# data[].attributes.body
focus on human psyche

repression

physical and psychological journey to the centre in one’s evil mind

framed narrative

Freud’s psychological theory

Sigmund freud - discovering the unconscious

Marlow’s pursuit for identity correlates with the theory

Marlow and Kurtz two diverse aspects go the self - id and ego

ID - responds to instinct

EGO - deals with reality, works out id’s demands in realistic ways

SUPEREGO - values and morals learned

Title

enigma and medium to explore the human mind and behaviour

motif for being guided to a place of self-actualisation

journey to the heart of darkness is a journey to the core of human consciousness

realisation of the pervasiveness of unconscious desires

African Jungle a metaphor for the unconscious mind

Marlow

two journeys - the physical and psychological travel to self-discovery

point of view - seems he is explaining his experiences in good faith

‘Marlow’s rhetoric of self-deception’

negation and denial - defence mechanism ‘none, no, none’

African wilderness - his conscious fear

Kurtz’s mistress - his sexual desire

After Kurtz’s death, Marlow becomes a person he never knew he would, a liar

experiences relate to Freud’s idea of a dream

unable to truthfully express experiences to readers:

“…No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life sensation of any given epoch of one's existence,--that which makes its truth, its meaning... its subtle and penetrating essence. We live as we dream –alone.”

Kurtz

represent the id (desire to satisfy instincts) of Marlow’s unconscious desire

greed and power being the id’s demands

exposing the irrational politics dependent on the neurosis of the leader (Kurtz) or neuroses of the people (Europeans)

brilliant idea of how to bring Africans to civilisation and collect ivory but goes mad and eventually die, without regulation of the ego and superego (came from European society moral standards, education and values)

Marlow not just describing Kurtz, but describing a part of himself, a part of Conrad and a part of each of us

“A voice. He was very little more than a voice. And I heard— him—it—this voice—other voices—all of them were so little more than voices—and the memory of that time itself lingers around me, impalpable, like a dying vibration of one immense jabber, silly, atrocious, sordid, savage, or simply mean, without any kind of sense. Voices, voices….” (80)

# data[].attributes.headline
Symbols and MotifsSymbols:1.     Kurtza.     Kurtz represents the dark side of mankind, and what it transforms you into if it encases you completely. His constant and prolonged exposures to the untamed regions of the Congo cause him to lose grip with civilization, and the morals associated with it. His complete decline is finalized through his last words, “the horror, the horror!”2.     Kurtz’s Paintinga.     The painting Marlow encounters early in his journey depicts a blindfolded woman cast in a black background, who holds a torch casting a gloomy light on her face. The painting brings forth a feeling of lady-justice, despite the obvious lack of her presence in Africa. The woman represents the Europeans who have come forth to bring “the light” of the torch to the misguided African natives, despite the fact that they are blind to the evil caused by this venture.3.     The Accountanta.     The accountant represents the façade of the company; the image they wish to project while undergoing their colonization of Africa. He is an ironic stark contrast to his surroundings, as he appears elegant and sophisticated in his pure white garments, regardless of the fact he is surrounded by death and destruction.4.     The Knitting Womena.     These two women are a metaphorical and physical embodiment of the Moirae (The Three Fate of the underworld), who weave and measure the thread of life. Their purpose in front of the doctor’s office is to foreshadow Marlow’s less than optimistic journey into Africa.5.     Fliesa.     Throughout Heart of Darkness, flies symbolize “The Lord of the Flies;” a title synonymous with death. They appear following the death of the slave in Chapter 1, and more notably after the death of Kurtz in Chapter 3.The flies also suggest inferno and hell imagery.6.     Heads on Sticksa.     These barbaric displays emphasize Kurtz’s excessive brutality, and as they are direct in their message, they are a contrast to the Pilgrims who shroud their motives through facades of hypocrisy and lies.Motifs:1.     Darknessa.     Darkness is evident throughout the entire novel, and is important enough to even garner a part in the title. It is difficult to discern the exact meaning of darkness as it shrouds everything in the novel, including those things generally considered bright. The metaphorical nature of the darkness evolves into a representation of the darkness hidden in the heart of every human, especially men.2.     Ivorya.     Ivory accentuates the greed and destruction apparent in the pursuit of financial expansion. The object ivory becomes almost synonymous with savagery, as those who pursue it the most become corrupt by its influence. The most prominent example is Kurtz, who possesses the most ivory, and is the most brutal.3.     Foga.     The fog that engulfs Marlow’s steamer is both physically and literally white; though in this case rather than white being the opposite of the darkness evident throughout the novel, it merely compounds it, and develops uncertainty in those aboard. It thus emphasizes the motif of blindness.4.     Rivetsa.     The rivets symbolize a lack of progress on the company’s part. Marlow has a difficult time acquiring them from the company in order to repair his steamer and advance in his journey to find Kurtz. The company seems lack to provide them despite the fact that Marlow requires them in order to pursue the company’s interests. The rivets, along with the other machinery, symbolize deterioration and lack of efficiency.

