This can mainly be perceived in the life of Mr. Kurtz, as his descent into madness can be seen as an allegory for the colonization and destruction of the African continent and its people by the Europeans. Because just as Kurtz was a perfectly sane and normal man before he went into the African wilderness so were also the European nations very civilized before they came to Africa. And just as the nations of Europe governed Africa and its people without rules and restrictions so did isolation compel Mr. Kurtz to live his life without boundaries. Proof of this can be found on page 83, "His mother was half-English his father was half-French. All of Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz." This shows that Kurtz can be seen as a symbol of Europe, as he is the typical European explorer - ambitious, greedy and adventurous.
And if Kurtz is Europe embodied then it would be quite logical that Africa should be represented by the "harlequin" (p.87) his faithful Russian comrade. Their relation greatly resembles that of the relation between Africa and Europe, although the African people act quite differently to their "masters" compared to how the Russian acted towards Kurtz. The similarities lay in how the master treats the subordinate. "He wanted to shoot me too one day....I had a small lot of ivory...he wanted it, and wouldn't hear reason...and there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased."(p.92). The way Kurtz treats the Russian is mirrored in the way the Europeans governed Africa and extracted its riches. They stopped at nothing to make their colonies as effective and prosperous as possible. This of course included killing any opposition, or in the words of Conrad, killing whoever they jolly well pleased.
In conclusion it can be said that the two voyages in Heart of Darkness, the one in the mind and the one on the Congo River, are not as much an allegory as they are descriptions of two separate, but still closely linked, plot developments. For example, as the company sails ever closer to Kurtz and the heart of the African jungle Marlow's internal voyage alters his morals and opinions according to his experiences. This might seem as an allegory to some, as it features two separate levels, one relatively superficial the other underlying and sometimes also very symbolic, as when Kurtz is portrayed as a devil.
However the novel misses out on the most important aspect of an allegory, that of it having a layer used only to represent or suggest other elements, often abstract, than those found in the main story. So although Heart of Darkness contains much symbolism and dual meanings, it falls short of being a true allegory of anything, but perhaps the voyage of Mr. Kurtz soul.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Within every individual, there lies a unique set of innate, fundamental principles upon which further truth is built. However, from the moment a precious parcel of tissue sheltered in a mother’s womb tastes the sweet nectar of life, society’s truths immediately seize the opportunity to morph the child to their likeness. The characters within Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness vividly illustrate various milestones in the internal struggle between conflicting truths, revealing through honest, uncensored commentary the precarious nature of deep-seated war. Through its depictions of the polar and intermediary phases within humanity’s internal battle between truths, Poisonwood Bible and Heart of Darkness reveal how truth is not a concrete concept but a continuum of constant reflection and redefinition.…
- 2281 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness has foreshadowing that adds a lot of suspense throughout the book. Conrad used foreshadowing through minor details that are not clearly stated and are to be interpreted as the book continues.…
- 615 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Even though The Heart Of Darkness has two different views about the fate of imperialism the pessimistic view and the optimistic view, both views closely relate to the views depicted in Apocalypse Now Redux. “But at first glance you could see there a singleness of intention, an honest concern for the right way of doing work which made these humble pages thought out so many years ago luminous with another than a professional light.” All throughout the book and the movie the depiction of Kurtz is realized to be frightening…
- 411 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The idea that Europe was a radical, cutting edge civilization created a sense of supremacy over less developed nations. They believed Africa to be so outdated that the natives could not even be considered modern men. In fact, they were not considered men at all. The explorers rationalized their corruption of this preoccupied land through the transfer from human status, to that of a wild animal. (Document P) Through the perspective of the Europeans, the seemingly underdeveloped Africa was in need of saving, and with their lavish machinery, they were the perfect nation to graciously come forth and salvage the remains of Africa and claim their habitat. “Take up the White Man’s burden, send forth the best ye breed, go bind your sons to exile, to serve your captives’ need; to wait in heavy harness, on fluttered folk and wild-your new caught sullen peoples, half devil and half-child…” (Document P) The animalistic tone of the words exposed the way they spoke of the Africans with condescending pity, and then acted accordingly. (Document…
