Heart of Darkness in Relation to its Title Essays -- essays research p

The Parallel meaning of the novella with its title- Heart of DarknessThe title, Heart of Darkness, aptly chosen, crowd out be very strongly linked to the novel. IT can be used to describe Joseph Conrads views on civilization, the individual mind and the land into which he ventures. These sum up his opinions on the bourgeoise society, uncivilized society and the faults of compassionate nature, linking them to the land under one common theme and thus establishing the title.Heart of Darkness can most noticeably describe Marlows journey into the breast of the land. A dominant symbol in the novel is of the river- the snake- But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an ample snake uncoiled with its head to the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of a land (71). This river brings him into what has become a dark place- It had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery- a white patch for a boy to moon gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness (71). As in snakes and ladders, you start at the head and go towards the tail. This leads him into evil (snake symbolism), danger (uncoiled), and deeper towards Kurtz, whom the snake has swallowed towards the tail. As he travels along, just as the snakes body grows thinner, so do the tolerance levels of those who think they are civilized. First Fresleven clubs a black colony chief, then a brawl breaks out, and this progresses to all-out insanity, where cannibals, primitives, Inca-like natives and, eventually, Kurtz, re human face, where he loses any control he had of his life, doing anything for more than ivory, and realizes this in his dying moments. Marlow again mentions headin... ...ke hell break loose. trip into the land increases the themes of death and chaos. However, with the trek into the heart of the land, the other two concepts significantly grow- civilization becomes more and more eda cious, and the dark heart of each individual is more likely to burst free. This may very well explain how when with his aunt, Marlow is so resisting that he states that the company is totally profit-oriented. By the time he has been at the move for a period of time and reads Kurtzs book, he actually considers his views on the inferiority of the natives. Also note how the continent got to Fresleven, causing him to go insane. The half-hidden, negative side in each concept becomes the heart of darkness, both relating it to the title and a very unifying theme. BibliographyConrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkeness. New York Chelsea House, 1987.