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Imagery and symbolism in the heart of darkness
Imagery and symbolism in the heart of darkness
Imagery and symbolism in the heart of darkness
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Color as a Tool of Symbolism in Heart of Darkness
Color is used very effectively as a tool of symbolism in Heart of Darkness. Colors, especially black and white, are used to symbolize evil (black) and good (white). Other colors are also used, although less often than black and white. Throughout the story, people are thought to have white souls or black souls depending on their innate “goodness” or “badness” or the role they are fulfilling at the time. The color of a person’s soul is often contrasted to the color of their skin. A black- souled, white-skinned person is thought to be evil and dishonest. “I met a white man in such an unexpected elegance of getup…” (Conrad p.21). This demonstrates how a white man was not expected to be a good person. Elegance of dress was unexpected because the man was white. In comparison, a white-souled, black-skinned person is thought to be truthful and full of integrity. “An athletic black belonging to some coast tribe and educated by my poor predecessor….thought all the world of himself.” (Conrad p.45). People are described as black with hatred regardless of skin color. This is further evidence of black being used synonymously with evil. Black isn’t just used to describe evil people. “Often far away, I thought of these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall…” (Conrad p. 14.) The symbolism of black wool at the door of Darkness is clearly pointing to evil, and further supports black as evil. Heath 2 Colors other than black and white are used to describe moods and attitudes past the basic good and evil. Red signifies industry. “There was a vast amount of red - good to see at any time because one knows that some real work is done in there.” (Conrad p.13). Yellow is seen as a cowardly color. “I was going into the yellow. Dead in the center.” (Conrad p.13). Pale denotes Death. It is also used this way in the Bible, “the Pale horse and his rider Death”, Revelations 6:8. “She came forward, all in black, with a pale head, floating towards me in the dusk. She was in mourning. It was more than a year since his death…” (Conrad p. 72-73). The use of color is effective in the story for a variety of reasons. First, it is easy to understand.
The realism movement of the late nineteenth century produced works in literature that were marked by reduced sentimentality and increased objectivity. The goal was to let details tell the story, and remove noticeable bias of the author through scientific and detailed descriptions. While this form of storytelling undoubtedly is most accurate, it creates difficulties for authors to incorporate their themes into the story. This resulted in an increase in symbolism in realist works. The objects and descriptions within the story are the author’s vehicle for displaying the values and themes of the work. Light and darkness are symbols commonly used in literature, and have held specific symbolic meanings for hundreds of years. Simply stated, light commonly symbolizes good, while darkness symbolizes its antithesis - evil. (Cooper) For centuries light vs. dark has been quite possibly the most common symbol in all literature. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses detail to create a feeling that transcends the literal text - most notably through his use of light and dark and the inversion of their traditional meanings. The end goal of this inversion is the establishment of the theme that not everything is as it seems. More specifically, Conrad uses detailed imagery of light and dark to show often times white men can be more savage than the natives.
In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, symbolism is quite prevalently used to portray the development of the heart of darkness. Conrad used a variety of symbols, including characters, objects, and ideologies.
What is symbolism? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary symbolism: is the use of symbols to express or represent ideas or qualities in literature, art. What is the writer or artistes trying to intemperate in their work? William Faulkner and Edgar Allan Poe were literary geniuses in their use of dark and subdued writing styles, but in my opinion no one takes the time to look in depth into the real meanings of there works . This paper will elaborate on the use of symbolism in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.
As the cold war had brought upon a lot of conflict, it had also had the struggle of the economy from the remnants of the Second World War and the 70’s that had really brought the entire situation down. In the beginning of the nuclear arms race, it was commonly believed that nuclear weapons provided more benefits than the cost was so they justified their somewhat frivolous spending. While the greater explosive power of nuclear weapons may cause them to be cheaper per kiloton, as wholesale of a particular item does in today’s world, this statement proves to be untrue for the arms race and it even hides the actual economic costs of the nuclear weapons. Economic pressure had already been with the United States from the previous years that had left a negative impact before the beginning of the nuclear arms race, and all the millions, billions, and even trillions spent on acc...
Foreign policy in focus. (1999,November). In Focus: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy at the End of the Century: Lost Opportunities and New Dangers.
