Assignment cover sheet
Note: The attention of students is drawn to the Academic Regulations (accessible via http://my.acu.edu.au/40147), the Academic Honesty Policy (accessible via http://my.acu.edu.au/42703.and) the Assessment Policy and Procedures (accessible via http://my.acu.edu.au/37875).
| Student ID Number/s: | Student Surname/s: | Given names: | ||
| S00070285 | Bowditch | Shayne Andrew | ||
| Course: Bachelor of Arts | ||||
| School: FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES School of Arts and Sciences Strathfield Campus (Mt Saint Mary) | ||||
| Unit code: ENGL202 | Unit title: Nineteenth Century Literature | |||
| Due date: Friday, 31 August 2012 | Date submitted: Friday, 31 August 2012 | |||
| Lecturer-in-Charge: Associate Professor Michael Griffith | Tutorial Group/Tutor: 03 | |||
| Title: Into the heart of an immense darkness | ||||
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
- This assignment is submitted in accordance with the Academic Regulations and the Academic Honesty Policy.
- No part of this assignment has been copied from any other source without acknowledgement of the source.
- No part of this assignment has been written by any other person, except to the extent of collaboration and/or group work as defined in the unit outline.
- This assignment has not been recycled, using work substantially the same as work I have completed previously and which has been counted towards satisfactory completion of another unit of study credited towards another qualification, unless the Lecturer-in-Charge has granted prior written consent to do so.
- I have made and retained a copy of this original assignment.
Signature of student(s): Shayne Andrew Bowditch Date: Tuesday, 3 December 2024
Essay Q.1: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness could be called The Heart of Light.
Discuss
“The Light shines through the darkness; and the darkness never extinguish it” (John 1:5)
This essay will explore the thematic ideas of darkness and light in Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness. This idea is closely related to the question of redemption and salvation in Conrad’s story.
Conrad’s story is set in 1890s Central Africa known at the time as the Congo Free State, then under complete control of Leopold II King of the Belgians. Leopold set up the Association International du Congo (ACI) which was his own personal organisation, unlike its predecessor the AIA that was a multi-national organisation. The ACI was setup under the pretext of aiding the Congo, in the development of scientific and humanitarian programs to help uplift the African people. However, King Leopold increasingly used the ACI to gather and sell ivory, rubber, and minerals in the upper Congo basin. In time, The Congo Free State earned a reputation for increasingly brutal mistreatment of the local natives and plunder of natural resources, leading to the elimination of the ACI by the government of Belgium in 1908. This is the historical setting for Conrad’s story; and is the basis for the relationship that develops between Mr Kurtz and Charlie Marlow the two key correctors of the novella[MG1] .
Mr Kurtz, who is one of the central characters of Joseph Conrad’s story, is an ivory trader, for a Belgian company. Charlie Marlow is sent to the Congo to retrieve Kurtz, when stories of his brutal mistreatment of the local native’s reachers the Belgium company that he works for[MG2] .
Heart of Darkness is a story within a story; it open with the narrator along with three other men lazily waiting for the tide to go out on the river Thames. While they wait one of the men, Charlie Marlow, begins to relate a story of his time in the African Congo. It‘s a story that shares striking similarity with what Joseph Conrad bore witness to during his time in the region[MG3] .
This essay will now focus on the symbolism of dark and light which emerge from story[MG4] Conrad relies heavily on these metaphors of dark and light, to tell his the story. Heart of Darkness, is a story of imperialism, greed and man’s inhumanity toward man It is also a story of the insanity; and the corruption of one man’s soul, which can be seen reflected in the actions of Mr Kurtz; finally it is a story of redemption and light. Conrad also symbolises light in the novella describing Europe and Europeans in terms of light and whiteness, equating the colour of his own skin, with knowledge and civility, while representing the colour of the natives’ skins with evil and primitive nature.
