Symbols are used to represent an idea by suggesting what that idea might mean rather than giving a direct interpretation. It makes the reader wonder what the true purpose of the symbol is and leads to a lot of analysis. By analyzing the symbolism in Heart of Darkness, this essay shows how Joseph Conrad uses Marlow's exploration of the Congo to explore the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayCharles Marlow is an Englishman who is traveling along the Thames and is telling his troupe the story of the journey through the Congo. His mission was to travel up the long and treacherous river to transport ivory from Africa to other countries to sell. He faced many obstacles along the way as well as many hostile native tribesmen. His story is filled with descriptions of many objects that have a deeper meaning, otherwise known as symbolism. The first symbol Conrad uses is the Congo River itself. Rivers can hold many meanings in and of themselves, including movement, shape, and appearance. The Congo River is very curved and winding, which makes it look like a snake. Snakes are often considered a temptation and evil. The men on Marlow's boat faced many of these temptations as they traveled to meet Mr. Kurtz, a wealthy businessman who needs to transport his goods. One of the main temptations faced by the crew is cannibalism. Without much food on the boat, hunger always lingers in the pit of the crews' stomachs. Marlow explains that looking back on the situation he is now surprised that he didn't become someone's dinner. Marlow also had to face the evil of the jungle around him. The jungle seemed to hide many secrets in its gloomy appearance. It was dark and filled with many dangers, including the natives. Darkness is one of the main themes of the story, and the river is one of the first places we discover this darkness. Like all rivers, the Congo always flows with a strong current. This movement not only seems to keep Marlow and his team moving forward, but also seems to keep the plot of the story moving. He is the catalyst for the story to unfold. As Marlow and his crew travel deeper into the jungle, the current travels against them making it difficult for them to get upriver. It's almost as if the jungle itself didn't want their company. Once Marlow got to Mr. Kurtz and picked him up with his load, he was able to head back down the river. As Marlow said, “The brown current flowed swiftly out of the heart of darkness, carrying us seaward with twice the speed of our upward progress.” This description also has a meaning precisely regarding the darkness of the jungle since the river does not even seem to want to flow towards the heart of the jungle, it would like to flow away as if it knows that higher up there is evil. river. When Marlow arrives at Central Station he is told that his boat has been sunk and that it will take some time for parts to repair it. He spends a few weeks at the station where he meets two women. The two women are sitting there quietly and knitting black wool. Marlow describes them as: "Two women, one fat and the other thin, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool." The women seemed normal until one of them stood up and approached Marlow. “The thin one stood up and walked straight towards me – still knitting with her eyes down – and just as I was starting to think about getting out of the way,…she stopped and looked up. They seemed consistent with their task, without everlook away from what they are doing to greet Marlow. Most people's interpretation of these women is that they represent the ancient Greek mythology of the Moirai, the sisters of destiny. Two of the sisters of fate spin the thread, which represents a person's life, and the third sister cuts the thread when that person's time is up. Conrad could have used this famous Greek character to foreshadow Marlow's journey through the jungle and how his time could be measured and shortened during the journey. While Marlow was at Central Station waiting for his boat to be repaired, he notices an oil painting hanging in the station. The painting depicts a blindfolded woman carrying a lit torch. This simple painting contains many meanings. The most obvious meaning is that it represents the Station itself trying to "blindfold" its occupants from their treatment of the natives around them. The natives are used to doing much of the hard work in the field and receive nothing but mistreatment and starvation. The painting is also unusual in the way a blindfolded woman, who cannot see, tries to guide others. This contradiction is similar to the way Marlow led his crew down the river they had never traveled before. From a broader perspective, the blindfold could have also represented humanity's selective outlook when it comes to expansionism and destruction of lands in other territories they know little about. The torch in this situation represents the Europeans trying to bring civilization, the "light", into the darkness of Africa. Once Marlow's boat is repaired, he is able to continue his journey down the Congo River. During the journey to the station where Kurtz is located, a thick white fog appears which makes it almost impossible to see. Marlow describes it as, “When the sun rose there was a white mist, very hot and slimy, and more blinding than the night” (Conrad 47). This thick