In Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses motif to show the different sides of darkness.
In one showing of darkness, Conrad uses the word showing the darkness of the heart, being alone: "We live, as we dream---alone. . . ." (27). There are many different kinds of gloom and sadness, and this thought is one of being isolated from the world. Every person is alone, even when there are people by our sides, we are still, ultimately alone. This thought comes from the darkest place within the heart. It is sad and depressing. It is one kind of darkness that can eat away at the heart.
In another showing of darkness, Conrad describes the sea. He says, "The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth" (3). In this passage, Conrad focuses on the darkness of the scenery. This darkness still emits the same feeling of depression and sadness, yet it is a different sort of darkness than the one of the heart. The darkness portrayed here does eventually find its way through and pierce the heart, but it also can be defined as something beautiful in the way that it is just a scene.
I liked how you describe the theme as being darkness. I didn't notice how dark the story was. I can see how that can be, you provided nice descriptions of darkness to prove your point. Nice post
ReplyDeleteGreat post Ashley!! I too choose darkness for this one and I liked how you expressed that it can be beautiful as well. I never thought of it this way and I think you made a good point. The darkness was really vast in the novel and I thought one of the most overwhelming themes. Great job, you used some wonderful symbolism.
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ReplyDeleteNice job! I picked the same theme. Your perspective on hollowness is fresh and interesting. I really appreciate what you said about how darkness "can eat away at the heart". I think that your analysis regarding loneliness is also very interesting.
Great post Ashley. I agree with what you said about being alone being seen as darkness. I agree with you and do think that this is what the author was attempting to portray here. I think that you had a very good interpretation of this. I also agree with what you said about the darkness of the sea. I think that it is a great description of it.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean by lonelyness eating away at someone. It is truly evil and a hard slump to get out of. This story portrays so much that is linked to the title, that it is hard to find out which darkness Conrad is trying to get at directly, or is it all the darkness that someone suffers through in life; darkness of land, mentality, future, and the way people act towards each other. What about darkness of wealth and greed? It is for money that they are on the hunt for ivory so maybe the desire for that could also be a underlying factor.
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