Heart of Darkness - Comments

Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” is the story of two men that work for an ivory company in Africa. The protagonists of this story are Marlow and Kurtz. Marlow and Kurtz come to see the horror that hides behind the trimmings of civilization and every day life, the true darkness inside of all mankind. Characterization, symbolism, and tone are important in Joseph Conrad’s construction of the main idea behind the “Heart of Darkness”. The author uses those things and more to build up the main Idea behind the story and make it evident to the reader.

With Marlow and Kurtz serving as the main protagonists, both characters can be seen as the main character. For the story to be effective as a whole, both Marlow and Kurtz must be seen as the main characters. Joseph Conrad develops the moral character of the main characters simultaneously even though Marlow and Kurtz don’t even contact one another until the very end of the story. Conrad cultivates the characteristics of Marlow and Kurtz throughout the story so the reader knows that these men are like most average people in their thinking and their behaviors. The story is seen through Marlow, but the focus all the way through the story is on Kurtz, almost from the moment Marlow reaches the first station in Africa. Kurtz’s character really begins to develop around the time Marlow reaches the central station, and he becomes known as an “exceptional man, of the greatest importance.” The reader can see the ambition that drives the characters

through the words of others. Even after Kurtz’s death, when Marlow tells Kurtz’s fiancй

of his death, he lies to her about him because the truth “would have been to dark- to dark altogether.”

The reader can see that Marlow still thought very highly of Kurtz even though Marlow knew just what lurked beneath the surface. The reader sees Marlow himself as being a respected man “the worst that could be said of him was that he did not represent his class…Marlow was not the typical seaman.” And wherever Marlow went he heard of Kurtz and Marlow was excited to meet him and it almost became his goal. An example of this is when Marlow gets the steamboat close to the camp that Kurtz is on and the natives attack and the manager comments “And by the way, I suppose Mr. Kurtz is dead.” Marlow hears this and “for the moment that was the dominant thought. There was a sense of extreme disappointment; as though I found out I had been striving after something altogether without substance. I couldn’t have been more disgusted if I had traveled all this way for the sole purpose of talking with Kurtz.” The reader can see that what drove Marlow through the black of Africa was not only his adventurous spirit or wealth, but also the chance at meeting the legend he had heard so much about. Through this example the reader can see that Marlow and Kurtz are truly just men like anyone else. However, in the dark of Africa Kurtz’s inner darkness is exposed and Marlow sees Kurtz for who he really is as well as the company and men in general. Through the development of Marlow and Kurtz, the reader can see they are not just two psychopaths but there is an inner darkness that resides within us all.

The reader sees the characters inner darkness through many events in the story.

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The darkness is apparent in the symbolism that Conrad uses in the story to build on the

reader’s specific perception of the men of the company and the Congo of Africa. One of the first examples of symbolism in Conrad’s writing is when Marlow’s aunt notifies him that he has gotten the position as captain of the riverboat for the company so he then travels to the city that “always makes me think of a whited sepulcher.” White has always represented good and something dark or black has always represented something evil, the “whited sepulcher” is something presented as beautiful and pure on the outside but inside it is evil.

Another example of symbolism is when Marlow came across a painting in the central station. He “noticed a small sketch in oils, on a panel, representing a women draped and blindfolded carrying a lighted torch…the effect of the torchlight on the face was sinister.” The reader can see from this example that the painting represents the black slaves being pushed around by the white people and the unfair