Heart Of Darkness Nihilism

3359 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of the novel Heart of Darkness

Nihilism in Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899) challenges readers to question not only society's framework but more importantly the existence of being. Through the events involving Marlow and Kurtz, Conrad communicates a theme of the destruction of Being, "including that way of being which we call 'human' and consider to be our own" (Levin, 3). This theme is more clearly defined as nihilism, which involves the negation of all religious and moral values. The philosophy behind nihilism is extensive and in its completeness connotes humanity's inescapable fate of meaninglessness. The extent to which various ideologists regard nihilism varies according to their own philosophies. Nietzsche represents the nihilism …show more content…

By maintaining her illusion of Kurtz's love for her, Marlow shielded Kurtz's Intended from the abyss of nihilism. The lie gave meaning to Kurtz's death and provided closure for his Intended. Marlow created values and a "ground of all possible meaning" for himself and Kurtz's Intended by maintaining the illusion of Kurtz as a complete man rather than expose the truth of his "hollowness." For Kurtz's Intended, the illusion of Kurtz and his "gift of expression" played crucial role in her framework of reality and truth. He represented the Western values and with his tragic death and final self-realization, the values that were the foundation of his greatness were finally exposed as nothing more than empty symbols. Marlow's awareness of the void of Kurtz's "values" and "meaning in life" prompted his actions of creating an illusion which replaced the illusion of Kurtz as "the ground of [their] own meaning." As Whitehead comments, "Marlow knows that there is a truth, a humanly made reality, created by a man's assertions of himself amidst appearances... in his deliberately made illusions" (Whitehead, 128). Clearly, Heart of Darkness portrays the elements of nihilism and Conrad effectively addresses the means sometimes necessary to avoid exposure to the true void of the …show more content…

It is fitting that Conrad chooses Kurtz's greatest gift and source of influence to be his "gift of expression" to convey the true void of a society so mesmerized by the power of "words" that "once pronounced, die." Yet "words" are key elements of Heart of Darkness: the narration itself is a story told of Marlow's "words", the entire basis of admiration and worship of Kurtz is based on his ability to express and communicate "words", and the very foundation of maintaining a constant 'truth' for Kurtz's Intended rely solely upon knowing Kurtz's last "words." Conrad clearly communicates a strong theme of nihilism which underlie the very framework of his novella. As earlier stated, Kurtz's achievement of supreme power over the society of the natives questions society's strong emphasis and reliance on religion. Kurtz's character is essentially nothing more than a single member of the Imperialist Western society, one insignificant individual of billions of inhabitants of the world; yet, he is able to instill the greatest terror amongst a great mass of people and establish himself as a god, simply because he can convincingly express words, which ultimately contain no meaning. Conrad questions the validity of religion and evokes doubt in the human reluctance to believe and worship God. Conrad's skepticism regarding Religion and faith abides the main philosophies of nihilism and his

Show More
Related

  • Tragic Hero In Things Fall Apart

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    He talks about purpose, and how tragedy effects the audience. In the book, Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad writes about a character, Marlow, who is on a journey through Africa to find a man named Kurtz. Kurtz is a man who not many people have met or seen but he is spoken very highly of. To be a tragic hero, Aristotle says that it should be clear that the person is an important character and held to a high standard but not perfect. The character must be relatable. Marlow heard things about Kurtz that made it sound like people adored him. On page thirty, "Mr. Kurtz was a 'universal genius.'" One encounter that Marlow had with a Russian trader who was close to Kurtz described Kurtz in a sense of awe. " 'We talked of everything,' he said, quite transported at the recollection. 'I forgot there was such a thing as sleep. The night did not seem to last an hour. Everything! Everything!... Of love, too.' 'Ah he talked to you of love!'" (Conrad, 54) Before meeting Kurtz, the things Marlow heard of him, made Kurtz sound like a great man. Furthermore, Aristotle says that the hero's downfall is self-inflicted. The character makes some mistake that effects them in the long run, but the consequence is sometimes far-fetched. Kurtz was obsessed with ivory which drove him to do evil things. He would even kill people to get ivory. His obsession made him insane. "You should of heard him say, 'My ivory.'

    Read More

  • Comparing Mary Anne in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong and Kurtz in Apocalypse Now

    2598 Words  | 6 Pages

    Watts, Cedric. 'Heart of Darkness.' The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad. Ed. J.H. Stape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 45-62.

    Read More

  • The Conduct of British Generals in World War One

    1598 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1914 the First World War, or the Great War, broke out in Europe. It

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness Morally Ambiguous Character Essay

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Heart of Darkness, all of Joseph Conrad’s characters seem to have morally ambiguous tendencies. The most prominently morally ambiguous character is Kurtz, whose distance from society changes his principles, and leads him to lose all sense of decorum. Conrad takes a cynical tone when describing Marlow's journey. Marlow's voyage through the Congo gives him insight to the horrific, dehumanizing acts that his company and Kurtz conduct. Conrad creates a parallel with the tone of his writing and the misanthropic feelings that the main character experiences. Furthermore, Conrad creates a frame story between Kurtz and Marlow, adding to the symbolism and contrast between contextual themes of light and dark, moral and immoral, and civilization and wilderness. After being sent on a horrific journey into the Congo of Africa, as an agent for the Company to collect ivory, Marlow finds the infamous and mysterious Kurtz. Kurtz, who has totally withdrawn from society, and has withdrawn

    Read More

  • Heart of Darkness and Wide Sargasso Sea: Depiction and Effect Due to Colonization

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bausch, Richard, and R. V. Cassill. "Heart of Darkness." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 126-86. Print.

