The novella, “Heart of Darkness”, written by Joseph Conrad, a Polish-British novelist, talks about the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. On a boat in the Thames river, a seaman named Charles Marlow talks about his trip to the Congo and how he was confronted with the horrors of colonialism. After arriving at the company's outstation, Marlow met the company's chief accountant and learned the name of Mr. Kurtz from him. This man who lived deep in the jungle and was in charge of the company's sales station was described as talented and morally upright, and brought the company a lot of ivory trade income. Marlow eventually drives up the Congo river and on the way, he meets natives that are about to die. Marlow finally meets Kurtz and finds that this legendary figure has degenerated into an ivory fanatic devoured by ambition and power. However, despite his terminal illness, Kurtz is unwilling to return to civilization. Marlow finds Kurtz trying to escape into the jungle late at night and eventually convinces him to return to Europe. However, on the way home, Kurtz dies. To grasp deeper understanding of this novella, readers should look at four different perspectives, including Colonialism, Human Nature, Moral and Societal Collapse, and Contrasting Ideas.
Colonialism is just an illusion to the horrors and society does to the natives of the land. Heart of Darkness takes place in the Belgian Congo, the most notorious European colony in Africa because of the Belgian colonizers' immense greed and brutal treatment of the native people. In its depiction of the monstrous wastefulness and casual cruelty of the colonial agents toward the African natives, they are very hypocritical. Marlow sees the destruction that the Europeans have caused to the natives, as some of the people are on the verge of starvation. The grove of trees are filled with dying and starving workers, who spend their moments at the place. They are simply left to die, and they are not treated for diseases or starvation. The action of colonialism in Africa is expertly hidden under the guise of bringing knowledge and civility to the “savage” African natives. However, stripping colonialism of their idealistic virtues, one sees the oppression and dehumanization of African natives. Natives are recruited for workers through false promises, and they are forced into grueling labor. They are shackled, starved, and left to die when they are no longer useful. There are scenes where the natives are abandoned by the roadside, waiting for death. In fact, Europeans don’t really see the natives as human beings, but as objects used for economic exploitation. They are stripped of their dignity and treated as disposable resources. Worst of all, colonialism is an institutional lie in the Congo. The European settlers promise to educate and civilize the natives, instead exploiting and killing them. This also suggests that civilization is an illusion to people, as the novella suggests that European society itself is steeped in violence and hypocrisy. The ending ties the theme into Europe itself: the Thames flows into the heart of an immense darkness. The book quotes, "And this also," said Marlow suddenly, "has been one of the dark places of the earth." (Conrad, Part 1) This means that this is a place where more people are being less virtuous. Europeans use colonialism as a reason to cover up their selfish actions.
Human nature can corrupt people and turn them into power-hungry individuals who crave nothing but money. In "Heart of Darkness," the central theme regarding human nature is the inherent potential for darkness and savagery that exists within every individual, regardless of their civilized exterior, which is often revealed when placed in situations of power and isolation, as exemplified by the character Kurtz's descent into brutality in the African wilderness. Kurtz begins as a well-rounded European gentleman, who aims to try bringing civilization to Africa. However, he begins to become obsessed with ivory, and begins to dominate the natives and make them worship him. He has become increasingly corrupted and mistreated the natives. The exploration of human darkness starts with colonialism as a mirror of human greed and savagery. Humans all have a desire for power and greed. It is the same with Kurtz. Kurtz's insatiable hunger for ivory drives him to exploit the African natives ruthlessly, accumulating immense wealth through their suffering. He seeks absolute control, not just over resources, but over the minds of the natives, declaring himself a god-like figure to maintain power. His actions expose his brutal disregard for humanity, as his greed consumes him entirely, eclipsing any former ideals or noble intentions. Kurtz is the embodiment of colonial greed and brutality. Kurtz uses violence and fear to dominate the native population, enforcing his will through extreme measures. He surrounds his station with severed human heads on stakes as a terrifying warning, a symbol of his ruthless tool and the horror he instilled in others. His sacrifices for his goal remain unnoticed because the natives give him absolute power, as a divine being leaving him unchecked in his abuse. “The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.” (Conrad, Part 1) The quote highlights the obsession with ivory in the Congo, symbolizing both greed and corruption.They are taken over by their greed for money and ivory. Human nature makes humans become morally twisted and make them do the wrong things.