fog makes it impossible for Marlow to understand where his boat is going. The fog represents the confusion that people face when they blindly follow something or someone. This forces them to make important decisions without being able to judge the accuracy of their decision or what effects it might have. This thick fog also represents Marlow's mental state. At first he didn't really care who Kurtz was, but after hearing some stories he was really interested in meeting the boy, even saying that the boat "crawled towards Kurtz - exclusively" (Conrad 44). He was fighting a battle inside himself because he wanted to be like Kurtz. Even though he knew Kurtz was evil, he still wanted to be a man isolated from the annoyances of modern civilization. The fog almost seemed to manifest itself based on what was going on in Marlow's head. He was internally struggling with what he would do with his life after meeting Kurtz. When Marlow finally arrives at the last leg of his journey through the heart of Africa, he meets Mr. Kurtz whom he has heard a lot about in person. other people at the station. Kurtz is a rich and ambitious man, full of greed and hunger for power. His hunger for power drives his motivation to treat everyone around him cruelly and make sure everyone knows he's the boss. He does this to show the villagers and guests that he is the leader of the land. This hunger for power that makes Kurtz so barbaric also parallels the way civilization works. Conrad is trying to show that the small area of ​​the African Congo is symbolic of how things are run in the much larger English society. Kurtz is also full of greed. The only reason Kurtz is risking his sanity in the heart of the Congo is so he can sellivory in the new world. Marlow says that Kurtz has "no restraint" because the jungle has taken over Kurtz to the point that he doesn't know the difference between right and wrong and will do anything to get his ivory. His pursuit of money is all too familiar to society. Conrad shows this through Kurtz who is willing to risk not only his sanity but also his own life just to get the money for the ivory. Kurtz is so obsessed with ivory that even Marlow describes Kurtz's head as "like a ball - an ivory ball". When Marlow finally arrives at Kurtz's house to meet him, his first impression of Kurtz is born as he sees him decapitated.Heads stuck on top of fence posts. “They would have been even more impressive, those heads on the posts, if their faces had not been turned towards the house. While it doesn't seem to bother Marlow much, it shows how evil Kurtz can be. Kurtz represents the dark side of humanity. His lack of life in civilization has driven him mad, to the point of impaling decapitated heads. Kurtz also has characteristics that show how, despite being a civilized man, he has a primitive instinct that, if left unchecked, can be unleashed. and begin to destroy the civilized self. The final symbol used in Heart of Darkness, and perhaps the most important, would be darkness itself. Darkness has been a major theme throughout the novel, but it is also symbolic. Conrad hints at darkness throughout the story by saying things like “into the darkness of the darkened distance” and “it seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” The darkness could represent two things, one is the evil of an uncivilized place and the other is the cruelty of racism. The first representation of darkness is that it resembles what is inside each of us; an uncivilized side that is usually controlled until the environment and background begin to influence the darkness. Marlow grew up in England and was a relatively civilized person who followed the laws like almost everyone else. When he made his trip to the Congo, Marlow immediately noticed the difference. There were no laws governing anyone and the Central Station managers could do almost anything they wanted. The description of how things were handled at Central Station leads to what the darkness could also represent: racism. Conrad says that the heart of Africa is the heart of darkness due not only to the uncivilized people who inhabit that land, but also to the treatment meted out to those same inhabitants. Conrad published Heart of Darkness in 1902, and during this time the idioms he uses such as "black" and "nigger" were very common and were not considered offensive. However, the Central Station villagers were definitely discriminated against in several ways, including being called "savages". They were there to do nothing but work all day for little to no food, much less pay. When Marlow first sees them he describes them saying: “I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar around his neck, and all were connected to each other with a chain.” This vivid account is nothing but horrific even for the early 1900s. It is evident how badly Africans were treated in their own homeland. Marlow also describes one of the buildings burning down and the white men automatically finding the first black person they can find and punishing him. He says: “A black man was being beaten nearby. They said that somehow he had caused the fire; anyway." Marlow knew what they were doing was wrong, but that's how things work in the jungle where there are no rules. Keep in mind: this is just an example. Get a personalized document from our team today.2004.0038)