    Read More

  • Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Through a Freudian Lens

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Essay On World War 1

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    World War 1...what is it? Normally when you think about it you must be wondering how on earth am I still alive! World War 1 was also known as The Great War that took place from 1914-1918 within most parts of Europe. Within this informative essay I will be talking about the features, the results, the end, and how World War 1 changed the lives of the Europeans.

    Read More

  • World War One: The Key Causes Of World War One

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    ¬¬World War One, called The Great War at the time, was a global war centered in Europe that began on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. The war was fought between two major powers, the Allies and the Central powers. The Allied powers, based on the triple Entente, consisted of the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, France, Italy, Britain, and the United States, while the Central powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire. World War One was one of the bloodiest events in human history, with over sixteen million casualties and twenty million people wounded over the four years that it was fought. There are many underlying reasons for this bloodshed but some of the biggest, most significant ones include alliances, nationalism, and imperialism.

    Read More

  • Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    Asking the right questions is indeed an art form . It is however an even bigger burden to try to answer from an analytical presepective these subjective questions which inspire answers and explanations to the ultimate “why” and “how” . As readers we are obligated to carry with us an open mind, an analytical eye and room for suggestive arguments when trying to dissect a piece of writing. Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness offers the perfect platform for interpretation. With a dozen shades of foggy gray's, the short story is begging for a set of eyes that can see it through. Without proceeding too far into the novella, one can draw out a great deal of analytical suggestions as to what the title itself implies. The word Darkness seems to be a consistent theme throughout the book. So much so, that the amount of weight it carries has given it a special place on the cover. Many critics have found common ground on deciphering the interpretation of the word .The concept of darkness could be respresenting evil. However, some significant subjective questions remain unaswered: Exaclty which character in the novella has fallen victim to this evil? Is it Conrad himself, Marlow, Kurtz or the natives? All of them? Are there different forms in which this evil can manifest itself? Is it talking about darkness in the literal or figurative sense? Would we be considered naïve if we thought evil could be contained or is darkness a necessary evil we all posses and an undeniable part of our reality?

    Read More

  • The Deception Of Kurtz In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Joseph Conrad’s short story, “Heart of Darkness,” the narrator has mixed emotions about the man Kurtz. The narrator spends a large portion of the story trying to find Kurtz. During this time the narrator builds a sense of respect and admiration for Kurtz; however when he finally finds Kurtz, he discovers that he is somewhat disgusted by Kurtz’s behavior. The narrators somewhat obsessive behavior regarding Kurtz is quickly changed into disappointment. The narrator sees that the man who Kurtz is, and the man he created Kurtz to be in his mind are two very different people. He finds that Kurtz is not a reasonable man of justice and reason, but an unstable man whose cruelty and deception is awful. In Joseph Conrad’s short story, “Heart of Darkness,”

    Read More

  • On The Genealogy Of Moralism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nietzsche cringes before the civilization of Europe and seeks a man unencumbered by moral principles, principles that he believes form from the stifling existence of being surrounded by weaker beings. Nietzsche’s cry for a superhero is realized in the quest of Marlow in Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness. Marlow travels up the Congo River in Central Africa, driven by curiosity that morphs into raving monomania to find the premier Belgian ivory trader, Kurtz, a man seemingly distinguished from the hollow men of the Company, a man to make Nietzsche proud. But the average reader is not proud, as through Heart of Darkness Conrad displays for him the horror that lurks within his own soul through the flow of the story ever inward from the mouth of the Congo, to the Belgian ivory stations, to the innermost darkness, Kurtz himself. Conrad’s narration is as smooth as a stream with a barely perceptible current bearing readers along with his story in blissful contentment, only to be jostled suddenly by waves of uncomfortable fact, then let down into lethargy and sweet beautiful language again.

    Read More

  • A Freudian Perspective of Marlow in Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tessitore, John. "Freud, Conrad, and Heart of Darkness." Modern Critical Interpretations." Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 91-103.

    Read More

  • Eva Smith's Diary

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    her when she was trying on an outfit. The truth of the matter was that

    Read More

  • Comparing Colonialism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness and Kipling's Poetry

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    * Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness” in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, M.H. Abrams, general editor.  (London: W.W. Norton, 1962, 2000)

    Read More

  • Darkness as Symbolism in Heart of Darkness

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    The "Heart of Darkness," written by Joseph Conrad in 1899 as a short story, is about two men who face their own identities as what they consider to be civilized Europeans and the struggle to not to abandon their themselves and their morality once they venture into the "darkness." The use of "darkness" is in the book's title and in throughout the story and takes on a number of meanings that are not easily understood until the story progresses. As you read the story you realize that the meaning of "darkness" is not something that is constant but changes depending on the context it used.

    Read More

More about Heart Of Darkness Nihilism

Open Document