Darkness takes on various forms in Joseph Conrad’s story: there is the literal darkness, created by the conditions and weather of the Congo; There is the darkness in relation to the colour of natives’ skin; the darkness and savagery of the Congo itself, and there is the psychological darkness, which is the underlying theme of the story. The African continent itself represents darkness, as seen through the eyes of Europeans. In contrast, Europe and its people, are seen as enlightened, civilised, and blessed by God. As a result, it is their Christian duty to bring that same enlightenment to the black savages of Africa. In the beginning of Conrad’s Marlow is described by his Aunt as “emissary of light, something like a lower sort of apostle.” (Conrad, 1898.) Missioners of the day where seen as crusaders of truth and justice, going forth in the name of both Church and the Christ[MG5] .
However, as the reader proceeds deeper into the book, light, and darkness become blurred. Conrad’s story explores the question of what is the true nature of evil, and is [MG6] evil inherent in all of us? “The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9.)
In “Heart of Darkness” Marlow struggles with this very issue. The darkness that has engulfed Kurtz threatens Marlow as well looming heavily like a storm cloud threatening to engulf everyone. However, the final revelation comes in the guise of one man’s deathbed awakening and another man’s lie to a grieving woman[MG7] .
Conrad seems to be suggesting that one’s environment pushes people to their extremes, so they commit evil actions as in the case of “Mr. Kurtz.” Later in the book Kurtz, is described as being a universal genius as well as having qualities that would be suited to political office (Conrad, 1943) as Conrad celery [MG8] shows these are [MG9] attributes that are desirable in the west, become deviant, when left unchecked the heart of the Congo.
Through his contact with Kurtz, Marlow comes to realize that evil lies in the heart of all of us. When Marlow first learns of Kurtz’s activities in the jungle, he attributes Kurtz’s moral downfall or madness to his lack of connection with civilization. Marlow blames the dark, mysterious force of the jungle for Kurtz’s actions. Eventually, however Marlow becomes aware that the African jungle is not to be blame for the making of brutal and mad Kurtz, but “All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz” (Conrad, 1932.) The author provoking clearly the reader to ask is Kurtz insane, or has he simply surrendered to his primeval instincts?
Conrad continues to use iconic imagery throughout his story, e.g. the Congo River plays a major part in the novella. The river could be used to represent a serpent (evil) that plays with Marlow just as a snake plays with its prey. However, the river can also represent a source of life new beginnings; as well as a journey in to the human psyche[MG10] . Africa itself is represented as a world of darkness and savagery, a foreboding environment that must be extinguished from the face of the earth at all cost. In contrast Europe and the whole of the western world is represented as enlightened and civilised. Mr. Kurtz’s betrothed, whom we meet at the end of the book, personifies an image European purity.
Conrad raises the question how easily light can become corrupted. There is a struggle in every human heart between the dark and the light, between good and evil. Unfortunately good does not always win. Sometimes darkness overcomes, “the better angels of our nature” (Lincoln.) thus we surrender to what Freud called the id.* Ultimately, Heart of darkness [MG11] is about Imperialist rape, theft and violence, thinly covered by sanctimonious bringing of higher culture and civilisation. (MG- Lecture)
Conrad prompts us to ask why is it that when people are free from the normal restraints of society, when they believe no one can see them they feel free to behave any way they wish without restraint. This raises yet another question: is the only reason that we have a stable society in the first place, because we are afraid of how others will see and juge us[MG12] ? In Conrad’s novella, Marlow, it seems is on a journey of self-discovery. He discovers in Kurtz an opposite rather than an equal. Both men are subjected to a moral test; Kurtz succumbs completely to primitive lusts. However Marlow, does just the opposite, he does not surrender, to the native orgies as Kurtz has. What distinguishes Marlow from Kurtz, for the most part is the fact that Marlow shows restraint, in the face of this primal instinct. Like Kurtz, Marlow could surrender himself to pure animal desire, yet for reasons best known to Conrad, he chooses not to. Restraint arises from faith, or from some deeper belief in
the dignity of all human life. This is sadly lacking in Kurtz. The popular opinion of the day was that both the Congo and the Natives embodied humanity primeval darkness. In the story Conrad, points out the absurdity of life. At best, life is a sort of pantomime, a magnificent façade between good and evil; a cosmic game of chess and we are but pawns of the Gods. However, the key to Conrad’s Vision is that Kurtz despite all his evil is able to see the horror his life had become. “The horror! The horror!” (Conrad. 1941) sadly, there is such insight afforded to Marlow “I have peered over the edge myself… I have wrestled with death it is the most unexciting contest you can imagine.” (Conrad. 1942.)
