It could be interpreted as Marlow’s inability to see and understand others. He repeatedly forewarns of those “who tackle a darkness” and arguably Conrad uses darkness as a metaphor, perhaps signifying the inability to see. He explores this through the characters of Marlow himself and Kurtz. Conrad emphasises the darkness within mankind that is beneath the surface. They were men enough to face the darkness”, Conrad insinuates the possibility of this “darkness” taking over one’s mind. The symbolism of light and darkness could also emphasise the mental disintegration that we witness, as a result of one being removed from their normal social surroundings. Thus, tempting them into ‘uncivilized’ behaviour, because of their surroundings and the ‘darkness’ of such a place. Marlow suggests that the uncivilized savages degrade Europeans by placing them in the Congo and removing them from their “civilized” society. Marlow wants to give “light” to all the Africans living in ignorance, educate them and gain control over them.
It makes the reader question which civilization really possesses the darkness. The light represents the civilization of the white men and the dark representing the uncivilized, almost savage lives of the natives. The contrast between light and dark parallels the idea of civilized and uncivilized. Darkness stands for the purity and innocence of the natives, whereas light symbolises the corruption, greed and exploitation of the white men. Through the use of such words like “lead” and “smoke”, Conrad emphasises a true darkness to the setting. Both Africa and England share connotations of darkness, “a sea the color of lead, a sky the color of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina – “. Conrad fills the whole novella with symbolic aspects of light and darkness, which plays the central role in Heart of Darkness. He explores the idea that Europe ‘enlightened’ the rest of civilization from their apparent ‘darkness’. The Thames conjures up images as the narrator retells the stories of ‘Knights’ and ‘Romans’ in a celebratory tone, calling them “knight errants” of the sea.Ĭonrad uses lots of ‘light’ imagery, “it is like a running blaze on a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds”, and this implies that such voyages served a glorious, higher purpose. Africa was known as “The Dark Continent” in the Victorian era, Marlow refers to it throughout the novella as “one of the dark places on earth”. It seems almost a dark subject amongst the story which is reflected in Conrad’s use of vivid descriptions and imagery. The foreshadowing associations to invasion link with one of the main themes at the centre of Heart of Darkness, Imperialism. It could be interpreted that the motifs of ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ signify what is to come later on in the novella. The foreshadowing is mostly shown through Conrad’s use of imagery, which is consistently dark and threatening. All of these could be interpreted as a symbol of the invasion that is to come. Conrad mentions “a military camp lost in the wilderness” alongside “Knights” and “Romans”. This almost suggests what is to come, not only of the invasion of the natives but the impact that it will have on their own minds. The extract begins rich with imagery as Marlow talks of the “Light” that “came out of this river”, emphasising the idea that through invasion, the Romans diminished the “darkness that was here yesterday” in their brief “flicker” of light. Conrad’s use of ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ imagery is reflected through devices such as setting and atmosphere. Arguably the biggest motif explored in Heart of Darkness is that of ‘Light’ and ‘Darkness’. One of the key aspects in the Novella is the way in which Conrad explores the depths of imagery, motif and symbolism. It could be interpreted that the anonymity of the narrator represents the conventional perspective of an outsider, someone not involved.
The narration is told in the first-person plural, letting the reader know what each of the four listeners are thinking and feeling. The narrator remains unnamed as do the other listeners. Conrad uses a framing narrative Marlow’s narrative is framed by another narrative, in which the reader listens to Marlow’s story told through one of those listening. In this extract taken from the Novella, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad explores many elements. Imagery, Symbolism and Motif in ‘Heart of Darkness’
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