Heart Of Darkness Research Paper
analytical Essay
738 words
Men! The only animal in the world to fear” (Lawerance). This quote demonstrates that man should only fear the animal inside itself. Furthermore, when one becomes so encompassed in darkness, sin, and animal like behavior, the man gets trapped and loses sight of the truth.This statement can be notably seen in Joseph Conrad’s book, Heart of Darkness. Namely, it seems all men that left civilization for the Congo had lost all reason, restraint, and their conscience. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses the literary elements of character development, symbolism, and characterization to demonstrate the theme that when humans are surrounded by darkness, it can be difficult for them to see the truth. The literary element of character development shows the drastic change main character,Marlow, endures s he gets deeper into the jungle. To begin with, Marlow was instantly shocked at the horrors he sees when he enter the jungle. For example, when he saw the Europeans shooting the “criminals for almost no reason he was disgusted(Conrad). In time, as Marlow begins to journey further into the jungle his good nature begins to slip away. When his helms men is shot, and the blood gets on his shoes instantly he …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how joseph conrad's heart of darkness uses literary elements of character development, symbolism, and characterization to demonstrate the theme that when humans are surrounded by darkness, it can be difficult for them to see the truth.
- Analyzes how the literary element of character development shows the drastic change main character, marlow, endures as he gets deeper into the jungle.
- Analyzes how conrad uses symbolism to promote the darkness the main characters are surrounded by, and the blindness it causes them.
- Analyzes how conrad hands kurtz living proof of a man gone mad from being surrounded by darkness.
- Analyzes how conrad uses literary elements of character development, symbolism, and characterization to demonstrate the theme that when humans are surrounded by darkness, it can be difficult for them to see the truth.
Kurtz is an animal. Marlow is able to realize this when he finds out Kurtz has no restraint(Conrad). This causes Marlow to realize that the darkness had eaten away Kurtz’s humanity. Kurtz has been in the “heart of darkness” for so long, he does not even remember what truth looks like. Therefore, all Kurtz can think of is ivory, and being worshiped by the natives. It is so extreme he is willing to do anything to get it, even kill his so called “friend”(Conrad). This causes Kurtz to be the definition of darkness. He is evil to the core, and far from humanity. Due to Kurtz being in the heart of the jungle for so long, he loses sight of all truth, and becomes
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- Heart Of Darkness Critical Analysisanalytical essayHeart of Darkness was based on Conrad’s personal experience in the Congo in 1890, during this time King Leopold of Belgium colonizes Central Africa and forms the Congo Free State. Leopold 's original purpose for colonizing Congo was to harvest Ivory. As a consequence, King Leopold, who was a tyrant used his powers and weapons to force the Congolese’s to work to death. In the same way, that the Hearth of Darkness unfolds; it shares the similarity in which the people of Congo were treated under the authority of Leopold. “The work as going on. The work! And this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die: “They were dying slowly—it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now,
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how heart of darkness is based on conrad's personal experience in the congo in 1890, during which king leopold of belgium colonizes central africa.
- Analyzes how marlow's exaggeration in detailing black people like an animal and at the same time acting surprised that their body the description of a human being is overtly racist.
- Analyzes how oblivious the critics are to racialism by ignoring the stereotypes and ruthless language that are used to depict the congolese people.
- Analyzes how the novel is an important document because it shows africa based on conrad’s experience, and especially since it was considerate to be a piece of art by critics.
1349 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darknessanalytical essayIn Joseph Conrad’s unforgettable novel, Heart of Darkness, the profound words of Mr. Kurtz are a judgement of his malevolent life and of humanity in general. “The horror! The horror!” are the uttered words of Kurtz as he returned with Marlow from his civilization in Africa. Conrad left the words open for interpretation, leaving many readers feeling indifferent. As Kurtz encountered death, he reflected on his past and was fond of leaving the diabolical world that he inhabited. He was pleased to be dying due to his own evil, greedy actions as well as the inequality within humanity.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the profound words of mr. kurtz are a judgement of his malevolent life and of humanity in general.
