Analysis of the use of “darkness” in the “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad

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Darkness, dark, black, Africans, Heart of Darkness, Africa; if you look deeply, they can represent each other. But is that what Conrad means from “Heart of Darkness”? Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad delivers a story about an agent sent to the depth of Africa and his journeys. A significant symbol of the book is the darkness that has been used both in the title of the book and frequently in the story where you can smell the dead perfume of darkness. In this essay, I’m going to talk about different sections that darkness relates to; which are “darkness of the racism throughout the story”, “darkness of the system”, “the darkness of different characters of the book”, and “the darkness that got over the Kurtz (mainly from the jungle)”.

In Heart of Darkness, one of the main themes is racism that comes from the white characters of the book, including Marlow; also, many believe that Joseph Conrad is the center of this racism, himself. Let’s look at Marlow’s very first dialogue in the story; “And this also has been one of the dark places on earth…”I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago — the other day. . . . Light came out of this river since — you say, Knights? Yes; but it is like a running blaze on a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds. We live in the flicker — may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday” pg.5 This is what Marlow says, continuing another character’s speech. The “this” that Marlow implies, is where they were at that moment and where Marlow is from, England. Marlow says that England before the arrival of Romans was also dark and uncivilized. He expresses this opinion freely, and without any sign of prejudice over his country. By this opinion of him, we can also understand that in Marlow’s idea, uncivilization was equal to darkness. Also, if we dig a little bit deeper at this part, we can see some symbols. As Africans are black and English people are white, this might be a metaphor for itself that the white people are bringing the light (civilization) to the darkness (uncivilized country). This can also prepare the readers for the racism theme of the book where Africans are directly called savages. Also by having the possibility that Marlow is a reflection of Joseph Conrad himself, Marlow’s opinion which is barbarism equal to darkness can be the author, Joseph Conrad’s opinion. This also can tell us that one of the things that the title of the book is addressing by “heart of darkness” is the center of barbarism which in this story, and according to Marlow/Joseph Conrad, is Congo. Also, as we read further in the story, Marlow calls his trip up the river like going into deeper darkness, so there is also this possibility that the darkness is the Belgian company’s territory there, and the Heart of Darkness is Kurtz’s station. Although at the beginning of the book we have Marlow talking about the dark past of England which is his own country, many critics believe that whether the characters of the book including Marlow, are racist, or Joseph Conrad himself is the center of the racism that comes from the story. “Well … that was the worst of it, this suspicion of their not being inhuman.” pg. 40 This is Marlow’s comment on the native Africans he saw. Marlow’s idea of Africans and natives there being inhuman can be the reflection of where Marlow comes from and the society he lived in; it can be a reflection from the belief of English people or even the whole of Europe that sources from factors like wrong beliefs or the government’s advertisements. Also, we know that the author Joseph Conrad lived most of his life in Europe, especially in England. So Joseph Conrad might have tried to show the dark racism that was ruling over Europe at that time, or maybe he was affected by it himself, by living in that poisoned society. Another important thing to mention is when Marlow uses “not being inhuman” while describing his feelings. I believe that this sentence structure is addressing Marlow’s fear of being the same, deep inside, and having the same savagery as the natives he saw. In Marlow’s idea, the only thing differentiating him with the people he saw during his journey in Africa, is the civilization that teaches and treats him in a more “human” way as he says during his trip up the river “It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention.”. This can also be Joseph Conrad’s reminder to the people of his time by telling them that the difference between them and the people who they call savages, is the civilization that has happened to them and saved them from their savage barbaric past. Whether Marlow is a metaphor for Joseph Conrad or the people of that time, it is obvious that the darkness of racism had its wide shadow over the people; either they were the racists, or they were affected by the racism.

The darkness of the system that the Belgian company had, is another part that has been empowered by the racism of the time, which made it even darker. The business of Ivory at that time, besides being non-environmental friendly, was also extremely harsh, racist, and unhealthy, in terms of human life. The way that these companies held natives as slaves, under terrible conditions, was the true meaning of injustice and darkness; but this time, just for the people of the darker color. Marlow during his trip sees the slaves working under The Manager’s force. He describes their situation as being very tough and unhealthy. They were chained up and tired. They weren’t fed properly and some of them seemed sick, but no one cared nor took care of them. While the company’s slogan was making there better, the only thing they cared about was the ivory that they were getting. They were full of greed and did not care about the situation of people there, at all. The darkness of the greed was not just over the company owners, but the managers, too. As Kurtz sending significantly more ivory than the other managers, they have started to be harsher on their slaves and make them work extra. While both managers are using dark methods on their workers, we see that the Manager’s workers are sad and under really bad conditions while Kurtz’s people are eager to have him at their station and they praise him. Kurtz’s methods were weird and different where they even surprised Marlow when he first saw one. “I had expected to see a knob of wood there, you know. I returned deliberately to the first I had seen — and there it was, black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids — a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and, with the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth, was smiling, too, smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber.” pg.66 This is Marlow’s first reaction to the fence he sees outside Kutz’s station. At first, he thought that he’s looking at some sticks, but as he got closer, he realized that they are actually the heads of natives, each one on the top of a wooden pole, with their mouths open, smiling. Later on, Marlow realizes that those heads are the heads of whom Kurtz calls rebels. Another interesting fact about the heads is that they were towards the station in front of Kurtz’s office so he could have looked out of his window every day and see the faces of his enemies smiling at him. I believe that the reason would be whether injecting fear into the blood of other natives who had the thought of rebellion or it could have been because of the sadism that darkness brought to Kurtz. While Kurtz is being harsh on his workers in a weird and extreme way, the company not just doesn’t care about his actions, but also praises him for sending the most amount of ivory. This can only mean in the darkness of the greed that has got over the company and managers that blinds them from seeing the most obvious injustice and suffering that is happening to the natives, by them.