# data[].attributes.subject
Symbols and MotifsSymbols:1.     Kurtza.     Kurtz represents the dark side of mankind, and what it transforms you into if it encases you completely. His constant and prolonged exposures to the untamed regions of the Congo cause him to lose grip with civilization, and the morals associated with it. His complete decline is finalized through his last words, “the horror, the horror!”2.     Kurtz’s Paintinga.     The painting Marlow encounters early in his journey depicts a blindfolded woman cast in a black background, who holds a torch casting a gloomy light on her face. The painting brings forth a feeling of lady-justice, despite the obvious lack of her presence in Africa. The woman represents the Europeans who have come forth to bring “the light” of the torch to the misguided African natives, despite the fact that they are blind to the evil caused by this venture.3.     The Accountanta.     The accountant represents the façade of the company; the image they wish to project while undergoing their colonization of Africa. He is an ironic stark contrast to his surroundings, as he appears elegant and sophisticated in his pure white garments, regardless of the fact he is surrounded by death and destruction.4.     The Knitting Womena.     These two women are a metaphorical and physical embodiment of the Moirae (The Three Fate of the underworld), who weave and measure the thread of life. Their purpose in front of the doctor’s office is to foreshadow Marlow’s less than optimistic journey into Africa.5.     Fliesa.     Throughout Heart of Darkness, flies symbolize “The Lord of the Flies;” a title synonymous with death. They appear following the death of the slave in Chapter 1, and more notably after the death of Kurtz in Chapter 3.The flies also suggest inferno and hell imagery.6.     Heads on Sticksa.     These barbaric displays emphasize Kurtz’s excessive brutality, and as they are direct in their message, they are a contrast to the Pilgrims who shroud their motives through facades of hypocrisy and lies.Motifs:1.     Darknessa.     Darkness is evident throughout the entire novel, and is important enough to even garner a part in the title. It is difficult to discern the exact meaning of darkness as it shrouds everything in the novel, including those things generally considered bright. The metaphorical nature of the darkness evolves into a representation of the darkness hidden in the heart of every human, especially men.2.     Ivorya.     Ivory accentuates the greed and destruction apparent in the pursuit of financial expansion. The object ivory becomes almost synonymous with savagery, as those who pursue it the most become corrupt by its influence. The most prominent example is Kurtz, who possesses the most ivory, and is the most brutal.3.     Foga.     The fog that engulfs Marlow’s steamer is both physically and literally white; though in this case rather than white being the opposite of the darkness evident throughout the novel, it merely compounds it, and develops uncertainty in those aboard. It thus emphasizes the motif of blindness.4.     Rivetsa.     The rivets symbolize a lack of progress on the company’s part. Marlow has a difficult time acquiring them from the company in order to repair his steamer and advance in his journey to find Kurtz. The company seems lack to provide them despite the fact that Marlow requires them in order to pursue the company’s interests. The rivets, along with the other machinery, symbolize deterioration and lack of efficiency.

# data[].attributes.body
Man vs Nature

·      Sharp distinction between nature and civilisation

·       "A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting right and left, immense double doors standing ponderously ajar. I slipped through one of these cracks, went up a swept and ungarnished staircase, as arid as a desert, and opened the first door I came to."

·      This is a rather unflattering view of civilization: the Company's Brussels office is narrow, filthy, and tense

·       "This one [coast] was almost featureless, as if still in the making, with an aspect of monotonous grimness. The edge of a colossal jungle, so dark-green as to be almost black, fringed with white surf, ran straight, like a ruled line, far, far away along a blue sea whose glitter was blurred by a creeping mist. The sun was fierce, the land seemed to glisten and drip with steam. Here and there greyish-whitish specks showed up clustered inside the white surf, with a flag flying above them perhaps. Settlements some centuries old, and still no bigger than pinheads on the untouched expanse of their background.” Chapter 1, p14

·      The wilderness is represented as an ominous and brooding force, its dark, dangerous, savage.

Fate vs Free Will

·      Marlow’s journey towards the interior and towards Kurtz seems almost inevitable, as if he is drawn closer to the heart of darkness by his own morbid curiosity and by his childhood drive to explore

·      The interplay between fate and free will informs the actions of the plot and calls into question whether Marlow could have avoided his descent into madness, his corruption, and his subsequent revelations about human nature.

