FREE ESSAY ON CONRADS HEART OF DARKNESS

CONRADS HEART OF DARKNESS

Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, relies on his knowledge of history in order to
describe its protagonist, Charlie Marlow, and his struggle. Marlow's feeling in the
novel, as he goes to the Congo, rests on how he visualizes the effects of what is going
on around him. Meaning that his attitude will be change during his experiences and his
thoughts will change with everything that he learns. Marlow's change as caused by his
exposure to the historical period in which he lived is important to his views of the
situation, especially with his view of Kurtz. Marlow is asked by the company, the
organization for whom he works, to travel to the Congo river and report back to them
about Mr. Kurtz, a top notch officer of theirs. When he sets sail, he doesn't know what
to expect. When his journey is completed, this little trip will have changed Marlow
forever.
Heart of Darkness is a story of one man's journey through the African Congo and the
enlightenment of his soul. It begins with Charlie Marlow, along with a few of his
comrades, cruising aboard the Nellie, a traditional sailboat. On the boat, Marlow begins
to tell of his experiences in the Congo. Conrad uses Marlow to reveal all the personal
thoughts and emotions that he wants to portray while Marlow goes on this voyage of a
lifetime. 
Marlow begins his voyage as an ordinary English sailor who is traveling to the African
Congo on a business trip. He is an Englishman who has never been exposed to any
alternative form of culture similar to the one he will encounter in Africa, and he has no
idea about the drastically different culture 
which exists out there. 
Throughout the book, Conrad, via Marlow's observations, reveals to the reader the naive
mentality shared by every European. However, after only a short period of time in the
Congo, he realizes the ignorance he and all his crew have. We first recognize the general
naive attitude of the Europeans when Marlow's aunt is seeing him for the last time before
he embarks on his journey. Marlow's aunt is under the assumption that the voyage is a
mission to wean those ignorant millions from their horrid ways (Conrad 760). In reality,
however, the Europeans main objective is to earn a substantial profit by collecting all
the ivory in Africa. 
Suspense picks up when Marlow becomes closer to meeting Kurtz. He hears Mr. Kurtz being
refereed to as that man. Although Marlow hasn't met Kurtz yet, he has heard of his
greatness from the people who were in the company back home. He now realizes that by
these men calling him that man, they strip him of all his attributes. When one hears
Kurtz, they think of a very remarkable person. These men are now, by not referring to him
by his name, denying Kurtz's accomplishments. Marlow lacked this authority to name. Mr.
Kurtz is the Chief of the Inner Station. He is a universal genius, a prodigy, an emissary
of pity science and progress. It is Kurtz who will teach Marlow what a name is, for one
simple reason.
The man presented himself as a voice...of all his gifts, the one that
stood out preeminently, that carried with it a sense of real presence, was his ability to
talk, his words---the gift of expression, the bewildering, the illuminating... (Conrad
760).
Indeed, Kurtz gives Marlow everything Marlow is looking for. However, he does it in a
very unconventional way. Kurtz teaches Marlow the lesson with his last words. The horror!
The horror! (Conrad 795). These last words are Kurtz's own judgment, judgment on the life
that he has lived. He has evaluated his life, and he has pronounced a judgment upon the
adventures of his soul on this earth (Conrad 795). Marlow sees Kurtz open his mouth
wide---it gave him a weirdly voracious aspect, as though he wanted to swallow all the
air, all the earth, all the men before him... (Conrad 795). Kurtz takes everything in. He
takes his life, and puts it all out on the table. Kurtz's last words are his way of
teaching Marlow the essence of a name. A name is not merely a label at all. However,
unlike the Europeans who judge based on already existing principles which they have
acquired, Kurtz taught Marlow to look inside of himself and to judge based on his own
morals.
This is the lesson that Marlow had learned. Objective standards alone will not lead one
to recognize the reality in something. One can not depend only on another's principles to
find his reality in something. This judgment must be from one's own internal strengths.
