Light and Dark in Heart of Darkness
In fictional literature, books are often given creative and catchy titles in lieu of non-ambiguous ones. If one were to take the phrase "heart of darkness" literally, one might find oneself poring over medical journals in a fruitless search to determine what disease causes the heart to take on a grayish or dark hue. One would be completely mistaken, wouldn't one? As it is, Joseph Conrad's phrase "heart of darkness" is a concept representing the contrast of darkness and light in the characters, the mood, the conflicts, and the theme.
The first example of the contrasting light and darkness in the novella is to be found in the main characters. Marlow is a philosophical English seaman who exemplifies the virtuous protagonist. He is an idealist, trying to bring European imperialism to Africa. Kurtz is also an English seaman who maintains an idealistic attitude towards the purity of European presence in Africa. Kurtz, however, works for an ivory company at the Inner Station on the Congo, and his actions are somewhat less virtuous than his beliefs.
This contrast between darkness and light is first portrayed through these characters at the outset of Marlow's journey upriver. At this point in the story, Marlow describes himself as "something like an emissary of light, something like a lower sort of apostle," and he finds a type of negative savior in Kurtz (Conrad 19). Then, as Marlow completes his journey and attempts to take Kurtz back downstream where he can be treated and cured and then assimilated back into "civilized" society, Marlow instead discovers that Kurtz is drawn irresistibly back toward the jungle because "it had taken him, loved him, e...
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...ss." Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1994. 1-137.
Guerand, Albert J. Conrad the Novelist. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, January 1958.
Hillman, James. "Notes on White Supremacy: Essaying an Archetypal Account of Historical Events," Spring (1986): 29-57.
Hyland, Peter. "The Little Women in the Heart of Darkness." Conradiana 20.1 (1988): 3-11.
Karl, Frederick Robert. A Reader's Guide to Joseph Conrad. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, September 1997.
McLynn, Frank. Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa. New York: Carol & Gey, 1992.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness 3rd Ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical, 1988.
Patrick Brantlinger, "Heart of Darkness: Anti-Imperialism, Racism, or Impressionism?" Criticism (Fall, 1985) 364.
Capote tells the story in a way that makes you feel you are being told about the characters by a close acquaintance of each individual character. When you aren't hearing the voices of the characters as they tell their own stories, we hear, not the voice of an author, but the voice of a friend who knew the characters well. (Before saying her prayers, she always recorded in a diary a few occurrences... Perry didn't care what he drank... etc.)
Truman Capote establishes respect and trust in what he writes from with audience, ethos, through the use of an extensive variety of facts and statistics, logos. Capote uses so many dates, times, and other facts about the crime committed in the book and the subsequent investigation that the reader has to believe what the author is writing. The use of all these facts shows that Capote did his research and he interviewed, questioned, and obtained the opinions of every person that even slightly important to crime itself and the investigation/trial. The author is obviously very meticulous when it comes to dates and times; every important event in the book has a date and sometimes even a time of day to go with it. Some examples of dates included were the day of the murders (November 15th, 1959), dates of when Perry and Dick were here or there (December 31th, 1959- a small restaurant in Texas or noon on December 25th, 1959- beach in Miami Florida), date when the two criminals were apprehended (January 1st, 1960), dates when they were brought from this prison to that one and finally when they were brought to death’s row (April, 1960). Other small facts are also used by the author, like facts about the criminal’s early lives or experiences that they had, which could only have been obtained through extensive interviews with Perry and Dick. The use of all these logos by Capote establishes strong ethos, showing the reader that the author did more than enough research to show that he has the knowledge to write a whole book on the subject.
Truman Capote is a truly great writer. His early childhood and his growing up all affected his writing. Even though In Cold Blood is a true account, he had to add many features to it so that the novel would get a unique feel to it. He used some of his life experiences to help add to the detail. He sympathized with Perry deeply and was able to give the character of Perry a better cry to the world. Capote worked hard and tried something different with this book, we can safely say that he came near or did accomplish his goals.
