Literature often focuses on the idea of truth, either by revealing it or trying to explain it. Two works of literature that fall into this category are: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, which follows the author’s experiences in the Vietnam War, and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, a novella that tells the tale of a man named Marlow’s journey through the Congo during 19th century. Heart of Darkness tackles motifs of prejudice and hypocrisy with the work’s main purpose being to challenge pre-conceived notions about the world and those in it. The Things They Carried focuses on the effect war has on its participants, specifically through a series of vignettes that follow different members of O’Brien’s platoon. The Things They Carried
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Marlow’s journey through the Congo is especially interesting as he finds himself questioning the beliefs he holds to be true: “It was unearthly and the men were…this suspicion of their not being human” (Conrad 36). Marlow is not an idealist born in the wrong time period; he very much believes that Africans are subhuman at best. Yet he constantly struggles with the possibility that he might be wrong. At its core, the novella is about questioning beliefs while using the brutality of European Imperialism as a center for the plot. Marlow becomes somewhat of an anti-hero as he shows a sense of self-awareness about the situation he is in but never follows his ideas to their logical conclusions. He finds the prospect that these “savages” may be as human as him terrifying but never considers that his suspicion may be right. This coupled with the darkness motif points to a cynical answer about the quest for moral truth. Marlow’s journey through the Congo can be seen as a journey to know the truth, whether he intends for it to be that or not, yet at the same time he describes the area as the “Heart of Darkness.” Darkness obscures vision and with that in mind Conrad seems to be pointing towards that it is impossible to know the objective truth, everyone is victims of their time one way or another. Marlow becomes a reminder of how much the norms of any time period obscures “vision.” Marlow never changes his stance, he only questions. But it is much to dark for him, or anyone, to see anything at
Marlow’s journey through the Congo is especially interesting as he finds himself questioning the beliefs he holds to be true: “It was unearthly and the men were…this suspicion of their not being human” (Conrad 36). Marlow is not an idealist born in the wrong time period; he very much believes that Africans are subhuman at best. Yet he constantly struggles with the possibility that he might be wrong. At its core, the novella is about questioning beliefs while using the brutality of European Imperialism as a center for the plot. Marlow becomes somewhat of an anti-hero as he shows a sense of self-awareness about the situation he is in but never follows his ideas to their logical conclusions. He finds the prospect that these “savages” may be as human as him terrifying but never considers that his suspicion may be right. This coupled with the darkness motif points to a cynical answer about the quest for moral truth. Marlow’s journey through the Congo can be seen as a journey to know the truth, whether he intends for it to be that or not, yet at the same time he describes the area as the “Heart of Darkness.” Darkness obscures vision and with that in mind Conrad seems to be pointing towards that it is impossible to know the objective truth, everyone is victims of their time one way or another. Marlow becomes a reminder of how much the norms of any time period obscures “vision.” Marlow never changes his stance, he only questions. But it is much to dark for him, or anyone, to see anything at