In Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness, the narrator introduces the reader to Marlow, a seaman in the midst of imperialism. In an interesting twist, the novella's outside frame narration changes to Marlow's point of view. Marlow recounts his journey to the outer and central sections of Africa, where he encounters the horrors of colonization and the European established hierarchy. Thus, Marlow focuses on developing his story, but more so on enlightening his audience on the truth of their evil behavior with the usage of light and dark. As a result, Joseph Conrad uses the motif of light and dark and a complicated and unreliable narration structure to enlighten his audience about their own "dark" morals.
Conrad's motifs made Heart of Darkness …show more content…
For instance, the outside frame narrator has the last word in Conrad's novel, saying, "tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky—seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness" (96). Since the outside frame narrator reflects on Marlow's narration technique, it begins to narrate Africa’s darkness the way Marlow narrates it, implying that Marlow's narrating enlightened him. However, at the beginning of the book, the outside narrator, along with Marlow, had little awareness about the jungle’s darkness. As their awareness increased, the dual narrators conclude that the jungle’s darkness is a bigger concept than at first glance, they impose the idea to the audience with …show more content…
The Russian, a foolish and strange character in the book, is another storytelling technique. Marlow describes him as, "A beardless, boyish face, very fair, no features to speak of, nose peeling, little blue eyes, smiles and frowns chasing each other over that open countenance like sunshine and shadow on a wind-swept plain"(65). Marlow's description of the Russian harlequin, using words like ‘boyish', ‘little blue eyes', and ‘sunshine' depicts the Russian’s supposed innocence. However, Marlow reveals the Russian’s innocent, but ignorant nature as he said, “‘I tell you,' he cried, ‘this man has enlarged my mind.' He opened his arms wide, staring at me with his little blue eyes that were perfectly round'"(67). The Russian refers to Kurtz as the person who ‘enlarged' his imperialism ideology. In fact, Russia is not involved with imperialism during the novel’s time period. The difference in ideologies between Russia and Europe is important because it shows the Russian's perspective on this new ideology. Although the Russian is like an innocent boy, he, like the other Europeans in the novel, blindly follow Kurtz's conviction to colonize, not necessarily making them evil, but making them passive followers. The readers then see Conrad using the Russian to explain his real thoughts on being too radical: “‘I went a little farther,’ he
Conrad's motifs made Heart of Darkness …show more content…
For instance, the outside frame narrator has the last word in Conrad's novel, saying, "tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky—seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness" (96). Since the outside frame narrator reflects on Marlow's narration technique, it begins to narrate Africa’s darkness the way Marlow narrates it, implying that Marlow's narrating enlightened him. However, at the beginning of the book, the outside narrator, along with Marlow, had little awareness about the jungle’s darkness. As their awareness increased, the dual narrators conclude that the jungle’s darkness is a bigger concept than at first glance, they impose the idea to the audience with …show more content…
The Russian, a foolish and strange character in the book, is another storytelling technique. Marlow describes him as, "A beardless, boyish face, very fair, no features to speak of, nose peeling, little blue eyes, smiles and frowns chasing each other over that open countenance like sunshine and shadow on a wind-swept plain"(65). Marlow's description of the Russian harlequin, using words like ‘boyish', ‘little blue eyes', and ‘sunshine' depicts the Russian’s supposed innocence. However, Marlow reveals the Russian’s innocent, but ignorant nature as he said, “‘I tell you,' he cried, ‘this man has enlarged my mind.' He opened his arms wide, staring at me with his little blue eyes that were perfectly round'"(67). The Russian refers to Kurtz as the person who ‘enlarged' his imperialism ideology. In fact, Russia is not involved with imperialism during the novel’s time period. The difference in ideologies between Russia and Europe is important because it shows the Russian's perspective on this new ideology. Although the Russian is like an innocent boy, he, like the other Europeans in the novel, blindly follow Kurtz's conviction to colonize, not necessarily making them evil, but making them passive followers. The readers then see Conrad using the Russian to explain his real thoughts on being too radical: “‘I went a little farther,’ he