journeyhod Journey Motif in Heart of Darkness and Jasmine

1048 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Heart of darkness Joseph conrad setting

Journey Motif in Heart of Darkness and Jasmine

In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine, the physical journey represents the setting for the psychological journey that both main characters undergo. Each stage of the journey is correlated to an emotional insight, and the implications are great enough to incur a change in the protagonists' lives. Through the discovery of distant lands and foreign ideas, Marlow and Jasmine are prompted to look internally to find the answers to their questions. Their struggles are personal, and they are driven by different guiding forces, yet both experience a greater sense of self-awareness by the end of their journey.

Initially, Marlow and Jasmine embark on physical journeys involving movement over water. Marlow's fascination with the Congo River drives him to set out in search of the unknown, to fulfill his longing to explore the "blank spaces" of the map (Conrad 5). Marlow first crosses the English Channel to Brussels, a city that elicits an image of a "whited sepulcher" (7), which serves as an omen of the events that are about to unfold. The city, and the operation of the trading company, appear on the surface to be benevolent, but hidden at the very core are darkness and corruption. Jasmine's journey begins under quite different circumstances. She also crosses the ocean in search of a new and mysterious land, but for a very unique reason. Leaving Jyoti behind, Jasmine travels a long and indirect route to Florida where she intends to throw herself onto a funeral pyre in the custom of a traditional Indian widow.

The further from home Marlow and Jasmine travel, the more alienated they feel from the world and the people around them. Viewing the coas...

... middle of paper ...

...e face in life. Both novels address influences that guide us through our spiritual lives, and how they potentially affect our decisions and choices. Marlow does not reach this understanding until he leaves a place of modernity and travels "back to the earliest beginnings of the world" (30), returning to Europe at the end of his journey a changed man. Conversely, Jasmine is able to progress emotionally and achieve personal fulfillment once she leaves the antiquated society of India for the United States. The ambiguity of Heart of Darkness and Jasmine accurately reflects the fluid and unpredictable nature of our own existence, and the adversity we must surmount in our journey through life.

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. 1902. New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1990.

Mukherjee, Bharati. Jasmine. 1989. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of the Gospel of John

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    Malick, David. "An Introduction to the Gospel of John." (1996): n. pag. Online. Internet. 5 July 2000. Available http://www.bible.org/docs/nt/books/joh/joh-intr.htm

    Read More

  • Heart of Darkness

    437 Words  | 1 Pages

    Conrad's racism is portrayed in the actions and perceptions of Marlow along his trip up the Congo. Marlow's views of the area during the beginning of the trip are given as inhumane, and uncivilized. The Heart of Darkness for Marlow is the ignorance and brutality that he witnesses from natives as well as Whites that are met upon his trip.

    Read More

  • lighthod Voyage into the Darkness in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    The voyage into the "Heart of Darkness" is told to us through the eyes of Charlie Marlow. As Marlow is aboard the "Nellie" he tells his story of expedition and growth. The men on the boat sit still yet bored. Marlow is like an old man sharing a story of his childhood, that for himself may be of great significance, and lead to a lesson, but the children yearn to hear a story of magic, castles and sword fights. Joseph Conrad uses Marlow's character to get across and express his own opinion.

    Read More

  • Blood Transfusion Essay

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    Not everyone however can give blood, whether they be ineligible or have a strong fear of needles and blood. I don’t have either of those problems and so feel that I almost must donate. I am trying to apply this mentality to a lot of my service. I try to arrive at the start of each service being grateful that I am physically able, and that I do not have any mental or emotional anxieties that would stop me from community service. I also try to always be enthusiastic about the work I am doing and to try to learn more about the project and what I can continue to do to help

    Read More

  • The Heart Of Darkness

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is literally about Marlow’s journey into the Belgian Congo, but symbolically about the discovery of his heart and soul during his journey, only to find that it is consumed by darkness. He realizes that the man he admired and respected most, is really demonic and that he may be just like him. He is able to come to this realization however, before it takes the best of him.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Civilization In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Psychological, Philosophical and Religious Elements of Heart of Darkness

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heart of Darkness is a kind of little world unto itself.  The reader of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness should take the time to consider this work from a psychological point of view. There are, after all, an awful lot of heads and skulls in the book, and Conrad goes out of his way to suggest that in some sense Marlow's journey is like a dream or a return to our primitive past--an exploration of the dark recesses of the human mind.