That is why Marlow says, for good or evil, mine is the speech that can not be silenced
(Conrad 797). As Kurtz has taught Marlow with his own judgment, a judgment of truth
overpowers morality. Sometimes individual morals are not always correct, but are just
personal beliefs. To find one's own reality, that person must not rely on other people's
morals and people's principles; he must evaluate his own life. What Kurtz did is that he
showed that regardless of whether the truth is good or bad, each person must face up to
their own reality. He must face up to his own actions even when the conclusion is the
horror and by doing so, he will find his true reality. 
On his voyage, Marlow notices at one of the stations, a picture that Kurtz had drawn when
he was there. It is a sketch on a panel representing a woman draped and blindfolded,
carrying a lighted torch. Marlow didn't really know what it meant. However, this was a
perfect representation of Kurtz himself. Firstly, the background was black and totally
dark. This was something similar to Kurtz because his life is full of darkness. He kills,
he steals, and he is worshipped as a god. Kurtz cannot be without blackness and survive.
Eventually Marlow realizes that Kurtz's picture was in essence, a self-portrait. The same
thing which Kurtz conveyed with 'the horror', he conveyed with this picture. 
Marlow learns the essence of naming and understands what it means to 'be yourself'.
However, Marlow has encountered two extremes. The European mentality, which is completely
opposite to reality, and Kurtz, a man who has found his reality, but it is one of horror
and no restraint from any wrongdoing. Marlow was then returning to his home to deal with
his former world, however, afterwards he possessed his new understanding. Marlow cannot
return to his previous 'European ways' simply because he has been changed by all of the
events leading up to and around the Congo with Kurtz and the whole trip.
Marlow is repelled from joining Kurtz for several reasons. Kurtz had denied any sort of
moral convictions in order to be worshipped as a god. Because of this uncontrollable
power, Kurtz lost all sense of restraint and became the savage that he was. Marlow,
however, has not lost his sense of morality. 
It is because of Marlow's rejection of both the Europeans, who Marlow claims are full of
stupid importance and of Kurtz's inability to establish his own moral code. The first
time the reader witnesses Marlow's choice is when he first gets back to Europe. Marlow
finds himself resenting the way the Europeans went about their life, hurrying through the
streets to filch a little money from each other... He basically thought that their lives
were meaningless because of their blindness.


  
    
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Imagry In The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Imagery in The Fall of the House of Usher The description of the landscape in any story
is important as it creates a vivid imagery of the scene and helps to develop the mood.
Edgar Allan Poe is a master at using imagery to improve the effects of his stories. He
tends to use the landscapes to symbolize some important aspect of the story. Also, he
makes use of the landscape to produce a supernatural effect and to induce horror. In
particular, Poe makes great use of these tools in The Fall of the House of Usher. This
story depends on the portrayal of the house itself to create a certain atmosphere and to
relate to the Usher family. In The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe uses the
landscape to develop an atmosphere of horror and to create corollary to the Usher family.
Poe uses the life-like characteristics of the house as a device for giving the house a
supernatural presence. The house is described as having somewhat supernatural
characteristics. The windows appear to be vacant and eye-like (1462). The strange nature
of the house is further explained as around the mansion, …there hung an atmosphere
peculiar to themselves and their immediate vicinity. (1462). This demonstrates that the
house and its surroundings have an unusual and bizarre existence. Upon entering the
house, the narrator views some objects, such as the tapestries on the walls and the
trophies, fill him with a sense of superstition. He describes the trophies as
phantasmagoric (1462). He further explains that the house and the contents were the cause
of his feelings. He describes his superstition one night, I endeavored to believe that
much, if not all of what I felt, was due to the phantasmagoric influence of the gloomy
furniture of the room… (1468). Hence, Poe makes use of the house to create a
supernatural effect. Likewise, Poe describes the house to create a terrifying effect. The
Fall of the House of Usher is a horror story. In order to develop a mood to get the
reader frightened, Poe must portray the setting of the story. The house is described
initially by the narrator, who sees the image of the house as a skull or death's head
looming out of the dead. He is not sure what to think and comments of the properties of
the old house: What was it, I paused to think, what was it that so unnerved me in the
contemplation of the house of Usher? (1461 - 1462). The house is further described to
take on expressions and feelings. Poe writes that the house took on a sorrowful