- 679 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The iniquity of the hearts of men precipitates the moral and social depravity of the entire population. In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, Marlow finds that barbarism and savagery are universal among nations, and that the common man is able to be influenced by the slightest of impulses. The distinctive evil that roams Europe soon pervades newly discovered Africa and allows the darkness to fill the land. The European colonizers brought not only civilization and enlightenment to the land of the Congo, but also savagery and utter corruption. Throughout his journey, Marlow learns of the darkness of human kind, their hearts, and their minds through…
- 765 Words
- 4 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In the book Heart of Darkness there are several aspects to imperialism. As Marlow travels from the Outer Station to the Central Station and finally up the river to the Inner Station, he encounters scenes of torture, cruelty, and near-slavery. At the very least, the incidental scenery of the book offers a harsh picture of colonial enterprise. The impetus behind Marlow's adventures, too, has to do with the hypocrisy inherent in the rhetoric used to justify imperialism. The men who work for the Company describe what they do as "trade," and their treatment of native Africans is part of a benevolent project of "civilization." Kurtz, on the other hand, is open about the fact that he does not trade but rather takes ivory by force, and he describes his own treatment of the natives with the words "suppression" and "extermination": he does not hide the fact that he rules through violence and intimidation. His perverse honesty leads to his downfall, as his success threatens to expose the evil practices behind European activity in Africa. However, for Marlow as much as for Kurtz or for the Company, Africans in this book are mostly objects: Marlow refers to his helmsman as a piece of machinery, and Kurtz's African mistress is at best a piece of statuary. It can be argued that Heart of Darkness participates in an oppression of nonwhites that is much more sinister and much harder to remedy than the open abuses of Kurtz or the Company's men."Everything belonged…
- 681 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In many literary works the author uses contrast to display the difference between good and evil. Most often this contrast is between light and dark images. Dark representing evil and light representing good. In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the author uses many different medians to display the contrast between good and evil. The different settings display the changing developments of the novel. From the civilized and what appears to be good Thames River to the uncivilized and seemingly evil Belgian Congo. Many different images in the novel elaborate on the author's view on the dark evils of imperialism and colonialism.…
- 1050 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The id is categorized on pleasure; the part of our psyche which corresponds with our instincts, the ego is based on one’s conscience and is responsible for carrying out the absurd demands in a realistic fashion, while the super-ego is based on one’s conscience in a society and is accountable for comprehending the brain’s values/morals. Kurtz is the paramount character in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”. Working in the country of Africa in representation of one of the biggest Belgian trading companies, he is presented as a man with a great deal of talents. "The original Kurtz had been educated partly in England, and - as he was good enough to say himself — his sympathies were in the right place. His mother was half-English, his father was half-French. All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz […]." (2.29) Throughout the beginning of the novel, Kurtz represents Europe’s way of life and seems to represent it well. In Europe, all he is exposed to is a civilized and contained environment in which social norms are able to guide him and lead him from going astray. In this environment, Kurtz was able to balance the aspects of his id and his super-ego easily. In other words, he was capable of knowing his limitations when it came to achieving his desires. However, after going to Africa, he seems to undergo a drastic change in personality and in conscience. His morality and his psyche all seem to deteriorate. Being…
- 1457 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Kurtz is one of the characters of the novel that is able to show who he really is and who he has become through his stay with savages. He is able to show an embodiment of Europe, an assault on European values, and that he has become like a tyrant. Like Marlow, Kurtz wished to travel to Africa in search for adventure and to do philanthropic ideals, of “humanizing, improving, and instructing”(pg.96) the Natives, which was in his initial report to the Company. In the jungle, Kurtz, enjoyed the taste of power and he soon abandoned his philanthropic ideals, and he raised himself on a pedestal. He used to have a concern on how to he was going to bring the “light” of civilization to the Inner Station. But he descended into madness that he will not able to save himself, and as Marlow says that Kurtz has truly gone to the “farthest point of navigation”(pg.…
