Nihilism in Heart of Darkness
In Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness (1899), Conrad explores existential nihilism, which defines a belief that the world is without meaning or purpose. Through Marlow, Conrad introduces a story for civilization, for those on board the Nellie that are unaware for their own meaninglessness. The voyage through the African Congo depicts the absurdity of man's existence and human ideals disintegrate in the immensity of the Jungle atmosphere. The ominous Jungle is the setting which Conrad uses to develop the reader's consciousness of man's falseness in contrast to an obscure world. Any sense of restraint against the darkness that habituates in the natural world of man's uncivilized makeup is futile. Those that demonstrate restraint only emphasize existential nihilism as their actions result in meaninglessness. Through the characterization of Kurtz, the reader can witness a man who lacks restraint due to his acknowledgment of purposelessness, thus becoming a nihilistic hero. Marlow's search for such a man is the ultimate goal of the novel. It is then Conrad's goal to lead the reader through vagueness and pessimism to a conclusive void. The novel's conclusion ultimately portrays existential nihilism, where Kurtz's last words confirm the world's meaninglessness and Marlow becomes more like the pessimistic Kurtz by the lie told to Kurtz's Intended. Although Conrad himself may not essentially be nihilistic, his novel contains a dark nihilistic truth: the world is without meaning or purpose.
The Jungle setting through which Marlow travels is as ominous as the events of the novel. Marlow's exploration of a blank space (22) turns out to be a place of incomprehensible darkness containin...
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Works cited and consulted
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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
...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.
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?
Heart of Darkness is Joseph Conrad's tale of one man's journey, both mental and physical, into the depths of the wild African jungle and the human soul. The seaman, Marlow, tells his crew a startling tale of a man named Kurtz and his expedition that culminates in his encounter with the "voice" of Kurtz and ultimately, Kurtz's demise. The passage from Part I of the novel consists of Marlow's initial encounter with the natives of this place of immense darkness, directly relating to Conrad's use of imagery and metaphor to illustrate to the reader the contrast between light and dark. The passage, although occurring earlier on in the novel, is interspersed with Marlow's two opposing points of view: one of naïveté, which comes before Marlow's eventual epiphany after having met Kurtz, and the matured perspective he takes on after all of the events leading up to his and Kurtz's encounter.
Pearsall, J. (ed) 1999, The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Oxford University Press, New York, p. 1209.
as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed in the first 20 weeks
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
Joseph Conrad created a character called Marlow. Marlow narrates the journey that he was taking. However, it is through this journey that the entire story of Heart of Darkness is narrated to us. This book is not entirely a fictitious story because the reader partly gets to know the authors own experiences. This book mainly talks about colonization and is often taken as a voice against colonization. However, the book is on many levels a story about ambiguity because of the words used, the incidents, narration and the mixed feeling of Marlow.
Wyatt, C. (2010). Friedrich Nietzsche. In Tameri Guide for Writers. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/nietzsche.shtml
Pearsall J (1999) The Concise Oxford Dictionary Tenth Edition page 286 by Oxford University Press in Oxford New York, America
A view from the Bridge was written by Arthur Miller in 1955 and set in
Modernism began as a movement in that late 19th, early 20th centuries. Artists started to feel restricted by the styles and conventions of the Renaissance period. Thusly came the dawn of Modernism in many different forms, ranging from Impressionism to Cubism.
...e final sentence of the novel illustrates this stating: "[t]he offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading into the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky---seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness" (216). This powerful quote depicts how potentially negative and brutal the "dark" side of human action can be. Kurtz being the symbol of European imperialism and others contributing to great and thought can be. Kurtz is the symbol of European imperialism and others who add to this negative practice. Conrad reminds us that it is essential for humans to be humane and self-reflective about their thoughts and actions. Although individuals have a potentially "dark" side they have the power to not succumb to it through "dark" actions including inhumanity and brutality as shown throughout the novel.