Heart of Darkness

In Heart of Darkness, Marlowe’s tale begins and ends in literal darkness and even though Joseph Conrad allows many themes to present themselves, the strongest always prevails, Marlow’s darkness. The setting of the novel is often utterly dark, such as when Marlowe retrieves Kurtz or possibly the black skinned people that live along the Congo River; and, of course, the uncertain, almost eerie tone that suffocates the novel. Darkness can, for example, represent evil, the unknown, mystery, sadness or fear. Also important is the way darkness and light can be used to represent two opposite emotions or concepts. Darkness and light in Conrad’s novel are used to represent the dark skinned vs. white, illusion vs. reality and many others.

Conrad uses darkness in several ways, whether it’s to represent the unknown or to trick the minds of the characters into being more frightened than necessary. Many times in the novel the characters are not afraid of the darkness itself, but what lies within it. One of the most alarming scenes occurs when the men aboard the