Heart Of Darkness

It can be said that every person in this world, for innocent they may appear, always has a dark side, which most of the time is triggered by the environment the individual finds himself in. Even if the person has an outstanding control of himself, this darkness can emerge and cause several damage in the life of the individual. As well, entire societies can become corrupted due to the darkness and alienation of their native environment. In many literary works, writers and poets exemplify the evil that lies within by showing characters that have been, or are being overcome by their inner darkness. Heart of Darkness is a novel written by the modernist writer Joseph Conrad in 1902. This novel was inspired on the journey Conrad took himself to the Congo during the time of European colonies in Africa where he observed the tyranny of Imperialism. In his novel Conrad utilizes the characters Marlow and Kurtz, the plot and imagery to describe how the darkness of the setting can lead to the darkness of corruption, and that way enlighten the world about the horrendous situation in African colonies.

One of the most important elements Conrad utilizes to prove his theme are his characters. Before beginning his journey to Africa, Marlow –the protagonist- is an open minded, philosophical individual who was strictly against lying. He is also an explorer, so he gets hired as a steamboat Capitan by a European trading company and is sent to Africa. At first the though appears marvelous to him, but as he adventures further into his voyage the dark setting of the African jungle begins to play with his mind. Throughout the novel Marlow begins to feel a sudden attraction to the setting: the wild and dark African jungle. As the climax builds up, the obscure setting gets deeper into the protagonist’s emotions and appeals his savagism harder every time. Finally he returns to England completely transformed. He talks to Kurtz’s wife, and when she asks him what his last words were he answers, “the last word he pronounced was your name” (72). Although at the beginning he strictly forbids lying, his long journey into the dark African

jungle corrupted him to the point he breaks his own principles. A second character that is evidently corrupted by the morbid setting of the Congo River is Kurtz. When Marlow arrives to the jungle many employees describe Kurtz as an outstanding man, who wished to bring European civilization to the savages in Africa. However, long before Marlow actually meets Kurtz he hears rumor of unusual behavior and “unsound methods”. The dark wilderness has overtaken and corrupted Kurtz. When they finally meet, Marlow attempts to convince him of returning, but he refuses, for he is in what he calls the “threshold of great things”, Marlow finally realizes that Kurtz has become a savage himself due to the large exposure to the dark setting. Conrad brilliantly creates Marlow and Kurtz as dynamic characters, and that way supports his message that the darkness of the setting may lead to the darkness of corruption.

Another element Conrad manipulates to prove his theme is the plot of the novel, and how it affects its characters. One example of this is Marlow’s drastic change after his return of the dark jungle. During his stay he faced events that, in addition with the setting, corrupted his way of being. When he first arrives to Africa he discovers black men chained and being put to work by the Europeans, Marlow has never seen this

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