More handpicked essays just for you.
Theme of darkness in the novel heart of darkness
The theme of darkness in the novel The Heart of darkness
Theme of darkness in novel the heart of darkness
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Role of Kurtz’s Intended in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Very often in literature minor characters appear for only a short time in the story but carry a very heavy significance in the overall meaning of the book. Kurtz’s Intended, in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, is this kind of character. The unnamed woman only appears for a brief period at the end of the novel, but Conrad includes her for three very crucial reasons. He has Kurtz’s fiancée appear to provide a justification for Marlow to lie, to be the catalyst that leads to Marlow’s revelation that darkness does indeed exist everywhere, and to symbolize all of civilization.
When Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness, he intended the theme to be universal,
applicable to all of society, not just to uncivilized Africa. This ubiquitousness of the theme is apparent when Marlow describes London as “one of the dark places of the earth”(67). Conrad applies the idea of darkness to a supposed civilized society, demonstrating that darkness occurs everywhere throughout the world, not just in uncivilized places such as Africa. To make the theme even more omnipresent to his readers, Conrad needed to include an incident of darkness outside of Africa. Marlow’s like to Kurtz’s Intended is the example that Conrad needed to add to make the universality of his message clear: “The last words he pronounced was—your name”(164). Marlow despises lying more than any other form of darkness; “I hate, detest, and can’t bear a lie”(96). By having Marlow lie to Kurtz’s Intended, Conrad incorporates universality into the theme of the book. Lying is a form of evil, a form of darkness within Marlow, and even though Marlow restrains himself and steps back from the edge of giving into his d...
... middle of paper ...
...ality and omnipresence to the meaning and theme of evil inside everyone of the story.
Works Cited and Consulted
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. 1902. New York: Dover, 1990.
Erdinast-Vulcan, Daphna. The Strange Short Fiction of Joseph Conrad. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. 78-108.
Greaney, Michael. Conrad, Language, and Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 57-76.
Hawthorn, Jeremy. Studying the Novel. 4th ed. London: Arnold, 2001. 60-61
Hyland, Peter, "The Little Woman in the Heart of Darkness ." Conradiana 20, 1 (1988): 3-12.
Lynn, David H. " Heart of Darkness : Marlow's Heroic Cry." The Hero's Tale. Narrators in the Early Modern Novel . London: Macmillan, 1989. Pp. 1-27.
Wright, Walter F. "Ingress to The Heart of Darkness ." Romance and Tragedy in Joseph Conrad . New York: Russell and Russell, 1966. Pp. 143-160.
Throughout Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad points to the hypocrisy and horrors associated with colonialism. The half-English, half-French Kurtz is the main vehicle used to convey his theme of European colonialism, as “all [of] Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz” (Conrad 164). It was Kurtz who goes to Africa for the "sake of loot, and thus becomes a great literary symbol for the decadence of colonialism" (Zins 63). With his help, Marlow dissects the reasoning behind colonialism, eventually seeing its evil nature.
...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.
"Summary of United States V. Emerson." FindLaw: Cases and Codes. Thomson Reuters. Web. 29 May 2010. .
Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. Sometimes finding out the answer of the mystery can illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. This is present in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The mystery in this novella is about a character named Kurtz.
Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% . Not only has prevalence of child and adolescent overweight and obesity increased dramatically over the last several decades, but being an overweight or obese child puts one at a heightened risk for adult overweight and obesity .
In Joseph Conrad’s short story, “Heart of Darkness,” the narrator, Marlow language, and point of view to convey the conflicting emotions he has about Kurtz due to the image he fabricated Kurtz to be, and the reality of Kurtz. Marlow’s language throughout the piece reveals to the reader how he feels about Kurtz and how he perceives Kurtz’s actions. Marlow’s point of view also allows him to support both of his perceptions of Kurtz because he doesn’t see only bad or only good in
The obesity epidemic is a globally acknowledged serious population-level public health issue. Obesity is the number two cause of mortality behind smoking in ...
Gun Control has become a very important and controversial issue in america today. Many citizens of this great country are beginning to question if guns are as useful or if they’re just cold metal death makers. Gun Control: The Great Cop-out by Jared Michaud and Gun Control and the Constitution by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Andrew M. Grossman professionally carry across their anti-gun control ideals; whereas The Second Amendment is all for Gun Control by Adam Winkler and Making Gun Control Happen by Patrick Radden Keefe display the pro-gun control side. In my views, guns are a very necessary tool that if used correctly can be a valuable source of self defence and protection when help is too far away, or unwilling to come. Rather than put more restrictions on guns and gun owners, we should be able to freely protect ourselves and our fellow man.
Since there are two sides to every debate, the antithesis of this position views gun control as unnecessary. This view is strongly held by the National Rifle Association, a very powerful organization, which has nearly 3 million members and an annual budget of 88 million dollars. The NRA is highly effective in motivating thousands of gun owners into action against gun control legislation. Lobbying, advertisements, letter-writing campaigns, and contributions to political candidates who oppose gun control have been some of the establishment's most effective strategies in its fight against tighter firearms laws. Most members of the NRA believe that restricting firearms to prevent gun-rel...
Childhood obesity is an increasing problem here in the United States. According to Schuab and Marian (2011) “Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions” (P.553). The prevalence of child obesity and overweight has increased over the last 30 years all over the United States, becoming one of the biggest public health challenges (Moreno, Johnson-Shelton, & Boles, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to give a background of the obesity epidemic, a review of current policy, and make a policy recommendation.
Childhood obesity is a serious problem among American children. Some doctors are even calling childhood obesity an epidemic because of the large percentage of children being diagnosed each year as either overweight or obese. “According to DASH sixteen to thirty-three percent of American children each year is being told they are obese.” (Childhood Obesity) There is only a small percentage, approximately one percent, of those children who are obese due to physical or health related issues; although, a condition that is this serious, like obesity, could have been prevented. With close monitoring and choosing a healthier lifestyle there would be no reason to have such a high obesity rate in the United States (Caryn). Unfortunately, for these children that are now considered to be obese, they could possibly be facing some serious health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancers. All of these diseases have been linked to obesity through research. These children never asked for this to happen to them; however, it has happened, and now they will either live their entire life being obese, or they will be forced to reverse what has already been done (Childhood Obesity).
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness ; And, The Secret Sharer. New York: Signet Classic, 1997. Print.
In June of 2013, The American Medical Association (AMA) officially recognized obesity as a disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control (2014), one in three Americans are obese, from 1980 to 2008, obesity rates have doubled for adults and tripled for children, approximately 35.7% of U.S adults and 17% of U.S. children are obese. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader of the increasing prevalence of obesity in the world; that childhood and adulthood obesity is a chronic condition that leads to many other long term health problems and there are many different ways it can be prevented.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness 3rd Ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical, 1988.
The main character in Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, isKurtz. Kurtz no longer obeys the authority of his superiors who believe that he has become too extreme and has come to employ "unsound methods" (Coppola, 1979; Longman, 2000). Marlow is sent to retrieve Kurtz from the evil influences in the Congo, and a wild journey on a tainted river ensues. Along the way, Marlow learns about the real Kurtz and finds himself identifying with and becoming dangerously fond of the man.