intro

Conrad’s Heart of Darkness exhibits Marlow’s journey to the center of the immoral darkness to rescue the notorious Kurtz from his death. However, the deeper Marlow travels into the heart of Africa, the more he becomes fascinated by Kurtz, shedding light to Kurtz as a symbol of the jungle and as a god-like figure to his ‘disciples’.  Moreover, as Marlow travels thicker into the chaotic jungle, the more he hears about Kurtz as a person, as a superior, and as a controller, thus revealing what seems like the harsh, intense reality. However, in actuality, there is an ”absurd gap between what we profess to be and what we are” (Karl, 125), and such applies perfectly to the appearance of Kurtz versus the reality of Kurtz. As Marlow arouses about his fascination of Kurtz, he never discovers who Kurtz really is, thus solely understanding what he ‘seems’ or even claims to be. Therefore, the way Kurtz is introduced to Marlow not only creates obsession and compulsion by Marlow and his other followers, but also an invisible yet true gap between who Kurtz really is and who Kurtz wants to be, constantly building up a large, authoritative ‘mask’ who powerfully controls the dark area of the Congo; however, revealed by his ultimate death, Kurtz is truly a weak, inadequate, and corrupted human being. 

Question 1 from Worksheet: Interpret one symbol first at the surface, literal level and then as if it were a symbol in a dream vocabulary with a deeper, secondary meaning.

Symbol: Kurtz

On the surface, Kurtz is a person described as powerful, controlling, and even god-like by the Russian traveler. His personality seems to be one consiting of strength and fearlessness. His "on the surface" persona is what Marlow sees and thinks is true throughout the whole novela, until all of the 'literal' descriptions of Kurtz reveal what he actually symbolizes, being a weak, dying man who does not live up to his name. Moreover, Kurtz is nothing special or out of the ordinary once Marlow encounters him. Restricted to the jungle and the savage lifestyle, Kurtz in essense had been controlled by his surroundings and was unconsciously pushed into become this man of false power and wisdom. The jungle had no ability to fight back or stand up to Kurtz, allowing him to truly reign over the jungle. In addition, Kurtz probably died because of his horrible wrong-doings exhibited by the genocides that occured all for the purpose of getting ahold of ivory (being a pretty useless item to every day life), which ultimately justifies that Kurtz is the literal and metaphorical heart of darkness. The dark acts that he committed in the center of the darkest, most savage place on earth at the time period exhibits the fact that Kurtz has a heart of darkness, however he left his 'darkness' behind when he eventually died after leaving the center of Africa. Therefore, what every savage, traveller and pilgram seemed to have 'dreamed' about Kurtz was completely false, as his faux strength turned out to be his downfall leading to his ultimate death.

Heart of Darkness Essay Ideas

Conrad's utilization of symbols throughout "Heart of Darkness" applies a cinematic feel to the story itself. The overpowering descriptions of the slightest and smallest details prove the importance of each element of Marlow's journey. The constant journey down the river sets the scene for many other elements throughout Marlow's adventure. The river itself symbolizes Marlow getting closer and closer to the true Heart of Darkness, as well as the flow towards the end of Kurtz's life. Moreover, Kurtz as a person becomes a major symbol throughout Marlow's travels. As Marlow hears the many different opinions and views towards Kurtz through his journey, he recognizes that many people idolize the "hollow man". Although Kurtz has wrongly earned his vast collection of ivory, the people along the Congo (including Marlow himself) seemingly worship Kurtz completely until his downfall.

The symbols I hope to explore in my essay include the River Congo and the image of Kurtz. 

Heart of Darkness - the psychological journey

As the reader travels with Marlow through the Heart of Darkness up the Congo river, the reader is able to actually experience the adventure that Marlow is experiencing. Marlow's descriptions become choppier throughout his journey, referring to his psychological state of mind which is constantly changing. As he travels up the river and is exposed to different people and different settings, Marlow's language and feelings become more unconscious and less meaningful in a way, as he travels into the darkness that he is never exposed to while in London. The trip Marlow takes transforms him and exposes him to a great deal of mystery and wonder, which ultimately causes Marlow to be unconsciously anxious to keep going and going deeper into the heart of darkness. Therefore, his journey is most definitely a physical journey, but it is most importantly a psychological journey into the unconscious.

#6, page 430 - Heart of Darkness

The painting of "a woman draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch" may be a symbol of mystery that Kurtz has decided to put in this particular place. Maybe Kurtz is warning the people who pass this painting that ahead there is only darkness. At this point, Marlow is in a very confused but anxious state of mind, and has been stunned by the things he has seen throughout his travels. Therefore, Marlow may agree with the message, being that ahead there is only darkness and fear, but because of his curiousity about Kurtz, he will continue his voyage ahead.

#2, 429

Conrad's connections between London and the ancient Roman times illustrates the expansion of the Romans into mysterious and possibly dangerous places that had been so different than their motherland. The connection to ancient Rome illustrates a foreshadow effect to what we will probably see in the latter portions of Heart of Darkness, where the characters will explore the Congo, a place so drastically different physically and mentally from London. Therefore, Conrad's mentioning of ancient Rome is a simple foreshadowing device which allows the reader to understand the extreme differences between London and the Congo, and how the characters will perceive the different places they will explore.