Oppositions in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay

Oppositions in Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness is full of oppositions. The most obvious is the juxtaposition of darkness and light, which are both present from the very beginning, in imagery and in metaphor. The novella is a puzzling mixture of anti-imperialism and racism, civilization and savagery, idealism and nihilism. How can they be reconciled? The final scene, in which Marlow confronts Kurtzs Intended, might be expected to provide resolution. However, it seems, instead, merely to focus the dilemmas in the book, rather than solving them. Throughout the first part of his interview with Kurtzs Intended, Marlow talks about saving her from the darkness: Yes, I know, I said†¦show more content†¦No one can deal with the complete unadorned truth, not even men. Kurtz entered the jungle with illusions of civilizing the natives; later, when he realizes what has actually happened and exclaims, The horror! The horror! he dies (86). The disillusionment kills him. Marlow, also, loses some illusions; however, he manages to create some others for himself, like the idea that he does not need illusions after all. This is how he manages to survive. The question of justice is crucial. During the final scene of his narrative, Marlow reflects on Kurtz, remembering what Kurtz had said: This lot of ivory now is really mine. The Company did not pay for it. I collected it myself at a very great personal risk. I am afraid they will try to claim it as theirs though.... I want no more than justice. ... He wanted no more than justice-no more than justice. (91) Kurtz only means justice for himself; he does not consider justice for the Congolese from whom he took ivory at very great personal risk or for the Company by whom he is employed. However Kurtz meant it, Marlow, in repeating it, assuredly perceives the irony in the statement. Kurtz wanted justice in his possessions, but the jungle took its own kind of justice, by destroying him. Even more ironically, his death even renders irrelevant the human justice Kurtz desired. This begsShow MoreRelated lighthod Binary Oppositions in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness1534 Words   |  7 PagesBinary Oppositions in Heart of Darkness       In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad used a series of reversed traditional binary oppositions to convey the theme that every man has his own heart of darkness that is simply masked by the superficial light of civilization.    The novella focused primarily on the adventurer Charlie Marlows journey into the African Congo, but dealt with larger themes. Marlow was from Europe and understood the basic premises of imperialism, but was unpreparedRead More Light and Dark of Colonialism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness1542 Words   |  7 PagesThe Light and Dark of Colonialism Exposed in Heart of Darkness       In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, challenges a dominant view by exposing the evil nature and the darkness associated with the colonialist ventures. It is expressed by Marlow as robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as it is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The European colonialists are portrayed as blind lightbearers, people having a faà §ade of progress and cultureRead MoreJoseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1488 Words   |  6 PagesJoseph Conrad’s s novel Heart of Darkness portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman. Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as â€Å"so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness†, (Conrad 154) as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life. Conrad lived through a time when European colonies were scattered all over the world. This phenomenon and the doctrine of co lonialism bought into at hisRead MoreHeart of Darkness1699 Words   |  7 PagesThe immortality and blindness to a dark continent Joseph Conrad’s s novel â€Å"Heart of Darkness† portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman. Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as â€Å"so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness†, (Conrad 2180) as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life. Conrad lived through a time when European colonies were scattered all over the world. This phenomenonRead More Use of Light and Darkness in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness 1504 Words   |  7 PagesUse of Light and Darkness in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness  Ã‚      Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness contrasts light and darkness, to represent the civilized and uncivilized sides of the world. Conrad uses light to represent the civilized side of humanity while contrasting the dark with the uncivilized and savage. Throughout the thematic stages of the novel, that is the Thames river London, the companys office in Belgium, the journey to the heart of darkness and the conclusion, light andRead MoreLight and Dark in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay1735 Words   |  7 PagesLight and Dark in Heart of Darkness      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joseph Conrads novel, Heart of Darkness, was written to explore the soul of man. If the book is viewed only superficially, a tragic story of the African jungle is seen, but when examined closely, a deeper meaning arises. Through his narrator Marlow, Conrad uses the theme of light and dark to contrast the civilized with the savage.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through the individual characters, Conrad creates the division between dark and light and blackRead More Colonialism and Imperialism - The White Male and the Other in Heart of Darkness1061 Words   |  5 Pages White Male vs. the Other in Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   The novella Heart of Darkness has, since its publication in 1899, caused much controversy and invited much criticism. While some have hailed its author, Joseph Conrad as producing a work ahead of its time in its treatment and criticism of colonialist practices in the Congo, others, most notably Chinua Achebe, have criticized it for its racist and sexist construction of cultural identity. Heart of Darkness can therefore be described asRead More Prejudice and Racism in Heart of Darkness? Essay872 Words   |  4 PagesHeart of Darkness: Racist or not?    Many critics, including Chinua Achebe in his essay An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness, have made the claim that Joseph Conrads novel Heart of Darkness, despite the insights which it offers into the human condition, ought to be removed from the canon of Western literature. This claim is based on the supposition that the novel is racist, more so than other novels of its time. While it can be read in this way, it is possible to lookRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Heart Of Darkness By Chinua Achebe1364 Words   |  6 Pages In Chinua Achebe’s essay, â€Å"An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad s Heart of Darkness,† Achebe purports that Joseph Conrad’s short story, Heart of Darkness, should not be taught due to it’s racist caricature of Africa and African culture. In Conrad’s book, Marlow, a sea captain, is tasked with venturing into the center of the Congo, otherwise known as the Heart of Darkness, to retrieve a mentally unstable ivory trader named Kurtz. Marlow narrates his adventures with a tinge of apathy for the enslavedRead MoreAnalysis Of Marlow s Heart Of Darkness Essay2381 Words   |  10 Pagesâ€Å"And this also, said Marlow suddenly, ``has been one of the dark places of the Earth. (Conrad) Are the first words spoken aloud by Marlow in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Marlow goes on the say that he was thinking about the Roman conquerors who came to England 1900 years ago. This comparison that Marlow divulges into in the beginnings of his story frames this story and what it intends to cover in its subject matter. Marlow begins here his only overt characterization of imperialism.