![]() ![]() ![]() Throughout the story, Marlow’s “light” that is evidenced by his psychological evolution and awareness strikingly differ with Kurtz who according to many may stand for the “dark” side of Marlow (Coleman, 2017). Joseph Conrad in this novel uses the two main characters, Kurtz and Marlow, to reveal the true nature of humanity. Additionally, Kurtz life and times serves as an important route into evil. This description may be concluded to be a demon or a snake image that is threatening everyone that was within its grasp. The symbolic upstream movement is used in the novel to represent how the harsh environment of Africa tried to stop the progressive movement of the Europeans as downriver travel granted them an easy and quick exit from the darkness and towards civilization (Joseph, 2017). For instance, Conrad used the process of going up the river to convey the idea of traveling back to the start of the world, a time when the earth’s vegetation rioted with large trees being kings. The way he executes the English language tools and techniques enabled him to lure and capture the reader’s attention. Throughout the story, the author makes use of a wide range of simple places, objects, and colors in conveying his ideas and images. He wondered how they were able to carry themselves with so much dignity despite their servitude state of affairs.Īs one of the great authors, Conrad portrayed a great ability to use symbolism to deliver the themes and messages in the novel (Joseph, 2017). He goes ahead to express how much he admired the Africans’ self-restraint. Marlow describes the African caravan as a stamp and shuffle of sixty pair of bare-feet Africans followed him every day each carrying a 60-lb load. Their work involved ferrying company’s supplies from its outer station to the middle station which were more than 200 miles apart (Joseph, 2017). ![]() The hardworking nature of Africans was evident as they were forced to work for the Europeans for low wages as the company paid them three pieces of brass wire (3-inch each) weekly (Joseph, 2017). Marlow viewed that their selfless nature and hard work signified their inner kindness something his fellow Europeans could not see. Through one of the main character (Marlow), contrary to other Europeans, the author of the novel could see Africans as humans. The novel reveals how Europeans were mistreating Africans as they considered them “wild beasts” that needed to be controlled and educated. The author of the novel makes use of symbolism as a technique through the use of the company, Kurtz, and Africans in the novel to demonstrate the value of hard work. Rather than being revealed throughout the plot of the novel, the themes are revealed through symbolic elements and characters that are part of the story (Joseph, 2017). The technique plays a major role in advancing various themes in the book. His use of symbolism is one of his notable techniques in the heart of darkness (Joseph, 2017). ![]() The author of the novel Joseph Conrad utilized various techniques to pass his intended message through this book. Basically, the British viewed Africans as primitive beings who deserve to be taken under control. It shows how native Africans were viewed by the British at that particular time. The novel revolves around ivory along the Congo basin/river. This was a time when the focus of the British Empire was on trade and colonization of the African continent. The book was written by Conrad just after he returned from Congo (Joseph, 2017). The assumption is based on the fact that the main character, Marlow depicts Conrad himself at the time when he worked in Congo as steamboat captain back in the 1890s. However, it appears to occur at the time of writing between 18 (Joseph, 2017). The novel does not provide the exact time when the story took place. The author of this novel is Joseph Conrad. ![]()
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