journeyhod A Journey into the Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

A Journey into the Heart of Darkness The white man is evil, or so says Joseph Conrad in his sassy Heart of Darkness, which describes the colonial transformation of the symbolic completelyy angelic African wilderness into an evil haven for the white man. The novel presents a psychological journey into the core of evil or nitty-gritty of darkness in ones own mind, as he or she progresses by means of the jungle. The reader follows Marlow, the novels narrator, along such a journey. His psychological changes as he approaches the heart of darkness are evident, as the reader observes, in his views of the African natives, lying and Kurtz.Marlow is an honest man. He sets out on a accepted search for answers to his questions of exploration of the unknown when (he) was a little chap (Conrad 64). Marlow was careworn to a certain place on the world map, called the Congo the biggest, the well-nigh blank, so to speak---that (he) had a hankering after (Conrad 64). Upon first entering the utte r of the Congo River, Marlow declares his stance on lies and those who lie. He believes that lying in the worst subject for a person. He vows never to lie in his life. After indication Kurtzs report about his progress down the Congo, Marlow finds that Kurtz lied, and in part loses all the respect he ever had for Kurtz. However, Marlow still continues to pursue him. Marlow continues his journey up the Congo River, penetrating further and further into the heart of darkness. In the process, Marlow reverts spinal column to his innate state to survive, whether or not that means going against his principles. Finally, cc miles later, Marlow meets Kurtz, who is the object of his psychological desire, only to find him very ill. After Kurtzs death, Marlow finds himself change into a person he thought he would never become, a liar. Marlow lies to Kurtzs intended about Kurtzs last words when he returns to Europe. After world consumed by the heart of darkness, Marlow throws away his previou s values as he reverts into a savaged, almost evil state of mind. Though honest, Marlow is a preferential man he is the epitome of colonialism. Going into the Congo, Marlow views the natives as prehistoric evils in desperate need of white influence and civilization. Throughout the physical journey, Marlow is confronted with the natives eon and time again, seeing them chained as slaves, living in a village and attacking his own steam boat.