As discussed above, the darkness and greed in the system and managers relate to each other; it is a two-way connection in which, one empowers the other. The brutality of the managers and the company are both in favor of the business. This darkness and greed had its shadow over each character of the book in different ways and so their reflection of that darkness is quite different. The darkness of the Manager, for example, resulted in him forcing the workers to work extra hours under hard situations while not being fed well and some of them were extremely ill. He also did not like Kurtz at all and wanted him to die because he was more successful than him in exploiting ivory and leading his workers. And when Kurtz died, Marlow says that he had a smile on his face showing his mean self. Kurtz also acted brutally and unfairly to his workers, killing the ones who wouldn’t obey him, known as rebels. But his workers surprisingly liked him and praised him which could have been because of Kurtz’s ability in speech and convicting. They were even scared that the company one day takes Kurtz from them. So the brutality in Kurtz and other managers were different as they resulted differently in the opinion of the native workers. They all had the darkness, but the darkness in them was in different shapes; as Marlow says “His was an impenetrable darkness.” pg. 80. Marlow says this sentence about Kurtz, implying that the evil and darkness that is inside Kurtz is quite different from the other managers. Marlow mentions that he has failed to understand this sense in Kurtz and it goes deeper and deeper. Marlow also is a character that I believe has got the darkness in him. Besides believing in Kurtz, Marlow also shows darkness in himself, too. I do not want to include what has been already said about Marlow, so I point out his comments on the Helmsman which were racist. He also works for the company and as I said before, working for the company is somehow being the partner in crime with the company. Another character in the story that seems very naive, as Marlow says about him “gallantly, thoughtlessly alive.” pg. 63 is the Russian which I believe has a taste of darkness in himself, in some ways. Throughout the story, the Russian character is shown as a person full of respect to Kurtz and very loyal to him. Since Marlow arrives at the station, the Russian starts to talk about Kurtz and the great impression he has made on the people there. He even said that Kurtz once tried to shoot him because he did not want to give up his ivory. But surprisingly, even after this, he still loved Kurtz and praised him which shows the huge effect of Kurtz over his audience. The Russian believed that whatever Kurtz does and says is the right thing, due to the effect that Kurtz had on him. This also means that the Russian believed what Kurtz did to those workers who he called rebels, was right and this is where we can see that even such a naive character can have some darkness in himself. He got this darkness from his wrong belief in Kurtz and blindly obeying him that can show us the evil in Kurtz besides being destructive, can appear charming in its audience’s opinion. There are also some characters who did not have a bright role in the story but were effective enough to investigate their darkness. They are the Pilgrims, the manager’s uncle, intended, aunt, and Kurtz’s followers ( his workers). The Pilgrims, company agents who usually would carry wooden stuff and rifles that they used, for instance, the time that they were carrying Kurtz and they have drawn their rifles to shoot the Africans that were watching them leave. Their darkness is the obedience which they have against the company’s policies and their fake mission of civilization. They are the company’s puppets and they believe in that lifestyle; “goodness and faith [are] unrealities.” pg. 25. Whether they believe in the company’s goal or are just careless about it, they are helping the company to achieve its greedy goals which will hurt both the environment and the native people of Africa. Another character who has had some cruel ideas is the Manager’s uncle. He leads the Eldorado Exploring Expedition. The cruel thing that he does, is when he agrees with the Manager, his nephew, about getting rid of Kurtz because he has been more successful than his nephew in exploiting ivory. The Intended is Kurtz’s fiancee who is waiting for him in Europe. At the end of the story, when Marlow approaches her and meets her, we see that she deeply believes in Kurtz and his ideologies. As I said before, in my opinion, while Kurtz was somehow very clever and respectful as his own, his attitude among natives was cruel and inhuman. Also, the policies of the company were totally wrong, in my opinion. Kurtz was accepting those wrong policies by working for that company. Policies that were inhuman and extremely non-environmental friendly. So if his wife agrees with him and believes in his ideology, she is doing as much harm as Kurtz, and this makes her character, to move into the darkness of the story. But that is a big “if” that is not clear or specified in the story, because there is also the possibility that Kurtz’s wife is not aware of the darkness inside Kurtz. But if she is aware, her darkness that was not mentioned much in the story, but I believe that it may exist in the depth of the book. Either it was there, by Joseph Conrad’s will, or the ruling belief of the society of that time delivers it into minds. Another character who has the same destiny in our comparison, as the previous three characters, is Marlow’s aunt. She motivates Marlow to work for the Belgian company that has the dark and wrong aims and policies and she also seems to believe in them. But whether she believes in the company or not, just by motivating Marlow to work for them, she is making the wrong and dark decision and it is enough for me to say that she had a bit of darkness in her, too. Kurtz’s workers who became his followers afterward have made the decision of following and praising Kurtz who is stealing their ivory, does not just make them foolish, but also it is a crime that they are committing against their next generation and pushing their country into deeper darkness.