The moral and societal collapse of the Europeans in Africa make them savages, instead of the natives. The corrupting influence of imperialism and the inherent wickedness in humans make them morally wrong. Without societal constraints, individuals like Kurtz descend into chaos and moral decay, leading to a loss of humanity. There are no laws in the Congo, because the natives there are “untamed” and “savage” to the europeans. Thus, they try to exploit them using tactics, and since they don’t have any self control, they begin to descend into madness as well. They became obsessed with ivory, especially Kurtz, and they played God with the natives. There are many instances where people descend into madness and ivory, especially Kurtz. At the beginning, Kurtz at the beginning was set as a hero. A lot of people admire him. And he was also a god in the Congo tribe. However, he died at the end. When Kurtz died at the end, he shouted "Horror! Horror!" Why did he shout? What for? Kurtz finally realized that he had been ruled by his ambition and cruelty. He recognized that his morality is horribly twisted. And he knows the danger of the dehumanization effects. From Marlow's perspective, when he came back to Europe and met Kurtz's fiancee, he did not say Kurtz was a monster back in Congo. He still described Kurtz as a hero. As a result of the complete absence of law or accountability, Kurtz falls prey to his basest instincts, succumbing to the darkest impulses within him. His descent into madness and cruelty reveals the moral corruption at the core of colonialism, where the veneer of civilization vanishes to reveal savagery beneath. The quote “In some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him—all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.” makes it seem like human nature has made the humans corrupt. They did some unforgivable things to the native Africans. Some people become morally twisted and they begin to lose to their instincts when far from society.
There are many contrasting values in life, and sometimes these are going to the extremes. Contradictions appear everywhere in Heart of Darkness, and particularly with respect to European characters, who serve as living embodiments of imperialism. European imperial missions sought to civilize “savage” peoples and hence appeared pure in their intentions, but all too often they inflicted terrible violence instead. There are multiple contrasts in the story, such as European’s original intentions and their final intentions. At first, he aims to make the African people civil, which was just an illusion, but then he finally becomes savage, and he also makes the natives savage. Also, the Company says that they will bring civility to the natives, but actually bring savagery. Finally, Kurtz was supposed to be a man of high ideals, but he was a cruel man. The Europeans are supposed to bring civilization to the Congo tribe, but actually they bring the idea of savagery to the natives. Natives are simple, but they can also live by their own moral code. They declared they would bring everything good to the natives but it was a lie. They, the natives, are treated as a machine or animals, not human beings. Before Marlow went to Africa, he had good expectations on how it would be. Before seeing Kurtz, he had good expectations on who Kurtz would be. But when he arrived, he saw all the cruelty. He found everything here is so opposite to what he has understood. The reality is that Europeans destroy. The story says, “"I tell you," he cried, "this man has enlarged my mind."” (Conrad, Part 1) The Russian trader is brainwashed by Kurtz’s ideals and does not recognize him as the tyrant he is. The book contrasts many things, such as savagery vs civilization, hypocrisy vs brutality, and illusion vs reality.
Heart of Darkness critiques the actions of colonialism and people’s questionable morality. Colonialism is just an illusion to the horrors and society does to the natives of the land. Heart of Darkness takes place in the Belgian Congo, the most notorious European colony in Africa because of the Belgian colonizers' immense greed and brutal treatment of the native people. Human nature can corrupt people and turn them into power-hungry individuals who crave nothing but money. In "Heart of Darkness," the central theme regarding human nature is the inherent potential for darkness and savagery that exists within every individual, regardless of their civilized exterior, which is often revealed when placed in situations of power and isolation, as exemplified by the character Kurtz's descent into brutality in the African wilderness. The moral and societal collapse of the Europeans in Africa make them savages, instead of the natives. The corrupting influence of imperialism and the inherent wickedness in humans make them morally wrong. There are many contrasting values in life, and sometimes these are going to the extremes. Contradictions appear everywhere in Heart of Darkness, and particularly with respect to European characters, who serve as living embodiments of imperialism. His experience as a sailor provided a considerable life foundation for this novel. His love for Victor Hugo and Shakespeare laid the foundation for Conrad's future efforts in literature, especially English literature.
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