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Theme Of Humor In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

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Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is, undoubtedly, a story devoted to darkness. Through its tone, theme, and setting, Heart of Darkness leaves the reader feeling many different emotions: sadness, anger, depression—realizations about the world we live in can be difficult—but does it leave a reader laughing? One might find it difficult to believe that there is any amount of humor inside Heart of Darkness, but that would depend mostly on the person reading it. Robert D. Ford certainly found some humor in Heart of Darkness and wrote a paper about it titled “The Humor in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.” Robert D. Ford’s paper conveys the idea that there is humor within Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and that idea certainly holds merit. To begin, …show more content…
With that said, Heart of Darkness is a tale about the horrors of imperialism and European colonization, which could lead to Ford’s essay being thrown out as drivel that holds little to no merit; however, if one actually took time to look at the text that Ford is discussing and to understand the angle that is being taken, they would find the value in Ford’s essay. Not only is it a well-structured and well-supported work, but it also captures some incredibly valuable points about Joseph Conrad’s writing. Not unlike Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Heart of Darkness uses humor to point out the hypocrisy and troubles of the world. Ford uses Twain’s tale as a comparison for Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, first pointing out that Twain’s piece is actually quite humorous, and then goes on to explain how, in less obvious ways, Heart of Darkness can also be a humorous light. His biggest comparison between the two stories is his comparison of Huckleberry Finn’s and Marlow’s voices. Ford argues that Marlow’s voice “like Huck’s” is “deeply ironic and sarcastic,” saying that this is what truly makes the humor in Heart of Darkness. If a reader was to pay attention to Marlow’s voice, as Ford does, then they would certainly pick up on the irony, sarcasm, and, undoubtedly, …show more content…
Ford wrote an essay, “The Humor in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”, which dares to make the bold claim that there is humor to be found within Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. “The horror! The horror!” says Kurtz in his final breath, reflecting on the terrible state of the world and himself, and reminding readers just how dark Heart of Darkness really is. There is no arguing with the fact that Heart of Darkness is a dark tale, but Ford’s claim that it holds some large amount of humor is not so farfetched that it should be disregarded. Ford’s essay is for a scholarly reader, and someone that can understand the angle that he is coming from; someone with a slightly darker sense of humor. Robert D. Ford constructed an essay that could be eye-opening for the right reader, and definitely deserves a read from anyone with an interest in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (Conrad

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