Thorpe, Grace. “Our Homes are not Dumps: Creating Nuclear-Free Zones.” Natural Resources Journal. 36 (1996) 956-963. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Humanity has reached a point where they now wield weapons that they aren’t capable of controlling. History has proven their potential power of causing massive murders. Today countries bicker over their weapons like kids and their toys. It’s obvious nukes need to be banned, otherwise the result will be beyond our control.
Thirty thousand metric tons of spent fuel rods from power reactors and another 380,000 cubic meters of high level radioactive waste, have been produced in the United States since the beginning of the nuclear age. Presently, these fuel rods are stored at the nuclear reactors in water filled basins and accumulate at the rate of six tons per day (Whipple, 1996). As the populataion increases, so does the demand for electricity. If we continue relying on nuclear power to provide our electricity, we will continue producing more and more nuclear waste. Greater use of nuclear power and volumes of waste mean a greater chance of accidental release of radiation into the environment.
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.
Western culture globalizes a negative depiction of the color black both in a symbolic and ethnic sense.
Kai Erikson argues that radiation and other forms of radioactive waste are a new species of trouble (Erikson, 1994). Nuclear waste disposal is a pressing issue of extreme importance. Nuclear waste is material that either contains a radioactive substance or has been contaminated by radioactive elements and is no longer useful. With all of the dangers surrounding nuclear waste and a half-life of one hundred thousand years this issue must be solved with complete certainty. Any mistakes or miscalculations can destroy the environment.
The most obvious contrast found in Heart of Darkness is between that of light and dark. In the beginning of the novel when the sun set upon London, the city began to light up yet the narrator describes the light as a "lurid glare under the stars" (Conrad 6). The lights from the city illuminated the Thames River. Because London is described as being light, the light then symbolizes civilization, or at least Conrad's view of civilization. Conrad's view of civilization is one of great despise. Civilization is a place where evil is ever present but ignored and people believe they know everything. The light is the knowledge that we have gained through exploration and the civilizing of places that have not yet been civilized. In contrast there is the darkness. Represented in the novel by Africa and the Congo River, the darkness is the evil that lurks in the unknown. The darkness is full of savages and cannibals. It is the uncivilized and uninhabited part of the world where people eat people and the savages lurk in the trees and in the darkness. Africa is the "heart of darkness," the place where man's inner evil is brought out in the open and is displayed through their thoughts and actions, such as those on Marlow's boat, letting the bullets fly into the jungle without reason or need.
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.”(Sardar) For example, the natives are following in the footsteps of their predecessors, following a life of tradition, and their ideas of life are constantly being attacked by people like Mr. Kurtz who think they are doing what is best, when in reality they are creating more confusion
While Heart of Darkness offers a powerful view into the hypocrisy of imperialism, it also delves into the morality of men. Darkness becomes a symbol of hatred, fear and symbol of the power of evil. Marlow begins his story believing that these elements exists within the jungle, then with the natives and finally makes the realization that darkness lives within the heart of each man, even himself. People must learn to restrain themselves from giving into the "darkness." Marlow discusses at one point how even suffering from starvation can lead a man to have "black" thoughts and restraining oneself from these thoughts would be almost impossible in such hardship.
First off being the cost and maintenance of the weapons. These weapons cost tons to build and maintain, and can cause a dent in a nation 's treasury department (OccupyTheory). Studies show the United States will spend at least $179 billion over the nine fiscal years of 2010 to 2018 on its nuclear arsenal, averaging $20 billion per year, with costs increasing from $16 billion to $25 billion per year over that time period (NTI). So once a nation can fund the nuclear weapons, they have to look past their moral ethical beliefs to actually use the weapon. Serious questions abrupt when a nation plans on developing these weapons due to the power of the weapon. Due to the increasing development of nuclear weapons in the 1980s the United States and Russia set up a meeting in October 1986 where US President Ronald Reagan and Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev met in Iceland to discuss plans of abolishing nuclear weapons (NWT). On December 8, 1987, the US and Russia sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to eliminate all land-based missiles that reach distances of 300-3400 miles (NWT). Another negative result of nuclear weapons are the damage it can create, environmentally and physically. Not even one month after the United States first tested their nuclear weapons in New Mexico, they put their weapons to use during World War II. A time which will forever be remembered in