Heart of darkness 3

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2008

download word file, 3 pages 3.0

Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness focusses on a journey of self-discovery and the effects of colonialism and imperialism. The struggle that Marlow and Kurtz experience in coming to terms with their world enables them to learn and discover a lot about themselves and others. Conrad exhibits the potential for a physical and psychological journey up the Congo to induce character discoveries into themselves, the natives, the knitters, the doctor and on each other. Predominately, it is Marlow's discoveries within himself that are evident throughout Conrad's text.

The naïve, young Marlow, through his journey to the Inner station learns to discriminate between good and evil. Although Marlow never clearly draws a conclusion about his experience, it is obvious that he grasps reality and experience. He discovers that his experiences are a test of his powers of self-control as he gains a tolerance for others through his deep infatuations with the exploiter in Kurtz.

In the mental changes, search for reality and battle with the wilderness Marlow believes that it is a journey to "find yourself in what no other man can know". In his experiences, particularly at the Inner station,"the farthest point" and " culminating point" of his existance, Marlow reaches maturity and returns with a knowledge than is greater than his years. Influencing the remaining years of Marlows life, his search for Kurtz has ended in being presented with a man exposed to his evil ways and an individual that has no chance to rectify his past.

Although Kurtz' presence in heart Of Darkness is limited, it is through Marlow, that it is clear that Kurtz makes discoveries about himself through his struggle to survive. The wilderness exposes Kurtz' true self and the title, Heart Of Darkness, indicates the darkness that Kurtz...