In the deep of the African Congo lies the heart of darkness. Joseph Conrad, an acclaimed English writer, wrote one of his greatest works, “Heart of Darkness”, on an adventure into that place of darkness. Conrad’s principal theme of evil, personified by the heart of darkness, pervades every crevice of his dark tale of psychological horror. Throughout the return journey especially, Conrad exploits multiple literary techniques to create and establish the heart of darkness that he believes resides in the deep of every man’s heart.
In “Heart of Darkness” the return journey plays the role of falling action in Conrad’s plot structure and projects the intended reality of the reader sharing the same hopelessness. Kurtz has been recovered from the deep, …show more content…
Marlow discovers and sheds light on the heart of darkness when he becomes one of the party of “unsound method” (Conrad 2004). After the manager finds fault in his sympathies with Kurtz, Marlow claims, “My hour of favor was over…I was unsound. Ah, but it was something to have at least a choice of nightmares” (Conrad 1999). Here Conrad exposes for the first time the true nature of the heart of darkness. Before now, readers can assume that the heart of darkness embodies evil and they retain a choice between choosing good and giving into the heart of darkness. Confrontationally, however, Conrad postulates that the heart of darkness is not a choice whether to be evil; it is the choice of evils. Good has no place in the heart of man. Kurtz is responsible for opening Marlow’s eyes to the heart of darkness and is the example by which readers can view the full presence of evil. Kurtz, a former imperialist, had had plans to civilize the natives and make a profit on ivory. His heart of darkness overcame him, however, and he became a savage as well. By the time Marlow and company arrive, Kurtz is terrorizing the natives, haughtily behaving as an evil demigod. He steals and hordes ivory as he lives the life of a king. On his journey home, however, his savagery and subjection to the heart of darkness lies transparent before Marlow. “The horror! The horror!” he cries, as the truth finally arrests his attention and the reader realizes the full terror of evil (Conrad 2005). The fact that Kurtz is never redeemed or even offered redemption hits the reader like a brick as Conrad insists that the heart of darkness invades everyone and insures a hopeless life. C.S. Lewis, a Christian, British author, wrote the famed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a story of redemption and hope. The Lion, the story’s God-figure, steps into a nasty
In “Heart of Darkness” the return journey plays the role of falling action in Conrad’s plot structure and projects the intended reality of the reader sharing the same hopelessness. Kurtz has been recovered from the deep, …show more content…
Marlow discovers and sheds light on the heart of darkness when he becomes one of the party of “unsound method” (Conrad 2004). After the manager finds fault in his sympathies with Kurtz, Marlow claims, “My hour of favor was over…I was unsound. Ah, but it was something to have at least a choice of nightmares” (Conrad 1999). Here Conrad exposes for the first time the true nature of the heart of darkness. Before now, readers can assume that the heart of darkness embodies evil and they retain a choice between choosing good and giving into the heart of darkness. Confrontationally, however, Conrad postulates that the heart of darkness is not a choice whether to be evil; it is the choice of evils. Good has no place in the heart of man. Kurtz is responsible for opening Marlow’s eyes to the heart of darkness and is the example by which readers can view the full presence of evil. Kurtz, a former imperialist, had had plans to civilize the natives and make a profit on ivory. His heart of darkness overcame him, however, and he became a savage as well. By the time Marlow and company arrive, Kurtz is terrorizing the natives, haughtily behaving as an evil demigod. He steals and hordes ivory as he lives the life of a king. On his journey home, however, his savagery and subjection to the heart of darkness lies transparent before Marlow. “The horror! The horror!” he cries, as the truth finally arrests his attention and the reader realizes the full terror of evil (Conrad 2005). The fact that Kurtz is never redeemed or even offered redemption hits the reader like a brick as Conrad insists that the heart of darkness invades everyone and insures a hopeless life. C.S. Lewis, a Christian, British author, wrote the famed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a story of redemption and hope. The Lion, the story’s God-figure, steps into a nasty