Symbols and Symbolism in Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay -- Heart Dar

Symbols and Symbolism in Conrads Heart of Darkness Symbolism has long been a tool of the historyteller, finding its origins in the folklore of our earliest civilizations. In more new-fangled years, however, symbolism has taken on a new role, forming the skeleton upon which the storyteller builds the tales of his or hers thoughts and adventures. Knowing the power of this elework forcet, Joseph Conrad ingestions symbols to help the reader explore muddy interiors of men. The symbols become a vehicle that carry the audience from stop to stop, the model becoming an evaluation of the darkness contained inside the hearts of worldly concernkind. Through the use of Dark Africa as an overpowering symbol, Conrads Heart of Darkness tells a story that evaluates mans tendencies to fall back on barbaric methods when not protected by civilization. As Marlow proceeded through the jungle towards the uncivilized world of Kurtz, he said, of the men they passed , They passed me within six inches, without a glance, with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages(Conrad, 80). Marlows advancements into the jungle, acted analogue with my discovery In our deepest nature, all men are savages. Marlow connects with the very headstone in which constitutes Conrads theme The shade of the original Kurtz frequented the beside of the hollow sham, whose fate it was conceal presently in the mold of primeval earth. But both damn love and the unearthly hate of the mysteries it had penetrated fought for the possession of that soul satisfied with stark(a) emotions, avid of lying fame, of sham distinction, of all the appearances of success and power(... ...his goals bedevil not been met he died and so did his society. Marlow and Kurtz could be considered as two conditions of human being existence, Kurtz representing what Man could become if left to his own intrinsic devices outside antifertility society. Marlow, then, representing a pure untainted civiliz ed soul who has not been move to savagery by a dark, alienated jungle. According to Conrad, the will to overhaul into the uncivilized man does not just reside in Kurtz alone. all man has inside himself a heart of darkness. This heart is drowned in a bath of light shed by the advent of civilization. No man is an island, and no man can live on an island without becoming a brutal savage. Inside his heart lies the raw evil of untamed lifestyles. sour CitedConrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness, New York Dover, 1990.