Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness does not explicitly deal with a struggle between war and peace: the conflict is a psychological, moral one; however, the text's implications that society is a thin veil over our innate savagery, the darkness at the roots of Western civilization, reveals disturbing truths about the peaceful, orderly lives we take for granted. The key to understanding Conrad's novella lies in ascertaining the metaphorical significance of the "heart of darkness," a search which may yield an answer as complex and obscure than any geographical, sociological or psychological solution.

Since its publication, several critics have categorized Heart of Darkness as a travelogue, or, at the least, a seaman's tale mixed with autobiographical elements from Conrad's life, yet the story itself refutes such interpretations:

The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be expected), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze.... (Miller 68)

Conrad's story is obviously about more than a bad trip into the jungle. In several respects, it is a "study on the effects of man's isolation from the civilized world, represented by Kurtz" (Miller 129). The title "Heart of Darkness" the name itself implies a sense of unknown evil, and invokes thoughts of secrecy and mystery. It paints paradoxes of seemingly clear concepts and states, such as the mental condition of central character Kurtz, an enigmatic ivory trader deep in the heart of the "Dark Continent."

The setting indeed takes place in a region remarkably like the Congo that has led many scholars to automatically label it as such.( Lackey ) For the purposes of this essay, I will acknowledge such connections while keeping in mind that we are dealing with a work of literary fiction, which places its ultimate basis outside the realm of real-life locales. Unlike Lord of the Flies and other works, Heart of Darkness is not relegated to a singular, primeval location removed from the rule of law. It includes Brussels and London, though not directly stated, places within the confines or "heart" of civilization. This does not necessarily mean the "heart of darkness" exists throughout all the places described. Before reaching that conclusion, the imagery and diction employed to depict each setting must be looked at. At the start of the novel...[use of "dark"]...also at the end...[use of "shadow", "blackness"] After evaluating these examples, it is possible to assume with little doubt that Conrad considers the very bastions of Western civilization breeding places of a dark malady. It may be an overgeneralization to extend the reaches of this "darkness" to mankind as a whole since the areas "afflicted" with it are considered civilized, limiting it essentially to the Western world.

The Congo in Africa is home to dark native peoples that are portrayed with a natural, primal quality, a stark contrast to the civilizations in Europe. This is the setting for British imperialism at work. It is therefore the setting where the supposed sophistication of civilized men is deconstructed, and all men are revealed to share a common darkness. Africa and its inhabitants show an external darkness, while it is revealed that the colonizers contain darkness within. Heart of Darkness is a criticism of imperialism that uses the metaphor of darkness in the human heart to show the similarity between cultural groups perceived as different; elements of racism are used inside the darkness metaphor to emphasize anti-imperialism.

Darkness and its opposite, light, are contrasted in Heart of Darkness to reveal the irony of imperialism. Traditionally, light and darkness represent civilization and the uncivilized world, respectively. In some cases, the description of darkness appears racist, yet it serves to reveal how the opposite of the European colonialist way of thinking is true. Marlow tells his shipmates about his childhood dreams of visiting uncharted places on maps. However, once a space had been discovered by Europeans, "it 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" (22). Once the location had been discovered by the civilized world, it was exposed to the light of development. Without the arrival of the light of the Europeans for use in comparison, the Congo would be neither light nor dark; it is civilization that creates the primitive darkness. The initiative that compels imperialism is the idea that the radiance of civilization will bring light to the darkness of uncivilized nations. However, since the darkness does not exist until the light arrives, the notion of imperialism places a result before its cause. The irony of imperialism is introduced in the first scene of the novel, where the narrator states that London "seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth" (17). The pinnacle of European civilization is covered in darkness, the same darkness that surrounds the uncivilized Congo, "a colossal jungle, so dark green as to almost be black" (28). Marlow describes the black natives of the jungle as possessing "bone, muscle, a wild vitality, an intense energy of movement, that was as natural and true as the surf along their coast" (28). Despite their outward dark appearance, they inside they are vibrant. There is an irony in that behind what the colonists see as darkness, a brightness shines though. When black inhabitants are forced to work under the conditions of European mechanical labor, they acquire expressions of the "deathlike indifference of unhappy savages" (30). The imposition of European progress brings the men closer to savagery. The people that the colonists view as "savage" become even more so when placed in chain gangs, which suggests that it is the Europeans who actually possess the savageness. A further indication of the dark side of imperialism is the setting of Marlow's narrative. The sun is setting before he starts his tale. When he is finished, it is fully dark and "the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under and overcast sky" (95). This symbolizes how the sailors were exposed to the true darkness of their disposition. The darkness and grave tone are similar to the somberness of the chain gang. When Europeans are exposed to the bleakness of imperialism, their darkness is revealed to them, just as when the Africans were exposed to imperialism