The Narrator In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness an important message can be inferred from the narrator: we all need to be on guard against our own id, and against those who have already given into id. Conrad shows this through light and dark images. The novella starts on a boat with a few men on it, huddled around a man named Marlow in a wise-like position, waiting to tell a story to the group. The narrator is one of the men on the boat, who is listening to the story. The narrator realizes that Marlow has already given into id and lost his soul from his story, which is why Conrad chose to have the narrator narrate the book. This book takes place sometime in the late 1800’s on the Thames River outside of London, where Marlow is telling the story. The narrator is a British nationalist, and is very trusty and proud. However, after Marlow tells his story, the narrator finds he isn't very proud of his country. Conrad chose to have the story told through the narrator to give a message about mankind through Marlow; we need to protect ourselves from giving into id, and to protect ourselves from those who have already …show more content…
In other words, he gives into his id constantly throughout the story, resulting in the loss of his soul. His one moral for himself not to break is lying. At the end of the book, Marlow breaks his own moral. “I pulled myself together and spoke slowly. 'The last word he pronounced was—your name.' I heard a light sigh and then my heart stood still, stopped dead short by an exulting and terrible cry, by the cry of inconceivable triumph and of unspeakable pain” (116, 117). This dark image is of Marlow’s soul screaming, and breaking out of his chest. From this point to the time he told this story, Marlow is no longer a person of rational though, which makes him unreliable, which is why Conrad chose for him not to be the narrator. Marlow doesn't know his own story. By the end, Marlow had lost his