Comparing Heart Of Darkness And The Hollow Men
Heart of Darkness and The Hollow Men Deep within every person there is a certain piece of individuality that contradicts everything that they stand for and believe in. This little piece of irony that resides within a person can become harmful in some cases and in others it can be so simple to the point that it hardly does any damage. In “The Hollow Men” by T.S. Eliot, there is a metaphor, describing eyes, and an archetypal device which highlights Kurtz as a true savage being. Also, the metaphorical device and the archetype exhibit the ironic nature of humans that is ubiquitous in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The archetypal device that signifies the Congo River in Heart of Darkness expresses Kurtz’s ruthlessly ironic nature as a human. Rivers, as an archetype, symbolically epitomize the journey and nurturing of one’s life; the process of change throughout one’s life. As Marlow travels down the Congo River, which is archetypally represented as the journey of life, he learns that Kurtz stayed
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in the Congo too long, thus allowing the deteriorating process of dehumanization and savagery to occur due to spending an extensive amount of time with the slaves, who are supposed to be the true savages of the Congo. The slaves ironically are not the true savages because Kurtz exemplifies this characterizing trait of completely corrupt human nature and backwards thinking that the novel envelopes. The river embodies the process of life that directly mirrors Kurtz’s downhill process towards savagery and corruption of his inner self as a human because as Marlow travels deeper towards his destination, Kurtz’s initial motives of becoming one with the savages are distinctly revealed through this journey of subconscious change.
The metaphor that specifically compares eyes to “sunlight on a broken structure” in the poem reveals Kurtz’s savage nature as a human. Eyes are commonly referred to as the windows to the soul, and in the metaphor the eyes or windows are letting something, a firm and stable structure, broken be blatantly seen. Sunlight is represented by positivity and hope, but the fact that the sunlight is beaming on a “broken structure” completely alters its meaning from sanguine to hopeless and cynicism. As Kurtz is anticipated and described throughout the novel, numerous interpretations of the man are explained by each person that Marlow encounters as he delves deeper into the Congo. This enigmatical ambience created by each of Kurtz’s companions contributes to his savage nature because the sunlight, or hope, that is expected of him turns out to be shining its light on a “broken structure”, or Kurtz’s corrupted idea of life. The archetypal device and the metaphor, in the poem, clearly reveal the ironic nature of humans that Conrad highlights throughout the novel.
The archetype contributes to this overall idea of the irony of human nature because a river is usually a progression and stabilization of one’s foundation and ideals, but as Marlow travels down the Congo River the true essence of Kurtz is shown; that essence being that Kurtz traveled down the river and instead of becoming livelier, he became barbaric and one with the slaves. The metaphor that is used by Eliot also contributes to the ironic nature of humans because sunlight typically radiates positivity, but the sunlight in Kurtz’s manner is radiating savagery and demoralization. Also, the eyes that are described in the metaphor contribute to the humanistic part of Kurtz. Both of these devices together help to shape the irony that is possessed by all humans whether it is major as in Kurtz’s case or minor in daily life and
decisions. Irony is in every human being, major or minor. The ability to stay true to oneself and not allow that irony to completely reshape one’s beliefs and ideals is important to avoid turmoil as shown through Kurtz’s ironic experience. Savagery in some form is within every human being as well, major as seen through Kurtz or minor through everyday life and simple decisions that everyone has to make. The way that one chooses to harness this ironic nature that one holds shows one’s true character and self-integrity that Kurtz blatantly did not possess.
in the Congo too long, thus allowing the deteriorating process of dehumanization and savagery to occur due to spending an extensive amount of time with the slaves, who are supposed to be the true savages of the Congo. The slaves ironically are not the true savages because Kurtz exemplifies this characterizing trait of completely corrupt human nature and backwards thinking that the novel envelopes. The river embodies the process of life that directly mirrors Kurtz’s downhill process towards savagery and corruption of his inner self as a human because as Marlow travels deeper towards his destination, Kurtz’s initial motives of becoming one with the savages are distinctly revealed through this journey of subconscious change.
The metaphor that specifically compares eyes to “sunlight on a broken structure” in the poem reveals Kurtz’s savage nature as a human. Eyes are commonly referred to as the windows to the soul, and in the metaphor the eyes or windows are letting something, a firm and stable structure, broken be blatantly seen. Sunlight is represented by positivity and hope, but the fact that the sunlight is beaming on a “broken structure” completely alters its meaning from sanguine to hopeless and cynicism. As Kurtz is anticipated and described throughout the novel, numerous interpretations of the man are explained by each person that Marlow encounters as he delves deeper into the Congo. This enigmatical ambience created by each of Kurtz’s companions contributes to his savage nature because the sunlight, or hope, that is expected of him turns out to be shining its light on a “broken structure”, or Kurtz’s corrupted idea of life. The archetypal device and the metaphor, in the poem, clearly reveal the ironic nature of humans that Conrad highlights throughout the novel.
The archetype contributes to this overall idea of the irony of human nature because a river is usually a progression and stabilization of one’s foundation and ideals, but as Marlow travels down the Congo River the true essence of Kurtz is shown; that essence being that Kurtz traveled down the river and instead of becoming livelier, he became barbaric and one with the slaves. The metaphor that is used by Eliot also contributes to the ironic nature of humans because sunlight typically radiates positivity, but the sunlight in Kurtz’s manner is radiating savagery and demoralization. Also, the eyes that are described in the metaphor contribute to the humanistic part of Kurtz. Both of these devices together help to shape the irony that is possessed by all humans whether it is major as in Kurtz’s case or minor in daily life and
decisions. Irony is in every human being, major or minor. The ability to stay true to oneself and not allow that irony to completely reshape one’s beliefs and ideals is important to avoid turmoil as shown through Kurtz’s ironic experience. Savagery in some form is within every human being as well, major as seen through Kurtz or minor through everyday life and simple decisions that everyone has to make. The way that one chooses to harness this ironic nature that one holds shows one’s true character and self-integrity that Kurtz blatantly did not possess.