Heart of Darkness Essay

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and Heart of Darkness by Josef Conrad illustrate the multiple perceptions of the African continent in literary form. Joseph Conrad’s work depicts Africans ‘natives’ through the lens of the established colonizer, merely equating them to savages and primitive. In his critical response essay “An Image of Africa”, Chinua Achebe blatantly claims Conrad to be a racist, who paints Africa as the Dark Continent. This essay will argue Conrad lacked the sufficient…

see the cave entrance over the horizon now. It was surrounded by trees, and covered by rocks, unnoticeable to the naked eye. Wren’s heart hammered faster as she drew nearer. The rescue would have to be quick and swift, otherwise they wouldn’t make it out.…

Marlow, after exploring further, runs into a white man: “...a white companion, too, not a bad chap, but rather too fleshy…” (68). Marlow clearly makes a judgement about him and the white man is portrayed as overweight or “fleshy,” he seems to be out of place among the savage men and strong company workers (68). His diction, culturally specific to the Europeans, such a “chap,” makes the narration authentic, however, also relays a mocking tone. He seems removed in his description of the man,…

Although the job of the Europeans who go to Africa to collect ivory is to humanize the natives, the natives prove to be more civilized than the Europeans themselves. Without social restraints, there is nothing to stop men from yielding to the darkness of their hearts. The Europeans went to Africa to obtain ivory and to make the natives civilized. The pilgrims were a group of Europeans that were in charge of making the natives work and treated the natives as livestock. They forced them to work…

Darkness, this is all you know. Imagine never catching a glimpse of a shooting star as it whizzes past your murky window. Imagine never witnessing the illumination of Christmas lights on a frigid, December night. Imagine never perceiving the simple wonders of the world: autumn leaves, goosebumps, and sandy seashells. How could one live like this; how could one find the strength to carry on? This is where some may resort to literature. Literature can provide assistance and encouragement for a…

time there were many different types of religions one could follow and many different standards/rituals religious groups would commit to. For example, a religion that is dualistic admits not only that the universe contains good and evil or light and darkness, but that these forces are at constant war and only at the end will good finally conquer evil. Christianity,…

Darkness. That's all I could feel; all I could see. Then suddenly, it was light. I had always had these random black-outs as a child. The doctors always told me and my mother not to worry about it. When I finally came all the way back into the now, I was at home on my oh-so-familiar street. I looked at my wrist to see what time it was. 9:02 am. I had to be at work in less than an hour. I started to walk down the street, seeing all of my neighbors bustling around. Some were leaving for work,…

Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, utilizes varying themes to convey the depth of man’s inner corruption. One reoccurring theme addressed throughout the novel is the value of decisions, focusing on life or death. The books states the Europeans of the Company and the attempt to colonize the Congo River with the intent of helping the native people of the land and as many individuals as possible. The falsehood of this aid is highlighted through the main character Marlow’s eyes in the greed,…

bright, blinding, but all around me the light diffused into the dark. Where the light gently kissed the dark expanse, there was a small rainbow of color. Colors I had never seen, so bright and beautiful I stopped breathing. Then it was all gone. The darkness…

important items in the story are the darkness, the sunlight, and the chains. The sunlight represents enlightenment of the mind, understanding, and knowledge. While the darkness represents ignorance, lacking of knowledge,…