achebe wrote on the racism in The Heart of Darkness, while Trilling wrote on imperialism The Heart of Darkness, because of the amount of detail and passion of the topic I had a tendency to agree with his argument more.
Depiction of Africa in Heart of Darkness Chinua Achebe believes that Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness is racist based on Conrad's descriptions of Africa and it's people. Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, stresses Conrad's depiction of Africa as the antithesis of Europe and civilization, and the animal imagery present throughout the novella. Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 during the period of British Imperialism, concerns a British trading company and their expedition into the Congo for ivory. The African natives are treated brutally by the Europeans, and despite Conrad's casual condescension towards the Africans, one cannot help feeling resentment at the unnecessary cruelty they must endure.
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a great example of a Modernist novel because of its general obscurity. The language is thick and opaque. The novel is littered with words such as: inconceivable, inscrutable, gloom. Rather than defining characters in black and white terms, like good and bad, they entire novel is in different shades of gray. The unfolding of events takes the reader between many a foggy bank; the action in the book and not just the language echoes tones of gray.
The notion of what it means to be human has been explored through various literature and interpreted in many different ways. Through an intricate series of events and circumstances as well as man's perception of superiority, Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness reveals challenging issues of imperialism and colonialism and there devastating effects on society. As the novel's title implies, the "darkness" illustrated is the negative human side of brutality and discrimination. The deeper meaning and implication of being "human" is dependent on many factors including one's surroundings affecting his or her behavior and decision-making as well as man's arrogance and feeling of superiority taking ethical actions.
Throughout Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, a sense of imperialism is present. Imperialism is defined as “acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies”. Through the novel, many of the travels Marlow encounters contain imperialist ideas. The whole continent is used as a symbol for this theme. So therefore you can tell that imperialism is just as bad as the disease that many people get from the Congo, they become infected.