Last but not least, the darkness that got over Kurtz and corrupted him at the end, which was mostly from the jungle. By examining Kurtz, we realize that before he starts his job as a manager in the station, he had the spirit of being a leader; based on what the journalist who visited Marlow said. He also mentioned his thought that Kurtz should have been a politician because of his skills in handling the speech and making an impression on the people. But as Kurtz stayed more and more in the jungle, the darkness of the jungle got into him as Marlow says “how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own” pg. 55. This darkness haunting Kurtz’s soul could have been the truth of his actions and what he and the company he was working for, were doing to the people. If this theory is true, then I believe this darkness is somehow the brightness that is coming towards Kurtz. A brightness that is trying to save Kurtz from the darkness of his own. If this theory is true, the reason that this light is being represented in the form of darkness, in the story, is due to the struggle and fight of Kurtz with this truth, which is like a dark nightmare for him. We can see by how the story describes Kurtz and how Marlow describes him, that he was struggling with this darkness from the jungle; “I saw the inconceivable mystery of a soul that knew no restraint, … yet struggling blindly with itself.” pg. 77. Maybe this struggle was because of Kurtz’s view on civilization. Because as we can see in the story, although the source of Kurtz’s power and what differentiates him from natives, is his civilization, we can see that his methods and strategies which were working quite well, are more barbaric than being modern. So the reason for Kurtz’s struggle could be his realization that inside of civilization, lies a layer of barbarism. Or maybe this light in the jungle is being represented as darkness because this is what Joseph Conrad believes in, himself, which shows his darkness. The structure of the story tries to tell us that Kurtz was living in the heart of darkness. Not just about his mental situation and behavior, but also, his station was the heart of the darkness as Marlow implies while traveling towards it “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness” pg. 40. Whether it was Kurtz’s methods that made his station the heart of darkness or Kurtz himself, was the heart of darkness. I personally believe that the heart of darkness was the station and what was ruling there. The company’s unfair and criminal policy, the advantage that was being taken by the company, the harsh methods that Kurtz was using, and of course the stupidity of his followers who believed in him and praised him while he was taking advantage of their resources. I believe that a combination of all these factors could mean the heart of darkness that the author, Joseph Conrad mentions. Kurtz’s accommodation in his station did make him even more brutal as he said at the end of one of his reports, “Exterminate all the brutes!” pg. 57. But he clearly had more thoughts and plans in his mind as he told Marlow when he found him crawling towards the jungle. And what could that mean?! That the jungle was grabbing Kurtz into itself? into its darkness? Maybe Kurtz’s death was supposed to happen in the jungle so the jungle finishes Kurtz’s corruption. I believe that Kurtz has reached to a belief or confusion in himself. “The horror! The horror!” are Kurtz’s last words before his death. I believe that Kurtz’s experience in the jungle and whatever he reached to, frightens him. Many say “The horror! The horror!” pg.89 shows Kurtz’s fear of his own actions and what he did. While some others believe that it shows Kurtz’s recognition of the fear of life or the meaninglessness of existence. Of course, Joseph Conrad knows better than everyone, but it is not a guaranty. Maybe he is trying to make us feel what is impossible to feel without understanding. Maybe he is trying to tell us the darkness of power, and knowledge; the darkness of life.

Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, is a book with a variety of messages. Whether the book is trying to show the many problems or wrong believes of its time or they are what Conrad, himself, believes in. Problems like racism or imperialism. The symbol of darkness is very bold in the story and can be felt through each page of the book. In the beginning, the darkness is the barbarism of the countries, but as we proceed in the story, the darkness starts to represent the power. In the end, the darkness represents life and existence. The characters of the book, each have their effect on the story; Marlow and Kurtz, more than others. But they all fail in expressing themselves. As Marlow says at the end, some experiences are impossible to be described by words. It is unique to each person. “We live, as we dream — alone” pg. 30.

Thanks a lot for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

Best wishes, Mahan