Heart Of Darkness Symbolism Essay Research Paper free essay sample

Heart Of Darkness: Symbolism Essay, Research Paper Joseph Conrad # 8217 ; s Heart of Darkness: Symbolism of Light and Dark What are the word pictures of a civilised individual? Is it a individual who conforms to a standard societal casting, which # 8220 ; we # 8221 ; determine, sophisticated? Is it being instruction and remaining within the social stereotypes? In Joseph Conrad # 8217 ; s 1901 literary chef-doeuvre, Heart of Darkness, these constructs of what is considered to be # 8220 ; civilized # 8221 ; in our European-adopted civilization is the chief subject of the narrative. Conrad # 8217 ; s theory that when adult male are taken off from civilisation that the true darkness of a adult male # 8217 ; s bosom is genuinely ascertained and the # 8220 ; barbarian # 8221 ; within takes over. Joseph Conrad uses symbolism to heighten the chief subject of the novel by puting certain symbolic elements in resistance to contrasting elements. In order to accomplish this, he relies to a great extent on metaphors. Repeating throughout Heart of Darkness was the contrast between elements stand foring as being light and elements characterized as being dark. We will write a custom essay sample on Heart Of Darkness Symbolism Essay Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Light carries with it the metaphorical significances of what is good, true, civilized, and humane. The word darkness and the usage of dark elements, typify everything that is evil, vague, and barbarian. Heart of Darkness is embedded with complex layering of interrelated and overlapping symbols. Conrad # 8217 ; s usage of symbolism, metaphors, and sarcasm was necessary in order to convey the narrative # 8217 ; s overall subject. Africa was, to the Europeans, a topographic point of another type of darkness. It was a topographic point of the unknown, danger, disease, and force. Charlie Marlow ( the supporter and cardinal character ) spoke lovingly of the big clean map of Africa when he was a male child. It was empty because adventurers had non recorded the characteristics of that portion of the universe. A few illustrations in where Joseph Conrad uses this stylistic device of the component of dark and visible radiation was in the relation of the narrative of the two captains. Fresceven and Danes were stationed at a station near a native small town. Due to a squabble over two black biddies, Fresceven killed one of the indigens. The indigens in return killed him. The black biddy foreshadowed the unequivocal result of what was to come of Fresceven. The symbolism of the colour of the biddies reveals the unpleasant luck of the work forces and small town. When Charlie Marlow arrives to recover the organic structure of Fresceven, he describes the small town as dark, black, and desolated, negative features depicting the destiny of the small town. He makes his journey to the metropolis where in the office edifice he is encountered by two adult females. The adult females are seated in the anteroom knitting black wool giving Marlow edginess when come ining. The knitwork of the black wool is Marlow # 8217 ; s first indicant of what is to come through his journey. Marlow s journey leads him going on the Congo River to the centre of Africa. Conrad describes the centre of Africa as a black hole. He besides depicts the jungle and the native P eople with words that inspired images of darkness and somberness. The darkness therefore, is non a actual absence of visible radiation ; it is alternatively a device making a feeling of desperation, anguish, and immorality. Reaching a new metropolis, Marlow # 8217 ; s journey through the disease-infested town leads him an epiphany of what is civilized to him. He sees a immature scrawny male child sitting underneath a decomposition tree. His eyes catch Marlow # 8217 ; s as he is drawn into the dark deepnesss of the male child # 8217 ; s. A blazing white piece of twine is tied around the male child # 8217 ; s cervix, giving a strong contrast with his dark tegument. He meets the company comptroller shortly after who is contrasting to everything around him. When Marlow saw him he said, # 8220 ; I saw a high starched neckband, white turnups, a light alpaca jacket, white pants, a clean necktie, and varnished boots. No chapeau. Hair parted, brushed and oiled. # 8221 ; The description of the adult male is compelling, the fact that they are in the center of Africa and the comptroller goes through the problem to maintain his shirt and bloomerss clean and pressed. The manner the comptroller is portrayed show s how he may cognize that if he lets his civilised ways slip that his saneness and his psyche will steal every bit good. He might be terrified of going barbarian like the Africans that he goes all out in maintaining himself and his close milieus civilized. Marlow # 8217 ; s hunt for Kurtz, the adult male Marlow all this clip was in hunt for, is eventually over. Kurtz had succumbed to the darkness within, going a barbarian. Further glances of Kurtz # 8217 ; dark nature when Marlow discovered that on the land of Kurtz # 8217 ; station ; he had set decapitated human caputs onto bets. A mountain of glittering white tusk ivories set in the center of the evidences. The immorality that possessed the land shadows all the countries around Kurtz # 8217 ; thrown of tusk. The symbolism of the white tusk and the darkness enfolding everything around represents the civilised Kurtz, who one time was a sane tusk bargainer, give uping to the darkness and the greed. Towards the terminal of the narrative, Kurtz # 8217 ; decease is the epiphany of symbolism. Marlow enters Kurtz # 8217 ; cabin with a firing taper, a manufacturer of visible radiation, as he is mouth offing about his awaited decease. The visible radiation from the taper falls short of Kurtz # 8217 ; eyes as he cries, # 8220 ; the horror! The horror! # 8221 ; Marlow shortly after blows-out the fire and leaves the cabin with Kurtz to decease in the darkness. The visible radiation from the taper # 8217 ; s fire symbolizes the release of the concluding yarn of saneness Kurtz was keeping on to. Kurtz had become a barbaric ; he had become a barbarian. Joseph Conrad # 8217 ; s fresh Heart of Darkness takes on a physical journey through the elation and the darkness. Marlow is on his pursuit for the inner truth where he must happen the visible radiation and the dark within himself. He must happen world, his # 8220 ; self # 8221 ; , to be free to understand the complexness of life that surrounds him. Conrad # 8217 ; s usage of symbolism, metaphors, and sarcasm was important in the portraying the overall premiss of Heart of Darkness.