How is symbolism used in heart of Darkness?
Symbolism operates throughout Heart of Darkness to create an ethical context for the work. The symbol of darkness opens the novella, when Marlow is on the yacht on the Thames: "And this also," he says, speaking of England, "has been one of the dark places on earth."
What does Kurtz symbolize in darkness?
Darkness. There, they are "black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids.". These heads and the grisly fence stand as enduring symbols of Kurtz's depravity. Kurtz, then, symbolizes the darkness of the colonizers' lost morality, but there is also a sense in which Kurtz is the victim of the darkness of the jungle.
What are some examples of metaphoric darkness in the novel?
The most important metaphoric darkness is that revealed in Kurtz 's heart and symbolized by the decapitated heads of native men displayed like decorative knobs on his fence posts. There, they are "black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids." These heads and the grisly fence stand as enduring symbols of Kurtz's depravity.
What does the woman with the torch represent in the painting?
The painting depicts a woman, blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch. Clearly, this woman reminds one of the usual personification of justice, while the torch suggests the Company bringing the "light" of civilization into the "Dark Continent."
What is the significance of the painting made by Kurtz?
In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz's paint symbolizes the company, European imperialism in Africa, and Kurtz himself.
What does darkness symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Darkness becomes a symbol of hatred, fear and symbol of the power of evil. Marlow begins his story believing that these elements exists within the jungle, then with the natives and finally makes the realization that darkness lives within the heart of each man, even himself.
What does ivory symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Some of the men, especially Mr. Kurtz, get so worked up in gaining ivory that all other morals and sensibility is lost. Therefore, it is apt to claim that ivory symbolizes greed and evil.
What does the color white symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Another major symbol in Heart of Darkness is the color white. The color white traditionally symbolizes life and the goodness within but Conrad also uses it to symbolize evil. For example Conrad uses the color white to symbolize good when the Company is sending white people to civilize the areas around the Congo.
What is the main theme of Heart of Darkness '?
The Hypocrisy of Imperialism Heart of Darkness explores the issues surrounding imperialism in complicated ways. As Marlow travels from the Outer Station to the Central Station and finally up the river to the Inner Station, he encounters scenes of torture, cruelty, and near-slavery.
What does the symbol of ivory represent?
Mankind has revered ivory as a symbol of chastity, opulence and virtue since very early in history. Early carvers worked with the tusks of mastodon, mammoth, rhino, hippo, walrus, narwhal and modern elephants.
What does black wool symbolize?
Second, the two women knitting black wool suggest the Fates of Greek mythology; like these goddesses, the Company is "knitting" the destiny of the Africans, represented by the black wool. The Company, therefore, plays God with the lives of the Africans, deciding who in the Congo will live or die.
What does fog symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Fog. Fog is a sort of corollary to darkness. Fog not only obscures but distorts: it gives one just enough information to begin making decisions but no way to judge the accuracy of that information, which often ends up being wrong.
What does the boat symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
The steamboat is Marlow's means of getting to the Inner Station, and in addition to being part of the setting, it symbolizes (or represents) his movement away from civilization. This starts with Marlow finding the steamer wrecked at Central Station and having to do all the repairs himself with minimal supplies.
What does black and white symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
In Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad makes great use of the colors black and white. Often used in conjunction with light and dark, these colors symbolize good and evil, as well as help explain attitudes and overall themes. However, in this book, black is not always evil, and white not always good.
What is the irony in Heart of Darkness?
The greatest irony in Heart of Darkness is the transformation of Mr. Kurtz from a civilized whitemen into a savage. In his early life Mr. Kurtz was a man of sound sense and enlightened outlook upon life.
What do the rivets symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Rivets hold things together, and Conrad uses the rivets as symbols of the ways in which the Company, the Manager, Marlow, Kurtz, and Kurtz's fiancée (his Intended) attempt to "hold together" their beliefs and ideas. These ideological "rivets" are seen in numerous ways.
What does darkness mean in the book?
Darkness is so important a symbol that it is highlighted in the novel’s title. As is expected, darkness stands for ideas such as evil, madness, and depravity. Marlow travels into the dark, uncharted parts of the world and discovers that evil lives there in the form of the Europeans who should, in theory, bring enlightenment.
