Criticize Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness - Essay Example

Your F. 29 December Criticism on Conrads “Heart of Darkness” In Joseph Conrads novella, “Heart of Darkness,” Ifound that it was very descriptive of Marlows encounters up the Congo River to meet Kurtz was very mysterious and adventurous during Marlows journey in Africa. There seems to be both types of details that are literal but also seem to be symbolic on his journey. You can feel the admiration that Marlow has for Kurtz, the Belgian ivory trader as he travels to go meet him to relieve him prior to him actually meeting him.

Marlows journey makes him realize that both Kurtzs faults and temptations that affected him to make him a corrupt person are also affecting Marlow making him into a person he did not realize he could become. It is very vivid, describing many of the natives experiences in life as they are going through suffering of overwork. The details were phenomenal and you could feel the pain they were going through. Also is true of the disgusting disease the Kurtz has when Marlow comes upon him toward the end of his journey.

The imagery is compelling and evokes somewhat of a darkness within the story. There are many symbols throughout the novella that are black and white in theory but white does not necessarily represent good like you think it would and instead is interchangeable. There is violence, suffering and evil within the scenarios and the use of Conrads wording makes it difficult to paint a clear picture of all of the events and whether or not the scenarios are intended to be seen as good or if they are intended to be portrayed to that of evil.

I think that this novella seems to portray images of a person who once also served as a seaman and it was like you could feel their feelings too in the different situations. Since it was written in the late 1800s, you can assume that it is reflective of what was going on in Europe during these times and the different cultural movements that were occurring. With Kurtz and Marlow working for the Belgian government as ivory traders, the way things are explained seem sinister as if that exposing the Belgian government for its trade practices could be a motive to write this.

Both Kurtz and Marlow had failures, so is this symbolic of Conrads failures too? Conrads failure would be that it is hard to focus a single central subject within this story. A great novel, yet a complicated one, you can finish this short story and still have a hard time interpreting its meaning. One particular example of this could be when Marlow says, “Do you see the story? Do you see anything? It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream—making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream- sensation , that commingling of absurdity, surprise and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible, which is the very essence of dream It is impossible.

We live, as we dream- alone.” This could be how Conrad himself sees his story telling in this novel. He feels as if he is having a hard time communicating what he is feeling in this novel and though it is fiction, there seems to be a truth in it that only the author can understand. It is as if Conrad can only portray this story in a way that only he can understand and that it is a mysterious dream like state that the story has come to him and he is having a difficulty writing it. This short story was interesting but yet integrated many mysterious contexts of symbolism and imagery.

It was hard to figure out everything he was trying to explain when you are trying to read it literally.