The document provides an analysis of symbols and themes in Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness". Some of the key symbols analyzed include ivory, which represents both destruction and purity; the jungle, representing the instinctual side of man; and the river, linking to ideas of knowledge and identity. Fog and mist are said to symbolize the unconscious. The journey into the Congo is viewed as a symbolic journey of self-discovery for the protagonist Marlow. Kurtz is seen as both a god-like figure to the natives and a representation of man's destructive capacities. Overall, the novella is interpreted as investigating the darkness within the human self and soul.
The document provides an analysis of symbols and themes in Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness". Some of the key symbols analyzed include ivory, which represents both destruction and purity; the jungle, representing the instinctual side of man; and the river, linking to ideas of knowledge and identity. Fog and mist are said to symbolize the unconscious. The journey into the Congo is viewed as a symbolic journey of self-discovery for the protagonist Marlow. Kurtz is seen as both a god-like figure to the natives and a representation of man's destructive capacities. Overall, the novella is interpreted as investigating the darkness within the human self and soul.
The document provides an analysis of symbols and themes in Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness". Some of the key symbols analyzed include ivory, which represents both destruction and purity; the jungle, representing the instinctual side of man; and the river, linking to ideas of knowledge and identity. Fog and mist are said to symbolize the unconscious. The journey into the Congo is viewed as a symbolic journey of self-discovery for the protagonist Marlow. Kurtz is seen as both a god-like figure to the natives and a representation of man's destructive capacities. Overall, the novella is interpreted as investigating the darkness within the human self and soul.
Heart and darkness are 2 constrasting terms,life and
death.Heart is associated with life and pulse and Darkness is associated with death and obscurity.Marlow finds the utter destruction(the slaves,the battle for ivory) instead of progress they brought death.Darkness is associated with continent ,the darkness of the continent Africa,a labyrinth full of mysteries.Darkness associated with the unconscious.The savages also had an heart but the Europeans couldnt see it.The darkness in the title is the physical one but symbolically we talk about the darkness of the soul.Another opposition is light vs dark,civilization vs savage,white vs black ,city cs jungle.
Symbols in the heart of darkness.The main symbol of the novel is the ivory ,it has double significance:distruction and purity.Ivory is a symbol of purity ,it could be associated with the symbol of power ,Power is related to Kurtz (he degenerates). JUNGLE-mud and water,the cradle of humanity,instinctual side of man,the pure side of man,jungle could be associated with evil ,demons ,chaos,brutality and darkness.
RIVER-is compared by marlow with a chrisis of identity ,he followed the river(on the map) with his finger comparind it to a snake.,the snake in the garden of eden.The river can be linjked with the idea of knowledge,he gets to know more about himself.
FOG-mistery,rain are another symbols which mean the unconscious,degrees of mental states from the conscious to the unconscious.
THE SYMBOL OF BRUSSELS:is taken from the bible,book of Mathew(beautiful on the outside but full of death),the connection is made with the beautiful city.
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE JOURNEY:is a symbolical one to acquire self knowledge.The journey is a means of discovering himself.Marlow just takes this as a simple journey in the jungle and he gets to find and know the truth ,the darkness within himself.
MARLOWS HIDDING THE TRUTH:he lies in the end to protect kurtss memory ,both to the official side and to kurtzs fiance.Marlow was wondered by the mourning,kurtzs last words were:the horror the horror ,be becomes of the things he did.
THE STATUS OF THE WOMEN Knitting women.The intended who is kurtzs fiance.the mysterious woman in the jungle who was in fact kurtzs mistres.Women in the novel should be out of it ,they do not appear in the text ,they are just signs,acting like ones,they dont have names.The knitting women may be associated with the destiny,they are knitting the destiny of man.
COULD THE NOVEL BE CONSIDERED AS AN INVESTGATION OF THE SELF? The novel represents an investigation of the self .The woman blind folded carrying a torch(not being able to be the one near you).
Character of Kurtz Double interpretation of Kurtz :an European one vs the jungle one.He was venerated by the natives,is transformed into a brute,He is a key for Marllow that comes to discover himself though him.He is not a god as savagers believed but a dieing man,destroyed by his greed.