The Darkness Within In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

The Darkness Within Many children are afraid of the dark and what lies in it, so they call out to their fearless parents for protection. Adults are supposed to shed light in the dark, and civilization insists that they suppress the darkness in themselves and their children. However, in Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness one’s beliefs on civilization is questioned and darkness is brought to a new light. Darkness is a prominent symbol throughout the text and it has significant meaning to the title. The meaning of darkness changes throughout the text from a physical meaning to a psychological one. A dark, unexplored wilderness sounds like the best place to have an adventure; however, in the novella the forest is written with so many personifications that it becomes a terrifying third character to the story. The wilderness is given characteristics of darkness and represents uncivilized land. As Marlow is travelling down the Thames River he says that “And this also…has been one of the dark places of the earth” (Conrad 5). Marlow is referring to before there were any humans in England and how primeval the land had been. The statement that Marlow makes is the first time darkness is mentioned, and his …show more content…
As one begins to read the story it becomes clear the title stands for the journey into the heart of darkness. Marlow travels deeper and deeper into the heart of the wilderness, and he discovers things about nature, humans, and himself that he would have never found in civilized Europe. At the beginning of the story the unnamed narrator is excited by the travel, but after Marlow tells his story the narrator realizes that he is also traveling “…into the heart of an immense darkness” (Conrad 141). The darkness in the title represents the rough journey that is too come, and the primitive landscape and wild people that Marlow will encounter at the heart of the