How Conrad's Heart of Darkness Relates to Traveling in Today's Generation

Experiencing different cultures, eating different foods, and exploring the streets of a completely different society are all key aspects of traveling. Immersing oneself within a different culture than one's own is something that must be experienced in life. Moreover, All traveling can truly relate to the trip into darkness that Marlow undergoes in Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Although the ways in which we travel today are very different than the way Marlow traveled up the Congo in Heart of Darkness, we still immerse ourselves within the cultures of others, which affects us in ways that may be similar to the way Marlow was affected by the society surrounding the Congo River. When traveling either far or near, we tend to take a step back and observe the society and culture. Yes, we do eat their food, walk their streets, and a lot of us want to act like the locals while we travel, but we still take a step back and observe the ways the native people without actually interfering. Also, like Marlow, we become affected by our surroundings and temporarily tend to adapt some of the native people's views and ideals. We do this because we want to look like we belong, although such adaption to a society is very unconscious. For example, most of my family lives in New York. Whenever I visit New York to see my relatives, I unconsciously adapt a slight New York accent. I am never aware of myself in the moment that I say "yeah","coffee", or "dog" like a New Yorker, but it is after I say such things when I realize I said it differently. Thus, when traveling, we tend to adapt the ways of the native people as well as take an observational stance within the society we are visiting, therefore we are affected by traveling very similarily to the way Marlow was affected by the Congo River in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.