Juxtaposition In Heart Of Darkness

Worton states, “… destruction and creation simply coexist, neither being superior to the other” (Worton 375). To put it another way, the very act of destruction will form new life. Such is the hope for the anarchists, to create a destructive force-explosion, in order to create a new form of hierarchy. The terrorists believe that they can reach equality in their society through harmful acts, as it will disrupt the balance of the hierarchy. This situation and contradiction create an interesting plot of Conrad’s book. Juxtaposition as a literary device can be used to set the tone in the story. One of Conrad’s quote was “The keys sank and rose mysteriously” (Conrad 62). This quote is an example of juxtaposition used by Conrad, which was explaining the opposite tone that the music was changing into. The words sank and rose are juxtapositions of one another, showing that one of the keys was higher and the other is lower. By using juxtaposition as a literary device, Conrad used it to create suspense in the scene. Suggesting that something will happen later on in the novel. …show more content…
The following quote is an example of this juxtaposition, “The perfect detonator” (Conrad 64). The author implies that “perfect” represents harmony and serenity, but “detonator” suggests destruction and harm. The anarchists are blinded by their purpose for building the perfect detonator that they aren’t able to see the amount of pain that they will inflict to society. Karl Yundt is a sadist who is in on the plan only to wreak havoc and to see London in misery. He is one of the characters who strives cause harm to others in order