impression and referred to it as the melancholy House of Usher (1462). Poe further
describes the surroundings: …an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of
heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent
tarn -- a pestilent and mystic vapor, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and
leaden-hued. (1463). These portrayals of the house and its surroundings are used to build
an effect for the story. This fantastic imagery sets the mood of the twisted events and
serves as a backbone to the story and the characters. Besides mood setting, Poe uses the
house to strongly relate to the nature of the characters. The narrator states that
Roderick's fears may be linked directly to the house. He is enchained by certain
superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted, and from which,
for many years, he had never ventured forth. (1465). He believes that Roderick's illness
may be caused by the conditions of the house itself. Roderick is found as …an
anomalous species of terror…a bounden slave, or he is described as a prisoner in
his own home. As a result, Roderick does not leave because the influence of the house was
too strong. There was …an influence which some peculiarities in the mere form and
substance of his family mansion had, …he said, obtained over his spirit -- an
effect which the physique of the gray wall and turrets…brought about upon the
morale of his existence. (1465). Because of this fear, Roderick is retrained from leaving
and does not make the attempt to defeat this enduring power that holds him captive. The
house causes the fears that control Roderick Usher's mind. Madeline Usher is effected
also since she has a severe mental disorder and is in a catatonic state. Clearly the
house plays a role to greatly influence the characters. Moreover, the house parallels the
Usher family. The two are analogous to one another with the patterns of each being the
same. The landscape and the minds of Roderick and Madeline reflect each other. The house
is in deterioration as is the mental states of Roderick and Madeline. The melancholy
House of Usher has a sorrowful impression while the Usher family was down to the last of
the ancient race of their family (1461 - 1462). Both are crumbling from within, awaiting
collapse. Furthermore, the disappearance of one implies the disappearance of the other.
Everything eventually declines together, creating a unity of effect. Roderick collapsed
to the floor, a victim to the terrors he had anticipated (1474). As the narrator ran from
the house, he saw the mighty walls rushing asunder and the fragments of the 'HOUSE OF
USHER' (1474). Poe uses the house of Usher as a parallel to the family in that they
slowly deteriorate and eventually fall together. In addition, Poe applies the poem The
Haunted Palace to make a connection between the house and its inhabitants. The poem can
be described as a resemblance to the story itself. In the poem, Poe states that the house
was once a fair and stately palace. This depicts the history of the house of Usher. Over
time, the house deteriorated along with the emotions of the people occupying it: But evil
things, in robes of sorrow, Assailed the monarch's high estate; (Ah, let us mourn, for
never morrow Shall dawn upon him, desolate!) And, round bout his home, the glory That
blushed and bloomed Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed. Apparently,
the house has been overcome by evil and the happiness the once lived is now just a
memory. The current state of the house is a dim and depressing one, as described in the
poem: A hideous throng rush out forever, / And laugh -- but smile no more. Thus, Poe
makes use of this story within a story to create a further description how the house and
family relate to each other (1467 - 1468). The technique Poe uses to develop a landscape
is similar to the methods of Washington Irving. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip
Van Winkle, Irving uses the landscape to help enhance the story. Irving describes the
atmosphere in Rip Van Winkle to help portray the lives of Americans compared to the
British. The entire environment, such as the woods and mountains, was used. Irving also
uses the same means in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This story is similar to The Fall of
the House of Usher since it depicts the atmosphere to create an eerie feeling. The
landscape is set to heighten the idea of a headless horseman roaming the woods. Both Poe
and Irving have used the landscapes to create a vivid and extraordinary effect. In
conclusion, Poe's use of the landscape in The Fall of the House of Usher helps create a
supernatural and frightening atmosphere as well as embellish the plot of the story and
characters. The portrayal of the house as one with life-like characteristics produces the
supernatural atmosphere. The house is almost unreal which makes the setting more
terrifying. The idea of a dreadful house and the reaction of the narrator gives a ghostly
impression to the reader. Poe also uses the house to magnify the plot and the characters.
The house was in deterioration as was the Usher family. The poem, The Haunted Place,
summarizes the life of the house. The house also affects the Usher family. The mental
states of Roderick and Madeline were directly related to the house itself. They felt
overpowed by the strength of the house. The lives of the two