First Response - Heart of Darkness

The title, Heart of Darkness, alone, can bring up a vast amount of curiosities. For instance, what is a “heart of darkness?” The term “darkness” automatically elicits thoughts of negativity and, in a way, causes us to draw back, but it also can peak our interest. A heart, though, is recognizably a good thing; it is associated with love and compassion. Therefore, thinking of a heart being related to darkness can cause a good bit of questioning.

Conrad pulls the title and the book, itself, together perfectly in various ways. Heart of Darkness is based on a journey Joseph Conrad actually took, himself, during the European colonization of Africa. Marlow, representative of Conrad, is an enlightened and civilized man, who initially sets out to gain a more personal insight of Africa. He travels to the Congo, the center, or the “heart,” of Africa. The title ends up showing itself to be somewhat of a multi-entendre; it is meaningful in many ways. While Marlow stays on his boat, which he considers his comfort zone, he is afraid to step foot into to real heart of Africa, because it is dark and unfamiliar to him. On a more psychological note, we see that the “heart of darkness” is in everyone, but we face conflicts with it and wonder if it is avoidable when all is said and done. During the Scramble for Africa, Europe used motives which seemed selfless, when in reality, they were completely selfish. The selfishness of Europe is a factor of the darkness within each of us. The motives were supposedly economic, political and moral, but in the end, Europe’s intentions were to gain economic support and power over different pieces of the world. Imperialism was most definitely hypocritical and took no one’s feelings into account. Marlow’s primary fear is that he will somehow become influenced by Africa in a negative manner and take on more of a “savage” persona, which drives him mad, in a way. Imperialism has driven Marlow to believe that the farther into Africa one goes, the more savage and primal instincts begin to emerge. Having come from civilization, Marlow had a set idea that Africa is wild and that its inhabitants are doing things in an uncivilized manner; essentially, Marlow sets foot into the heart of Africa and realizes that he is just as corrupt as the European colonial leaders.