Themes are fundamental ideas found throughout a novel. In "Heart of Darkness" the themes include: criticism of imperialism, madness, and the absurdity of evil. Imperialism is supposed to be a wonderful way of life, but Marlow finds that it is quite the opposite. Madness and imperialism go hand-in-hand in the novel. Marlow and Kurtz are confused as to how they should judge evil; who are they to judge someone's way of life and determine it to be evil?
Expand of each of these themes using textual evidence.
(Maura, Kelsey, Kevin)
Imperialism and madness are two themes prominent in "Heart Of Darkness". Kurtz and Marlow struggle with what "evil" is exactly and who are they to judge ones actions. When they look at the natives they think of barbarians and they feel like they need to "civilize them"Marlow also returns to London and describes it as "And this also," said Marlow suddenly, "has been one of the dark places of the earth." So he therefor believes that London even though it is supposedly "civilized" it is just as dark and sinful/evil as the African continent. Marlow explains shows how he was once innocent and he believes that he was maybe corrupted by the sin and evil upon his arrival in Africa. "It [Africa] had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery – a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness." He and the other pioneers and voyagers could not help but to be turned evil by their surrounding and all of their negative and evil actions were only in part due to their evil surroundings. This was a past view of the Evil things the Europeans did such as beheading and cutting off hands. But modern day criticism would say that the Europeans were just as evil before arriving on the African soil and they just got greedy once they arrived and felt like they could take whatever they wanted. Therefor the greed turned them "mad" and caused them to act in in "madness" not their surroundings of African tribal members and their harsh environment.
ReplyDeleteMarlow goes to the Congo on the coattails of imperialism. He was just looking for adventure, and the opportunity presented itself. While spending endless time waiting for his boat to be repaired, Marlow comes to understand the madness that fills the camp. The incredible solitariness and oppression of the impenetrable vegetation that Marlow often brings up, makes one fall in upon oneself and rely only on true capacities. One man, a boiler worker, spoke only of his pigeons. The true madness is experienced when Marlow goes on the search for Kurtz. When one of his calls is questioned, Marlow says, “perhaps I had a little fever too,” (82-83). For certain, Kurtz was mad. Through the doctrine of imperialism, he had committed unspeakable horrors. He threatened to kill his only connection to the civilized world on a whim. He conquered the natives through violence and fear. He ordered the attack on Marlow and his ship because he was paranoid. Towards the end of his life, the only dialogue between Marlow and Kurtz, Kurtz is slipping quickly into dementia and contemplates the evils he committed. His final words are, “the horror, the horror!” (115). Conrad never explicitly states the atrocities the Kurtz caused, but Marlow’s assurance is enough. As he said, “intimacy grows quickly out there… I knew his as well as it is possible for one man to know another.” (121). Imperialism, madness, and evil permeate the novella as intertwining themes. One is caused by the other. Most importantly, they are all set in motion by greed, which is one explanation for the title, The Heart of Darkness. The want of money is the root of all evil, but in this case it is the root of imperialism and madness as well.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book “The Heart of darkness” the imperialism of which was long sought by the entire civilization, it was in fact a course towards madness on which they embarked, little did Marlow know that this would be the “weak-eyed devil” that he “foresaw” on the “hillside”(63). The “ivory” was simply too much for the men to handle, and it over ran them with greed and “fever”. Marlow reaches the conclusion on the expedition just how wrong imperialism is in its ways. Then in the attempt to convert the “natives”, Marlow realizes that the ways of imperialism is worse than that of a “native”; imperialism was “reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage” (82). Imperialism is the evil in Marlow’s eyes, and “madness" is produced by greed which spreads it as if it were a disease. After his excursion, the people back home became "an irritating pretence" (141). Thus imperialism is futher realized to be the source of evil. Marlow undergoes an unforgettable experience on his venture, and concludes that the greed and actions taken to sufice this greed, are a part of imperialism and a cause for madness.
ReplyDeleteCriticism of imperialism, madness, and the absurdity of evil all go hand-in-hand in “Heart of Darkness” with each causing and being caused by another. Kurtz’s madness can be seen as being caused by imperialism, as his success resulted largely from brutality and violence. A moment of clarity or a further descent into madness can be interpreted at the end of the novel, when Kurtz’s conscience is plagued by his imperialistic wrongdoings. Before going to the Congo, Marlow is warned that when people like him go to Africa, “…the changes take place inside…” (26). At first, Marlow is confused by this, but throughout the novel, he learns what it means by witnessing cruelty and exploitation at the hands of the European powers to “civilize the savages.” When he first embarks on his journey, he feels that whatever the Europeans are doing in Africa must be okay, and when he sees a map of Africa with different colors representing different countries, he believes that a “…vast amount of red [is] good to see at any time, because one knows the some real work is done in there” (24); however, this belief is ironic because of red being known to foreshadow death in literature. Rapidly, his views of imperialism grow negative and he becomes bewildered that people are doing evil in the name of benevolence and that he was ever once so naïve to believe imperialistic propaganda. After his experience in Africa, Marlow is seen as not being all there mentally by others before he begins to tell the story and expose imperialism. However, his criticism of imperialism may be brushed off by others who have not experienced what imperialism really looks like, connecting back to the absurdity of evil and the different reactions people have to these evils.
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ReplyDeleteMadness could be seen as inevitable. A big part of "Heart of Darkness" is Fate and destiny. In the beginning of the book, Marlow sees two women knitting black wool, one of the women "seemed to know all" and "seemed uncanny and fateful" and imagines the two guarding the "door of Darkness" (63). Not long after he's on a hillside and foresees himself going to "that land" and becoming "acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil"(71). Then there is the wreck which he "did not see the real significance of... at once" it was "too stupid... to be altogether natural" (77) Marlow thinks the wreck was planned, and then later he hears extensive talk about Kurtz. Marlow begins searching for Kurtz and later he feels he "missed [his] destiny in life"(114) when he thinks he might not get the chance to speak with Kurtz. near the end Marlow follows Kurtz when he leaves the steamer, he suddenly thinks of the knitting woman from the beginning and the idea of destiny (137). At the end he laments his "Destiny...that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose" (144). So in the end everything is inevitable, but also futile.
ReplyDeleteLike I said in my last “Heart of Darkness” blog post, the ultimate goal of Imperialism is unobtainable without first achieving the prerequisite of dehumanization. It is not difficult for someone with any sort of moral values to agree that dehumanization is in itself evil, even if the final result is good intentions. As a result, Marlow and Kurtz must ponder whether or not Niccoló Machiavelli’s philosophy of “the end justifies the means” is truly evil in the case of the British colonization of Africa that they are involved in. It is clear that Joseph Conrad was against the idea, and one could argue that he portrays himself and his views through the character of Marlow, and one way to convince readers that the imperial ideal was evil, was to portray it as mad and absurd. Marlow makes his position on the issue clear when he states that imperialism is “reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage” (82), thus proving that although the goal is to “colonize” and bring balance, order, and happiness to both the British and the colonized Africans, the act of doing so is itself evil.
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