Similarities Between Frankenstein And Heart Of Darkness

Although Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad are different on the surface, they are very comparable when looked at more closely. They are both observations of the complexity of the human darkness that resides in everyone. They touch on injustice, negligence, egocentricity, isolation and the blurry lines of morality. These stories share similar themes, characters, and points of view. Both stories are first person narratives recounted from the perspective of outsiders who have had these experiences while traveling to foreign lands. In Heart of Darkness, there are two narrators. There is an unnamed passenger on a ship listening to the story being told by Marlow, and Marlow himself. This allows the narrative to alternate between Marlow’s story from the past and present day surroundings of the ship, which is traveling on the Thames River, from the perspective of the unnamed passenger. Since the Thames River is an important part of Marlow’s story, the passenger’s descriptions gives more perspective and clarity to Marlow’s story. It also gives the unnamed narrator a chance to comment on Marlow and gives more context to Marlow’s character. In Frankenstein, there are three perspectives throughout the story- Walton, who is the outsider, and Victor and the monster who

The most obvious similarity is that they are both geniuses with selfish ambitions that ultimately lead to their downfalls. The evil within both Kurtz and Frankenstein stems from greed and a desire for power. Although this desire leads both characters to act immorally, there is an understanding in both stories that people are not simply evil or good. There is a combination of both within everyone, therefore neither character can simply be labelled as an innately evil villain. Frankenstein’s immorality originated from his lust for glory and admiration. His egotistical