Truman began the novel with a chapter of exposition. His main purpose of this segment was to describe the victims, which he did by writing in an ominous tone. This tone acting primarily as a foreshadowing of what the reader knew would come. Capote was heightening the suspense. The readers knew the Clutters would die, but the family lived blissfully oblivious of what was yet to come. Capote often executed this ominous tone by stating that it would be Mr. Clutters last day, or Nancy's last pie etc. This only heighted the anticipation, the tension, and of course the expectation of what was yet to come. Finally, nearing the end of the chapter, Capote continues with the ominous tone by switching viewpoints between the victims and the murders. As the actual murder grew closer, the viewpoints switched more rapidly. This gave the readers an almost simultaneous, birds-eye view of the Clutters' fate. Over all, this ominous tone definitely slanted in support for the victims. A reader could only find himself loathing the murderers who committed this monstrous crime. However, this loathing changes as the tone changes.
Capote opposes the death penalty, almost pleading that Perry is insane. As the Psychologist is unsure of whether or not Perry is insane, the court quickly shuts that escape route down. The imminent death of Perry and Dick makes the reader feel split on the two, where they would rather have Dick put to death and let Perry live, if the reader so chooses that Perry is insane.
Watts, Cedric. 'Heart of Darkness.' The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad. Ed. J.H. Stape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 45-62.
Some critics would say authors use other people 's life stories to gain a profit for their own greed, others would say authors are just trying to make their story known to the public so they could be helped or put to ease. In this case in the novel “In Cold Blood” written by Truman Capote, Capote tries to create public awareness of two killers’ Dick Hickock and Perry Smith and how they were ended all by the end of a noose. The novel is based on a true crime, published in January 1966 by Random House, listed to be around $12 for a paper cover copy. The novel details the murder of the Clutter family in 1959 Holcomb Kansas, and how their murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith almost but didn’t get away with it. Capote writes about the two killers
Truman Capote finds different ways to humanize the killers throughout his novel In Cold Blood. He begins this novel by explaining the town of Holcomb and the Clutter family. He makes them an honest, loving, wholesome family that play a central role in the town. They play a prominent role in everyone’s lives to create better well-being and opportunity. Capote ends his beginning explanation of the plot by saying, “The suffering. The horror. They were dead. A whole family. Gentle, kindly people, people I knew --- murdered. You had to believe it, because it was really true” (Capote 66). Despite their kindness to the town, someone had the mental drive to murder them. Only a monster could do such a thing --- a mindless beast. However,
Capote uses different voices to tell the story, creating an intimacy between the readers and the murders, the readers and the victims, and all the other players in this event—townspeople, investigators, friends of the family. This intimacy lead...
As Marlow assists the reader in understanding the story he tells, many inversions and contrasts are utilized in order to increase apperception of the true meaning it holds. One of the most commonly occurring divergences is the un orthodox implications that light and dark embody. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness brims with paradoxes and symbolism throughout its entirety, with the intent of assisting the reader in comprehending the truth of not only human nature, but of the world.
Conrad, J. (2006). Heart of darkness. In P. B. Armstrong (Ed.), Heart of darkness (4th ed., p. 5). New York London: Norton Critical Editions.
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.
By the time Marlow and Kurtz meet, Marlow is already well aware of the similarities they share. Both are imperialists, and while Marlow detests the treatment of the natives by his employers (Belgian colonists), he also makes apparent his abhorrence toward the Africans. On the other hand, Kurtz abandons the pretense of helping the natives achieve civilization, as displayed by the Europeans. Instead, he adopts their customs and becomes their leader in the never-ending quest for ivory. "He began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, 'must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of the supernatural beings- we approach them with the might as of a deity' (Longman, 2000, p. 2226). Marlow also admired Kurtz' resourcefulness and survival skills, especially his perseverence through jungle fever. "The wilderness had patted him on the head....it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation. He was its spoiled and pampered favorite." (Longman, 2000, p. 2225).
This sight angers Marlow, and when he gets to Kurtz, it’s too late. Even he has been pulled in by the darkness. Conrad makes an effective distinction between Marlow and Kurtz.