Conrad Anker

Conrad uses repetition to describe the scenery of the Congo as “silent” for most of the novel. He went from a place considered to be civil to a land where he has now come face to face with little to no sound. There are sounds in the Congo that Marlow is able to find relief in and there are also sounds which creates fear for him as well. Conrad uses irony through Marlow as he describes the jungle as “impenetrable” or unable…

himself in a land where the lack of a strong, united government has caused the men to revert back to a life that is “nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes)--one of the core ideas explored in the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. In Heart of Darkness, although Conrad depicts human nature as self-preserving as well as the need of a sovereign to maintain peace, just as Hobbes believed, he also highlights how devastating it can be to the human soul. Hobbes’ belief that humans, without any kind of…

In King Leopold's Ghost, Hoschild imparts to his pursuers the new story of King Leopold of Belgium's abuse of the Congo and the shocking wrongdoings submitted against mankind for practical and political reasons. The writer's objective in this book was to bring attention to what occurred. Hoschild demonstrates to us that a great deal of history as we probably are aware is that it is one-sided and white washed. Ordinarily history is wrote or observed by the individuals who are in control and their…

Two Sides of a Monsters Story. "There are two sides to every story and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle." Paul. J Alessi. “Beuwulf” is the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is recognized as one of the most important works of Old English literature. The poem was written in England between the eighth and the early eleventh century. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to as the "Beowulf poet". Scandinavia is the know setting for the poem. The poem…

The Archetypal Lens of Good vs. Evil in Heart of Darkness In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad focuses on the main characters of Marlow, the story’s narrator, who recounts his journey into the interior of the Congo, and Kurtz, an ivory trader, who is shrouded in mystery as Marlow is eager to meet him. Through the archetypes of the hero’s journey and shadow, both Marlow and Kurtz become deeply affected by their setting, which illuminates the theme of good versus evil. Throughout Heart of Darkness,…

Conrad colors the city of Brussels as a “whited sepulchre” (73). Oftentimes white is symbolic of goodness or purity, however, describing Brussels as a tomb indirectly shows the underlying darkness that affects Europe underneath the veneer of society and…

The novella Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad in 1899, which is set in the Congo, Africa in 1890. It is based on the narrator Charles Marlow travels to the Congo, in the heart of Africa to relieve a brilliant ivory trader named Krutz, who is working for the Belgium Government. While there is a complexity on British identity of Joseph Conrad, the role he played in the development of British literary history is significant. The writings of Conrad were not inherently English but…

Marlow meets the accountant, bookkeeper, for the trading post. The incorporation of an unimportant member of the company is telling. The accountant doesn’t do much for the story except for introduce Mr. Kurtz. Any character could have done this, but Conrad included the accountant to show how much importance was placed on the profit margin. The accountant is there to ensure the economic value of the project at all times. It is strange that one leg imperialism tries to stand on is bringing…

Crafted by the god of the forge, yet worn and gifted by the messenger god, the Talaria were sported by Perseus on his quest to slay Medusa. This pair of winged sandals not only initiated Perseus’s journey to decapitate the gruesome Gorgon, but they guided him along until it was his time to deliver the death-bringing blow to Medusa on his own accord. Charles Marlow too steps into his own pair of shoes upon the commencement into the Congo in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. As opposed to…

Throughout the Heart of Darkness, Conrad implements color symbolism to underscore his meaningful perspective on the things he saw in the Congo. Specifically, his account of the journey highlight the usual and opposite association with the important complexions of black and white. Particularly, white symbolizes the purity and innocence of a person while black embodies the evil of men and the sin associated with it. To support this association, Conrad in the beginning details “two women knitting…