- Analyzes how kurtz judged his selfish, greedy, and heartless past which caused his words, "the horror!" to be voiced. he violated many african villages while attempting to steal their ivory.
- Analyzes how kurtz believed everything belonged to him both physically and mentally. his employment was unknown, which symbolized that he was important to people and held a position of many occupations.
- Analyzes how kurtz was a greedy character, but he judged himself for the harshness of his ambitions.
- Analyzes how kurtz's disappointment of his ruthless behavior towards the natives, and the hardships of humanity, caused marlow and his fellow ship members to fall into darkness during their travels.
- Analyzes how kurtz's evaluation of humanity in his mind as he dies drew attention to possible racism or characters against imperialism. marlow viewed the white men as "inhuman" creatures.
- Analyzes how 's scenes of interpretation follow his reasoning for creating such a historic novel that causes disputes from people all over the world.
859 wordsRead More - Dark Human Side In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darknessanalytical essayThe 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how joseph conrad's novel heart of darkness illustrates the negative human side of brutality and discrimination. the deeper meaning and implication of being human is dependent on many factors.
- Analyzes how the dark jungle of the congo and forest becomes apparent with the actions of marlow and kurtz, as both turn to savage means to survive.
- Analyzes how the influence of the jungle on kurtz is portrayed through the apparent effects of their surroundings, which dictate the emotional and physical behavior of man
- Analyzes how man's instinctual feelings of arrogance are portrayed through the role of europeans in africa, showing the overall weakness of humankind.
- Analyzes how arrogance is depicted in heart of darkness through kurtz's character. he resorts to the primitive behavior of the natives, establishing himself as a "god" amongst the people.
- Analyzes how conrad's novel the heart of darkness explores the meaning of what it means to be human.
946 wordsRead More - Heart Of Darkness Analysisanalytical essayIn the heart of Africa lies darkness beyond that of night. Africa, still mostly undeveloped and covered in wilderness has a beast hidden within waiting to be let out. It is widely known that the primal instincts of a human are savage. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, darkness is not just found in the pigment of one’s skin; it is found in the primal instinct of all human beings, and every human starts with a heart of darkness.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that in joseph conrad's heart of darkness, darkness is found in the primal instinct of all human beings, and every human starts with a heart of darkness.
- Analyzes how cora kaplan's article "taming cannibals: race and the victorians" explains that darkness is found in the primal instincts of humans.
- Analyzes how thomas hendriks explains that in africa's interior white men and women are considered supernatural and godly.
- Analyzes how hendriks' article explains that a white woman entered the congo basin and was immediately singled out as being special. the image alluded to in heart of darkness is subservience by blacks to whites.
- Analyzes how ewa kuhawska-lis' article "turning heart of darkness into a racist text: a comparison of two polish translations" explains that the use of the word "mob" indicates 's racism.
- Describes how marlow experiences darkness in africa's interior when he goes to fulfill his childhood dream of sailing and exploring the congo river basin.
- Analyzes how marlow's opinion is swayed by this attack as he begins to understand why the others might have accused the africans of being
- Analyzes how marlow reaches the shores of the river on the interior side of africa and finds kurtz in bad condition. he concludes that the africans were savages who thought white people to be superior because of their skin color.
- Analyzes how marlow wanted to know about the africans and what kurtz did to become so successful. hendrik's point is that the white man is considered supernatural in africa’s interior.
- Analyzes how kurtz came to his conclusions and how a person who is being viewed as "godlike" might abuse that phenomenon in question. marlow was swayed to believe that the africans were
1008 wordsRead More - An Analysis Of Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darknessanalytical essayJulie Tawfik Ms. Ashworth ENG 4U1 April 16, 2014 Kurtz’ Heart Of Darkness In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Kurtz and the Council demonstrates natural human needs in order to survive and achieve personal desires. His dissolution and corruption take place as he travels deep within the Congo. His behaviour that lacks moral ethics is accepted by everyone in the Congo due to the severity of the area. Kurtz’ imperialistic actions of obsession with power and wealth, and his view of colonialism lead to his ultimate dissolution.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how kurtz and the council demonstrate natural human needs in order to survive and achieve personal desires. his imperialistic actions of obsession with power and wealth, and his view of colonialism lead to his ultimate dissolution.