·      Marlow feels inexplicably drawn to Africa

·       “In the outer room the two women knitted black wool feverishly. People were arriving, and the younger one was walking back and forth introducing them. The old one sat on her chair. Her flat cloth slippers were propped up on a foot-warmer, and a cat reposed on her lap. She wore a starched white affair on her head, had a wart on one cheek, and silver-rimmed spectacles hung on the tip of her nose. She glanced at me above the glasses. The swift and indifferent placidity of that look troubled me. Two youths with foolish and cheery countenances were being piloted over, and she threw at them the same quick glance of unconcerned wisdom. She seemed to know all about them and about me, too. An eerie feeling came over me. She seemed uncanny and fateful. Often far away there I thought of these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall, one introducing, introducing continuously to the unknown, the other scrutinizing the cheery and foolish faces with unconcerned old eyes. Ave! Old knitter of black wool. Morituri te salutant. Not many of those she looked at ever saw her again- not half, by a long way.” Chapter 1, p11.

·      These women in the above quote appear to represent the Moirai, or The Fates. In Greek Mythology they were the Goddesses of fate and destiny. Two of the three Fates spin the life-thread of each human being; the third Fate cuts the thread when the time comes for the man to die. Upon their appearance Marlow begins to feel his fate is ill-starred.

·       "I couldn't have felt more of lonely desolation somehow, had I been robbed of a belief or had missed my destiny in life

·      Marlow has felt all this time that it was his destiny to meet Kurtz – now he feels cheated out of it.

·       The harlequin “So many accidents happen to a man going about alone, you know. Canoes get upset sometimes – and sometimes you've got to clear out so quick when the people get angry.”’ Chapter 2

·      The harlequin comments on the fickle nature of Fate in the interior. It gives men "many accidents," as if trying to kill those who dare venture into the interior.

·       "The knitting old woman with the cat obtruded herself upon my memory as a most improper person to be sitting at the other end of such an affair. Chapter 3, p84

·      As Marlow chases Kurtz through the woods, the image of the old knitting woman (representing Fate) intrudes on his thoughts. Though it is only subconsciously, Marlow knows he is destined to find Kurtz in the wilderness and bring him back; he is destined to allow the greater evil to win.

# data[].attributes.body
Examples of Colonialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

overview/context

Colonialism in the novel involves establishing permanent outposts and setting up rules and laws, but the main reason for it is to make money.

Main goal as colonists is to economically exploit Congo for profit

The colonists take the ivory and make money off the trade, but give back little or nothing to the natives, and have little regard for the land that might be damaged in the process (e.g blowing up the mines)

Ivory is one of the primary driving forces behind Europes exploitation of Congo.

“The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.” (pg 43)

The importance placed on Ivory lies on its ability to achieve economic freedom and social advancement, rather than the physicality of the tusks themselves.

Marlow’s picture of colonialism is first presented in the beginning of the book:

‘I was thinking of old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago’. ‘ … may it at last as long as the old earth keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday’

- Colonialism is represented as something that transcends time and boundaries as he asserts the repetition and continuation of human nature in its’ conquest to conquer and dominate.

- Marlow’s representation of the corruption of European colonisation:

They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect. They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it's the idea only. An idea at the back of it; not a sentimental pretence but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea.

- Marlow’s important realisation of the brutality and corruption of the colonising nations displays his transition from the superficial belief of ‘good intentions’ of the colonisers to the reality that is represented through the economic exploitation achieved through murder, robbery and brutality witnessed by Marlow himself. He has seen that the goal is centred on profit and efficiency throughout his journey rather than the excuses and ‘idea’ the colonisers base their actions on.

“He began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, 'must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings - we approach them with the might of a deity,' and so on, and so on. 'By the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded,' etc., etc. From that point he soared and took me with him. The peroration was magnificent, though difficult to remember, you know. It gave me the notion of an exotic Immensity ruled by an august Benevolence. It made me tingle with enthusiasm”

Kurtz’ notion of colonialism is establishing a god-like dominating relationship between the natives and white men, in its’ simplicity. Exerting ‘a power for good’ again deals with the reality of masking the brutality of colonialism with superficial yet devoted ideas of doing ‘good,’ and it is suggested that Kurtz truly did believe in his will to do so by establishing a slave/master domination over the natives in conquest for their enlightenment.

I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you. But as I stood on this hillside, I foresaw that in the blinding sunshine of that land I would become acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly”

Marlow’s representation of the devil is one of the central images with which Marlow characterises the behavior of the colonists. This suggests the problems Marlow has with imperialism - He distinguishes this devil from violence, greed, and desire, suggesting that the fundamental evil of imperialism is not that it perpetrates violence against native peoples, nor that it is motivated by greed. The flabby, weak-eyed devil seems to be distinguished above all by being shortsighted and foolish, unaware of what it is doing and ineffective.