Juxtaposition Of Light In Heart Of Darkness

In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the juxtaposition of light and dark -- in addition to an abundance of imagery-- serves as a vehicle to understanding Conrad’s tainted view of humanity as deeply flawed. There are reoccurring light and dark images which symbolize the good and evil in mankind.
Light represents both goodness and civilized Europe. Ironically, the light Europe is the place where the worst people are. Europeans are civilized, but inhumane. In contrast the references to darkness symbolize evil and uncivilized Africa. An alternate theory is that Conrad may not even believe in goodness. This is supported by the fact that every time light is mentioned, it is in context of giving way to darkness. Marlow shows an example of that
He is power hungry and develops a superiority complex of sorts. He realizes that more ivory means not only wealth but also power. His constant greed is a prime example of what happens to people who stay in the jungle for too long. He relentlessly exploits the land and all the while mistreats the natives; treating them as slaves. Heads of “rebels” are displayed on posts outside his station to frighten the natives from misbehaving. The juxtaposition of a rich, white, European man and the poor, starving, African people is startling, but illustrates the difference in culture and morals. Coming from a civilized Europe it was difficult to transition into the chaotic and uncivilized Africa for many of the men, Kurtz included. As the novel unfolds and the time in Africa lengthens they lose their focus, and lose themselves while trying to make sense of it all. Kurtz entered Africa with hopes of bringing light and civilization to this dark part of the world; but by the time of his death he has lost that hope and has turned on the African people exclaiming it would be best to “exterminate all the brutes!” (Conrad 2.29) Through Kurtz’s and Marlow’s relationship it was clear that, while Kurtz had been long consumed by the evil of the jungle, Marlow kept his identity. He was the good in the sea of evil, the light in a jungle of darkness. Kurtz’s final words, “The horror! The
Conrad's representation of the evil in darkness brings attention to these bigger issues at hand. He creates Marlow as a man much like himself, and some hypothesised that the beliefs of Marlow match Conrad's own views. The best example of this is in regards to how he views the natives. He never refers to them as people, and when describing them he uses terms more often used when talking about animals. This racism is not intentional, it is simply a reflection of the beliefs people had during the time Heart of Darkness was written. Marlow even struggles to accept that these men and him share the same genetic makeup, “...It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—the suspicion of their not being inhuman. “(Conrad 2.8) He certainly does not look at them as equals. It is interesting reading such an old novel, seeing the ways we have changed. Conrad also highlights the consequences greed can have on a person. Kurtz used to be a noble man, he dreamed of bringing civilization and knowledge to Africa. By the end of bis stay he began keeping heads of the natives as a fear tactic, name calling, and exploiting the natives home to fulfil his own greedy desires. Kurtz is a prime example of what happens when people gain too much power. He would do anything to become more