- 260 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The story that we are told in Heart of Darkness is actually a frame story full of symbolism that reveals some of the features by which modernist literature would come to be distinguished at the beginning of the 20th century. In that respect, the literary devices that are present in Heart of darkness, such as the relativism of perception heightened by symbolic density, the sharing of emotions with the reader, irony and allusions to myth are devices that would be found later in significant modernist works such as Eliot’s the waste land, Joyce’s Ulysses and Woolf’s Jacob’s room.…
- 2108 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Throughout the imperial conquests of Africa, Europeans in general held very low opinions of those that they dominated. Instead viewing the native African people as sub-human, or tools if they were particularly fond of an individual. While Heart of Darkness presents itself as anti-imperial, Marlow, and by extension Conrad still display an astonishingly undesirable view of the tribes assisting himself and Kurtz. For example, there exists an International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs that Kurtz writes a report for. To Marlow it is an elegant paper that he cannot help but praise for its elegance. The contents of this paper suggest that the Europeans, to, “exert a power for good,” must appear as gods, deities, and supernatural beings…
- 403 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Likewise Kurtz was an emissary of western culture. And he has the notion that Europe can help to civilize the Congo. In his early life he was a man of sound views and an enlightened outlook upon life. As Jack in Lord of the Flies says we are English and we have to do the right things, Kurtz also in his report to International Society for Suppression of Savage Customs had wrote “We whites, from the point of development we had arrived at ‘must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings. We approach them with the mighty as of a deity’. By the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded” (shamsher gondal, et al). The whites along with Kurtz were hypocrites, and…
- 747 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
He was also a very greedy person, as were all of the colonizers; it was a common characteristic for them. That way, he shows a great desire for fame, power and wealth. Kurtz had absolute power at the Inner Station; he had the ability to get everything and everyone under his control. Kurtz made clear statements what kind of men he…
- 926 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
One of the themes the documentary covers was the false pretenses that Europeans claimed to justify the Colonization of Africa. During the early 20th century (1900’s), Northern and Eastern Africa still had a pervasive slave culture. In the North, the remnants of the Ottoman Empire still practiced slavery, while the Muslims were the responsible figureheads in the East. Following the centuries of trans-Atlantic slave trade between Europe, Africa, and the “New World”, Europe had abolished the practicing of slavery. In 1884, the European powers that be called for the “Berlin Conference’’. Part of the conference was to organize “The Scramble for Africa”. The term was used to describe the West’s desire to introduce themselves as administrators of the African continent. One of the justifications for the conference/European’s colonialism, was that the West had “a duty” to end the barbarism of slavery still existing on the continent through the West’s new found morality. Part of the European’s plan for administration was also the fragmenting of Africa with artificial political boundaries. While this “organized” Africa in a convenient matter for the Europeans, it led to ethnic divisions/rivalries that are still in existence today. One of the…
- 936 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Hawkins argues that Conrad implements the evolutionary trope in Heart of Darkness, but also exposes the downfall of Europeans by showing their desire for merciless control and inhumane actions to control the African colonies. An evolutionary trope is a developmental logic that white civilization is more advanced than African civilizations (Lecture 2/16/17). Kurtz himself is a representation of Europe because he is a civilized man who becomes barbaric and savage after living in Africa. In addition, Hawkins noted that in Heart of Darkness, racism explicitly occurred as “Conrad likely didn’t show more of the Africans because he wanted to focus on the Europeans” (370). Much like Kurtz himself, Conrad and Marlow conceal a lot in their use of sophisticated words and diction. In addition, their high-strung eloquence is very underrated; people will do anything that the voice asks them to do, including the African people. Ultimately, by denying the humanity of Africa, Europeans are destroying their own humanity, and therefore, Europe is destroying…
- 1593 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays