Heart Of Darkness And The Hollow Man
In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad explores the concept of the hollow man through the development of the character Kurtz as well as the parallels between his novel and T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men.” Passivity, lack of identity, and darkness are topics addressed in both Heart of Darkness and “The Hollow Men.” These themes are less commonly explored today, as our identity is shaped by social media and the reality outside of the internet is one fewer and fewer people face each year. Conrad forces us to open our eyes and confront the reality of the hollow man, to confront the reality of a meaningless existence, and to confront the reality of the darkness inside all of us. Although our lives are filled with how many “likes” on Instagram we
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As Marlow notes, “The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it” (25). Clearly, ivory is the most important item to the Company, and Kurtz’s ability to collect so much of it is what makes him such a valuable employee. It is also worth noting that Marlow suggests the men are praying to ivory, which is similar to the third stanza of T.S. Eliot’s poem, in which “Lips that would kiss/ Form prayers to broken stone” in death’s other kingdom. The hollowness of the prayers, which are said to broken stone because nobody is listening, are similar to those to ivory. Ivory is the source of income at the Company and all anyone seems to care about, but at the end of the day it is still just ivory. The men pray to ivory as if it were something more, illustrating their greedy nature and inability to see much past money. It also provides an explanation for the treatment of the natives, who “each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them” (17). The natives, who are considered employees, are chained together, barely fed, and go to die underneath a giant tree with everyone else. This treatment is appalling, but the men worship ivory and cannot see past their greed. Worshipping money above all else. They are devoid of human empathy -- empty, if you will. They cannot see how horrid their treatment of the natives is because they simply cannot see
As Marlow notes, “The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it” (25). Clearly, ivory is the most important item to the Company, and Kurtz’s ability to collect so much of it is what makes him such a valuable employee. It is also worth noting that Marlow suggests the men are praying to ivory, which is similar to the third stanza of T.S. Eliot’s poem, in which “Lips that would kiss/ Form prayers to broken stone” in death’s other kingdom. The hollowness of the prayers, which are said to broken stone because nobody is listening, are similar to those to ivory. Ivory is the source of income at the Company and all anyone seems to care about, but at the end of the day it is still just ivory. The men pray to ivory as if it were something more, illustrating their greedy nature and inability to see much past money. It also provides an explanation for the treatment of the natives, who “each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them” (17). The natives, who are considered employees, are chained together, barely fed, and go to die underneath a giant tree with everyone else. This treatment is appalling, but the men worship ivory and cannot see past their greed. Worshipping money above all else. They are devoid of human empathy -- empty, if you will. They cannot see how horrid their treatment of the natives is because they simply cannot see