True evil, is lack of restraint; succumbing to our primeval temptations and surrendering to our very own heart of darkness. Kurtz succumbs to the savagery, because he is a hollow man.
At the very moment of his death Kurtz, seems to see into the true horror of his condition, in Marlow own words Kurtz has a “supreme moment of complete knowledge, his own personal revelation.” (Conrad. 1942.) This is why Kurtz is a hero for Marlow and will remain so for the reader.
Towards the end of the Story, Marlow express the belief that “Some knowledge of yourself” is perhaps the only reward that life offers any of us, albeit to late for Kurtz. (Conrad, 1942[MG13] .) Furthermore, the epiphany that comes to Mr Kurtz at the end is according to Marlow, unique to every human being. “No other man can know.” (Conrad, 1942.) What is the use of this self-knowledge if it comes to us to late at the very moment of our death? Is Kurtz’s deathbed Revelation, his final redemption, or his condemnation? “The horror! The horror!” (Conrad,1941[MG14] .) At this point in the novella Marlow is in a very unique and humbling situation, he is witness to Kurtz’s self-revelation.
Deeper in to the novella we are offered a glimpse in to the mind of Kurtz, he has become Godlike, among the natives, and clams the spoils of the jungle for himself, “My Intended, my ivory, my station my river. In his deranged mind, every thing belongs to him; including the natives.
In all of this Marlow, ask the pivotal question what did Kurtz belong to, “how many powers of darkness clamed him for there own?” This is a question each of us should stop and ask of ourself.
So in conclusion “Heart of Darkness” [MG15] is not merely a story in which a soul is lost to darkness nor is it a story where a soul is saved by outfoxing the devil and overcoming evil. However, it is a story of a personal revelation, and a different interpretation of truth. As in life there are various shads of grey, nothing is black and white.
The end of novella finds Marlow, paying a visit to Kurtz’s “intended” (Conrad. 1944[MG16] .) After much discussion Marlow reveals to the woman, Kurtz’s final words, “The last words he pronounced was your name” this is off course a lie. However it is a lie that is absolute critical to Marlow’s story, the purpose of the lie is to relieve the woman’s grief firstly. More importantly, Marlow lies to spare her from the true darkness of Mr Kurtz, a darkness she does not need to know. In Conrad’s own words, “I couldn’t. I could not tell her. It would have been too dark – to dark altogether…”
Is then this lie a self-betrayal for Marlow? In his, book Joseph Conrad: Achievement and Decline, Author Tomas Moser, heavily criticisers what he calls “Marlow’s self betrayal.” Moser, argues
That Marlow’s lie weakens the finality of story, “are we now to accept a falsehood as salvation? asks Moser. However, the lie weakens neither the end of the story nor Marlow. On the contrary,
the lie shows Marlow’s compassion both for this woman and for Kurtz. The lie shows how despite himself Marlow now relates to Kurtz. And perhaps illustrates his belief in what Kurtz has shown him about truth.
Marlow displays a real admiration for Kurtz; he has a sense of duty to this mad man. “That is why I have remained loyal to Kurtz, to the last and even beyond. Marlow speaks of Kurtz as one might
Speak of a lover – a soul as translucently pure as a cliff of crystal.” (Conrad. 1942.) Marlow Admires this man because despite, Kurtz’s own Heart of Darkness, he had conviction, “he had something to say, he said it.” (Conrad. 1942.) Marlow became completely seduced by Kurtz “He was a universal genius” (Conrad. 1943.) At the very end of Charlie Marlow’s story, we find him back at the river Thames, with his fellow passengers; the narrator says of the river that it “seems to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” (Conrad. 1947.) perhaps Marlow suggest that modern civilization is not, all that removed from the primitive nature of the Congo.
“Maybe there is a beast … maybe it’s only us.” (Golding 138)
Works cited
Stallworty, Ramazani. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Eighth Edition The Twentieth Century and After. Volume F. Print.
A. Lincoln, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861. © 2008 Lillian Goldman Law Library 127 Wall Street, New Haven, CT 06511. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp
Golding, Wiliam. Lord of the Flies. first editio. London: Faber and Faber, 1954. 138. Print.
McLeod, Saul. “Id, Ego and Superego.” simply psychology. N.p., published 2008. Web. 14 Sep 2012. < http://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html>.
* Id, ego, and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined by Sigmund Freud. The id is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality. The id demands immediate satisfaction and when this happens we experience pleasure, when it is denied we experience desire or pain. The id is not affected by reality, logic or the everyday world. (McLeod)
Shayne this is the best essay you have produced so far for me. Well done! It is carefully written, keeps to the point and –most importantly- has some really interesting and illuminating things to say about the events in the novella. I liked especially your observations on the way society is only stable because of the fear of being seen that we all live under. There is one area however, wMGhich I feel could be developed further in your essay and that is the issue of whether Kurtz reaches any kind of enlightenment in the closing moments of his life. Does he see through the emptiness and hollowness of everything that has been his life up till now?
75/100
Please note: only the first page of your essay has been carefully annotated with corrections. If this page reveals many corrections you must take your essay without fail to the Academic Skills Unit for extra help with your writing skills.
| Assessment Criteria | HD | D | CR | P | F |
| Content | |||||
| Accurately answers question and demonstrates a personal point of view. | √ | ||||
| Demonstrates creative flair in bringing research material together. | √ | ||||
| Shows insight into the way creative language shapes meaning and feelingl | √ | ||||
| Supports argument with close observation of language in the text. | √ | ||||
| Secondary sources and hyperlinks (if used) meaningfully linked to core argument of essay. | √ | ||||
| Shows some research into the topic. | |||||
| Form | |||||
| Uses clear, unambiguous expression, avoiding verbosity, clichés and overlong sentences. | √ | ||||
| Well structured with beginning, middle and end and clearly indicates to the reader the direction of the argument. | √ | ||||
| Demonstrates an understanding of correct use of paragraphing and punctuation. | √ | ||||
| Uses correct MLA referencing both in-text and in Works Cited List. This includes all reference to the basic text. | √ | ||||
| Professional presentation with cover sheet as part of the one document. | √ |
[MG1]Excellent to set the historical context so clearly.
[MG2]√√√ clearly expressed.
[MG3]√√
[MG4]the story.
New sentence:
Conrad relies…
[MG5]You have a good sense of the range of meanings of these terms, dark and light, in this context.
[MG6]whether evil is….
[MG7]√√√
[MG8]clearly
[MG9]delete this from the sentence to make the meaning clearer.
[MG10]√√√ so the question is whether Kurtz goes on some kind of redemptive journey in this place?
[MG11]Heart of Darkness
Titles in MLA
Check format for Full Length Books as opposed to “Shorter Works”. You will note that Italics and Underline are both acceptable for Books. But double inverted commas are standard for “poems”, “short stories” and “essays”. No italics for these. For a fuller list of MLA title style see: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
[MG12]√√√ quite possibly
[MG13]no comma in MLA citations (author page).
[MG14]ditto
[MG15]no “” around book titles. Just Italics
[MG16]no . in M L A citations
The Layered Lens 
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