- Analyzes how kurtz's mission in the congo is to save the natives from their barbaric way of life and make it more similar to the european culture.
- Analyzes how kurtz travels deeper within the jungle exploring everything it has to offer. his abuse of power allows him to take advantage over the riches nature provides, creating an illusion to progress the natives into civilizing them
- Analyzes how kurtz's evolving dark character is mirrored by the council, who dispose of their own ethics to gain more power and control over the natives.
- Analyzes how kurtz allows his self-serving greed to control him leading to his dissolution. his obsession with wealth and power leads him to destroy the system he was preaching to the natives.
949 wordsRead More - Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darknessanalytical essayAsking 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?
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how joseph conrad's novella, heart of darkness, offers the perfect platform for interpretation.
- Analyzes how conrad's heart of darkness stimulates the readers by diverting them from a nave frame of thinking to the brute reality.
- Analyzes how conrad's "heart of darkness" offers directness to anyone interested in facing darkness around and perhaps darkness within them.
- Analyzes how marlow's inability to distinguish between colors is a manifestation of his consideration for the continent.
798 wordsRead More - The Conundrum Of Life In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darknessanalytical essayHe misses his helmsman because unlike the other whites he worked hard. The helmsman was a sailor and Marlow starts to realize that sailors have an unexplainable brotherhood. With the helmsman 's death, Marlow wonders if Kurtz too might be dead. The thought disturbs Marlow, who realizes that he has been longing to speak with Kurtz. More specifically, he has been longing to "hear" what Kurtz has to say. He recounts his obsession and lust to hear Kurtz as “Absurd!”. Marlow after Kurtz’s death starts to feel no sense of purpose in life anymore. He feels that “..he had been robbed of a belief or had missed a destiny in life”(23) which shows that Kurtz held so much value to Marlow that now in his absence he has essentially lost his belief or “faith”. This is a direct parallel to the lost of “faith” that Goodman Brown experiences when he loses whose wife named Faith and after her death loses his faith in the Christian religion and mankind. Marlow, upon discovery of the book starts to see that within the midst of the African jungle lies a bit of the civilized world. The discovery of the book was “unreal” (14) and Marlow’s inability to recount “some such name”(14), the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that human beings have an innate need for structure and order within their lives, which vanishes with age. to fill the void of structureless societies, humans look to omniscient deities.
- Analyzes how marlow, in joseph conrad’s heart of darkness, challenges the human condition. he sees the hollowness and inherent evil in the men who he works with at the station.
- Analyzes how marlow recognizes a certain humanity in the savages of the wilderness, but admits that they remind him that there's one within all people when he watches the wild uproar.
- Analyzes how marlow's longing to hear kurtz is a direct parallel to the loss of faith that goodman brown experiences when he loses his wife faith.
- Compares marlow's journey to gain the wisdom of kurtz to the religious experience that several devouts take to uncover the truth about their ambiguous idols and to find purpose within their lives.
1105 wordsRead More - Heart of Darknessanalytical essay1. The protagonist of Heart of Darkness is a person named Charlie Marlow. Oddly, his name only appears once in the novel. Marlow is philosophical, independent-minded, and generally skeptical of those around him. He is also a master storyteller, eloquent and able to draw his listeners into his tale. Although Marlow shares many of his fellow Europeans’ prejudices, he has seen enough of the world and enough debased white men to make him skeptical of imperialism. An example of Marlow being independent-minded and philosophical is when he takes a trip up a river, as a break from working on ships. Marlow describes the trip as a journey back in time, to a “prehistoric earth.” This remark on how he regards colonized people as primitive, which is his philosophical viewpoint.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how kurtz, who is not the protagonist or antagonist, is a significant character in the novel. he understands the power of words and his writings are complex in structure.
- Analyzes how the brick maker at the central station is significant and humorous in a way. he is petty and devious and assumes that other people are too.
- Analyzes how marlow encounters a few problems, such as the ambush of natives with bows and arrows, and the death of kurtz.
- Analyzes how charlie marlow, the protagonist of heart of darkness, is a philosophical, independent-minded, and generally skeptical of those around him.
- Compares marlow and kurtz in a few ways. they are philosophical and skeptical, independent, and can persuade people through words.
- Opines that the setting of european seas in the early 1900s is very different from their own environment. they would rather not live in europe because going back in time means reversing all of the accomplishments humans have made.
- Analyzes how the opening scene in the novel was calm, taking place after a flood, which apparently did not cause much damage.
- Analyzes the moral of conrad's book, "be careful of how much value you place on certain things." the narrator of the story is charlie marlow, who is a riverboat captain for the company.
- Opines that the last part of the book de-glorifies marlow's experiences.
- Recommends heart of darkness for people to read because it explores the human condition and how each character is unique and recognizable within the context.
2215 wordsRead More - Heart Of Darkness Analysisanalytical essayIn his novel Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad portrays the role of a woman to be the source that the man relies on when he can no longer bear the harsh realities of the world, and utilizes the idealistic world she creates to obtain a small sliver of hope for the future. He uses the character Kurtz, a European captain who is searching for ivory in the heart of the Congo in Africa, to display how a man will need a woman and her world in order to keep his sanity. When entering the world of the woman, the man will be able to find comfort because he is able to take a break from the real world and find solace in the world of the woman, using her as an audience to display his emotions to. The solace that the man finds in the woman is a way to keep his sanity because the truths that one discovers may leave one with pain and emotions that can drive him mad, while a woman's separate world may cause one to become blind from the actualities of society, the temporary blindness will help not only a man but also the woman to continue to have high hopes and ambitions in order to save themselves from falling into the wrath of reality and succumbing to the darkness that may cause one to fall victim to savagery due to embracing too much pain that comes from the reality.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how joseph conrad portrays the role of a woman as the source that the man relies on when he can no longer bear the harsh realities of the world.
- Analyzes how a woman's world is disconnected from the realities of the actual world, but it acts as safety blanket to secure sanity.
- Analyzes how kurtz's mistress treats him as though she has more power over him. her matriarchal attitude puts him into an inferior position and causes him to become cold and heartless.
- Explains that kurtz is consumed by the savagery in the jungle so he is now known to be taken over by darkness. he reaches a level of lowliness where no amount of light can help him recover.
- Analyzes how marlow's innocence is shown when she praises kurtz for being a remarkable man, but she doesn't know the truth about his crimes in the congo.
- Analyzes how conrad intentionally portrays women as a figure of hope to demonstrate that society needs hope in order to survive.
1215 wordsRead More - Critical Analysis Of Heart Of Darknessanalytical essayHeart of Darkness: Critical Analysis Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, was written in the year 1902, a time of modernist literature. Heart of Darkness talks about the problems with alienation and confusion as much as it does about imperialism. In the early 1900’s, the lifestyle in England veered towards the Victorian values. Conrad’s novella makes a bridge to connect the Victorian values with the ideas of modernism. Thus “it belongs to a period of change.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how marlow developed a sense of aggression towards the natives, yet confusion still lingered in the air.
- Analyzes how european domination in heart of darkness was presented in a strong manner. the natives were stripped of their agency and forced under the european influence to do hard labor with the ivory.
- Analyzes how marlow associates death with destruction, horror, fear, and life with a utopia theme. he knew that "savage" native people had the better advantage over the white.
- Analyzes how joseph conrad's novella, heart of darkness, connects the victorian values with the ideas of modernism.
1413 wordsRead More