Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the darkness in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" represents an illusion in which certain people are not able to grasp the understanding of life and other human beings. The author points out that it is this inability that makes civilization and the development of society evil. The paper relates that, from this novel, the evil atrocities committed during the white European businessmen's enslavement of native Africans in their search for ivory , are results of being smothered in "the darkness". The author uses the thoughts in Friedrich Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil", to understand the experiences of the character Kurtz to create nothing more and nothing less. The paper concludes that the darkness can be seen as the ultimate origin of evil.

From the Paper:

"Kurtz is a man that started as the best trading post manager the Europeans had. He was determined and took control to get the job done better than anyone else, which led him to bring in as much ivory as all the others combined. When Marlow reaches him, Kurtz is no longer affiliated with not only the conquest, but European thought and values altogether. He takes control of a local tribe and in the eyes of the Europeans turns into a savage. Kurtz abandons the values and ideals of European colonial conduct because he is starting to figuratively see the light in the darkness."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Conrad, Joseph. "Hear of Darkness And Other Tales". Ed. Cedric Watts. Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Nietzsche, Friedrich. "Beyond Good and Evil", "Genealogy of Morals". Translated by Walter Kaufman. New York: The Modern Library, 1996.

More papers on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness":

• Analytical Essay # 63084 : "Heart of Darkness"
• Analytical Essay # 141458 : "Human Nature in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"
• Book Review # 100803 : "Heart of Darkness"
• Analytical Essay # 149305 : "Marlow in Heart of Darkness: A Colonial Co-conspirator or A Subversive Sympathizer?"

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