    Read More

  • Gender Role In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

    1437 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...Darkness’” and Wallace Watson’s “Andrew Michael Roberts. Conrad and Masculinity” are all very persuasive essays that suggest there is in fact a gender theme all throughout Heart of Darkness. Smith, Watson, and Bergenholtz give both Marlow and Conrad a different voice that some readers may miss.

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness Reality Quotes

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    “It was as unreal as everything else- as the philanthropic pretence of the whole concern…” (29) This quote shows the basis that is represented in this novel, Conrad’s idea of reality can be related with a person’s self exploration. This quote is found in part one of the novel where Marlow sees the plotting atmosphere of the station since all the good things that Marlow have heard about the company were fake. Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, is a story that follows the adventure of an explorer named Marlow. His journey up the Congo River allows Marlow to meet new people and discover the reality of Africa and the corruptness within. Although some achieves the perception of what is reality, some characters’ perception of reality changes by factors that has affected them throughout their journey of

    Read More

  • Pychoanalysis And Feminism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    When read at face value, Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, is a portrayal of white, imperial, oppression of the African natives of the Congo. However, when we view the writing through the lenses of psychoanalysis and feminism, a story focused on one character, Marlow, emerges. Each theory presents a new way of interpreting and understanding the character development and imagery within the story. Psychoanalysis provides a look into the mind and dreamlike setting of Marlow. Feminism examines the binary gender roles of the characters, Marlow and Kurtz. Both theories examine how these two characters are in some way the same person.

    Read More

  • Metamorphosis and Heart of Darkness

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Conrad’s shifting setting introduces new environments and attitudes for Marlow to cope with. Marlow begins the novel in “a narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, [with] high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting right and left, [and] immense double doors standing ponderously ajar” (Conrad 45). Nearly all of the surroundings have intimidating connotations, which surprisingly fight Marlow into a comfortably safe and secure standing. Marlow notices the map in the office, and examines it to see just where his travels will take him. After observing the map, he points out that he was not going to the points of Africa that seem welcoming but he “was going into the yellow. Dead in the centre. And the river was there – fascinating – deadly – like a snake” (45). He already realizes he will have trouble transitioning into the new environment, being surrounded by what seems like death. Because Marlow grows accustomed to the urbanized streets of Brussels, the difficulty of the transition to the Congo develops exponentially. Before Marlow knows it, he travels to a land with “trees, tress, millions of trees, massive, immense, running up high” and they “made [him] feel very small, very lost” (75). Marlow, already apprehensive of the change to the Congo, shows his loss of confidence in his new environment.

    Read More

  • How To Play Basketball Essay

    2075 Words  | 5 Pages

    I had always heard playing basketball at a high school level was always the first step in order to become a professional. Though I only played once throughout high school I was still interested in how one could become a professional at basketball. For my senior project I chose to research about it and found out many interesting things I didn’t know about it. My knowledge for basketball grew even more.

    Read More

  • Discrimental Effects Of Imperialism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine what it must be like to live in a world of darkness. Marlow, the main character in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness experiences this first hand. As he travels through Africa, Marlow lives in a world of darkness as he witnesses the effects of imperialism, drastically altering his view of human kind. In the beginning, Marlow desires to travel to Africa because it is unclaimed land, only to discover imperialism now casts darkness upon the land. As the story progresses, Marlow witnesses the dark treatment of the natives as a result of imperialism. Upon Kurtz’s death, both Kurtz and Marlow realize the detrimental effects of imperialism, casting a dark shadow on humanity. At the end of the novella, Marlow lies to Kurtz’s fiancé because the

    Read More

  • The Significance Of Nature In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the eyes of the universe, Earth is but a microscopic dot of blue mass. The peculiarity of the lived experience is that on this dot, there can exist societal differences as enormous as the universe itself. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow departs the Western World and dives into the heart of Africa, as if traveling from one end of the universe to the other. Marlow’s calling to Africa is driven by an innate hunger for adventure. By the end of the novel, however, Marlow’s frivolous curiosity is overwhelmed by disillusionment with the alternative civilization he discovers. In this coming of age tale, Marlow’s growth is defined by a loss of narrow minded innocence that develops into a conflicted understanding of the universe.

    Read More

  • Darkness as Symbolism in Heart of Darkness

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about journeyhod Journey Motif in Heart of Darkness and Jasmine

Open Document