What is the picture of Kurtz?
Kurtz’s painting. Kurtz paints a picture of a woman who stands against a black background. She holds a torch and is blindfolded. While the image seems to resemble lady justice, there seems to be very little justice in Africa.
What does Kurtz see women as?
Kurtz idealizes women and sees them as the keepers of all good things in the world. They must be kept from the truth of the dark world (thus the blindfold) even as they cast a light that is the only hope for changing the world. Here it is easy to see Kurtz’s idealized vision of women.
What does Marlow say about his aunt?
Marlow says about his aunt, “It’s queer how out of touch with truth women are. They live in a world of their own . . . .”. This is a point of view shared by Kurtz who says regarding women, “We must help them to stay in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours gets worse.”. Women symbolize decency and purity.
What does the symbol of darkness mean in the book?
Darkness. The symbol of darkness opens the novella, when Marlow is on the yacht on the Thames: "And this also," he says, speaking of England, "has been one of the dark places on earth.". He means that the land and its peoples were primitive before the Roman conquest, a parallel to European colonial control of Africa.
What does ivory symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Ivory symbolizes the greed of the Europeans. It is a consuming passion for them, the lure that draws them to Africa. It has become like a religion to them: "The word 'ivory' rang in the air," Marlow says when he is at the Outer Station. It "was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it." Ivory, which is white, is the one thing of value that the Europeans in Heart of Darkness find in dark Africa. But ivory is also equated with darkness and corruption. Marlow muses that Kurtz had been captivated by the wilderness, which had "taken him, loved him, embraced him, consumed his flesh" until he had lost all his hair, his bald head now looking like an "ivory ball." When Kurtz is on the verge of dying, just before he says his last words, Marlow notes his "ivory face." Ivory no longer has value; it is a thing of evil, which is what Kurtz became.
What does Kurtz symbolize?
Kurtz, then, symbolizes the darkness of the colonizers' lost morality, but there is also a sense in which Kurtz is the victim of the darkness of the jungle. Marlow comments on "how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own" in trying to explain his descent into depravity.
What is dark wool?
Dark Wool. The knitting of dark wool by two women at the Company office in Brussels reinforces the symbol of darkness in the novella. The women are the knitters of funeral shrouds, used in death, the ultimate darkness. It is fitting that the work in a city that always reminds Marlow of a "whited sepulchre," or tomb.
What is the most important metaphoric darkness?
The most important metaphoric darkness is that revealed in Kurtz 's heart and symbolized by the decapitated heads of native men displayed like decorative knobs on his fence posts . There, they are "black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids.". These heads and the grisly fence stand as enduring symbols of Kurtz's depravity.
What does Marlow say about Kurtz?
Marlow muses that Kurtz had been captivated by the wilderness, which had "taken him, loved him, embraced him, consumed his flesh" until he had lost all his hair, his bald head now looking like an "ivory ball.". When Kurtz is on the verge of dying, just before he says his last words, Marlow notes his "ivory face.".
What does Marlow think of the drum?
When Marlow stands outside the door of the Intended, he thinks back to "the beat of the drum, regular and muffled like the beating of a heart—the heart of a conquering darkness.". The drums, then, are the sound equivalent of the jungle—an aspect of the environment that is mysterious, uncivilized, and both attractive and destructive.
What is the heart of darkness about?
A sailor recounts the tales of a steamboat caption, Charles Marlow, who told of his travels in Africa to him and bunch of other sailors on a boat. The novel then flashes back to tell the story in real time, and ends back on the boat with Marlow and the sailors.
What happens after the fog in Kurtz?
After the fog, as the steamer gets closer to finding Kurtz, the metaphorical darkness becomes more evil than cryptic. Many crew are injured or killed in an attack on the boat before they get to the station where Kurtz is based. Once the travelers get to the station, they see how the evil of the jungle has warped Kurtz (and vice versa).
What do you hear about the Congo in the book?
The first thing readers hear about the Congo in the book is that it's a blank white space on a map, totally uncharted and unknown. For Marlow, that gives it a strange, almost forbidden attraction, which leads him to take the job from the ivory company. But that blank version of the unknown turns into a dark one sooner than later.
