The novella, Heart of Darkness is, in the literature world, considered one of the greatest cultural literary works of the 19th century. Conrad takes us through the experiences of the European colonialists in the heart of Africa. The clash of the European and non-European customs form the basis of Conrad's writings. The book has garnered a lot of criticism from African scholars who argue that the book negatively targets the African nation and the African people. The book, according to Chinua Achebe is a mockery of the African people. It ridicules the customs of the native Africans, terming Africa as a place of unfathomable darkness. The criticisms cannot, however, undo the greatness of Conrad's ‘magnum opus'. This work of art is a clearly magnificent echo of cultural diversity and the ‘darkness' that the Europeans encounter in the Congo. This essay focuses on the interpretation of the title ‘Heart of Darkness', as well as the significance it has on the book. The essay further scrutinizes the different aspects of the title focusing on both the heart and the darkness part of it.
The title heart of darkness describes both the physical location that the novel is based on as well as the state of the mind of the individuals within the book. The saddening effects of colonialism and imperialism heighten the intensity of the darkness that the author explores throughout the book. The title is a precedent of the ruminations of evils that are explored throughout the book. Conrad uses the heart of darkness title as a metaphor for the experiences of Charles Marlow and Kurtz in the deep jungles of Africa. The deep jungle is regarded as hostile to the Europeans because they are not accustomed to the environment and secondly because they are not accustomed to the cultures and traditions of the ‘savages'. The interionic nature of the jungle is enough to consider it a heart.
The heart is usually used to refer to the center of something, or the core. The jungle in which the setting is based is somewhere in the interior of Congo, a place still unknown to the wider world, and is concealed from the happenings in the world outside it. On a different case scenario, the heart describes the intensity at which the darkness is portrayed. The heart is usually the source of life within the human body. Conrad, by using the word heart, intends to capture the intensity of the barbarity and the extreme customs of the natives living in the Congo jungle. The Europeans believe that this place to be the center of every evil activity that man has ever thought of. The hearts of the natives only respond to barbarism, and the Europeans have a hard time trying to teach the natives new ways, and trying to make them respond to their own ways.
The darkness described in the title is captured through the practices of both the savages and the Europeans who have come to bring in some civilization to the ‘savages' and to collect as much ivory as they possibly can from the African jungle. The savages' cannibalistic nature and their way of life are considered as barbaric and ‘dark.' They are skeptical about civilization and want nothing to do with it. When Kurtz and his crew try to vaccinate the native children against polio, the members of the tribe cut off the children's hands- such a horrendous scene (Conrad, 53). The darkness is also revealed through the scenes of violence against the natives by the Europeans. Marlow observes the bodies of natives lying across the railway, deceased or in the process of dying. They have been overworked, under horrible conditions, and this is reflected in their ill health and their deaths. The imperialists' intention is not really to colonize the African mind, but to manipulate it so that they can get what they want. The Africans are subjected to violence under the pretense of colonization. At the end of the book, the natives appear not to have embraced any aspect of civilization that the Europeans claim to have brought to the Congo.
Kurtz, the protagonist in the novella, opens our eyes to the dark side of the Europeans. Kurtz settles as a Lord amongst one of the native tribes in the Congo. He manipulates the members of the tribe to view him as a demi god, and in the process commits hideous acts of violence. When Marlow goes to take Kurtz from the jungle, human heads on stakes, outside Kurtz residence, meet him. Kurtz rules the natives with an iron fist. He does not shy away from taking their lives and does so gladly whenever he feels there is a reason to. To the Europeans, Kurtz is a lunatic who is not to be taken seriously, while to the natives, he is a Lord whose word is to be obeyed without questioning. Kurtz madness is blamed on the things that he has seen while living amongst the natives. He uses his influence amongst the natives to obtain as much ivory as possible, and he is known as the most successful ivory trader. Before he dies, he utters two powerful words.' The horror! The horror!" (Conrad, 64). Even though he does not get the time to explain the horrors he is talking about, one can only imagine the horrors that he may have experienced in the deep of the jungle and amongst a people who had not grasped the concept of civilization.
The jungle, with its tall trees and shrubs, makes men blind to their surroundings and their situations. The jungle reveals another form of darkness, pledging relevancy to the title and vice versa. The setting of the book reveals the literal meaning of the term darkness. It would be ironical for the setting to be a place where there is a lot of light and civilization. The jungle thus sheds more darkness into an already dark situation. The jungle further reveals the European perception of Africa; a mere jungle with clueless natives running around naked and killing each other. To date, many people still hold on to the belief that Africa is a jungle inhabited by the most primitive, barbaric and uncivilized people, a theory that has been supported by European literary works such as Conrad's.
Apocalypse Now and Conrad's novella
The film Apocalypse by Francis Copolla is regarded as a screen version of the Heart of Darkness. The film draws a lot from the book including characters, setting and the plot. The film focuses on depicting the clash between the American and non-American cultures during the Vietnam War. The film focuses on the dark sides of both cultures, citing the horrific dark side of colonialism and imperialism. The imperial power held by the U.S in the Vietnam War is shown by the horrendous atrocities committed by the Americans towards the natives (Milius & Conrad, 85). This is similar to the atrocities committed by the Belgians in power in the Congo, against the African natives. In both stories, the effects of colonialism and imperialism are brought to book with Kurtz as the symbol for the dehumanizing effects of the acts of darkness committed in both the film and the book.
Additionally, the film and the book present similar themes of civilization versus savagery. There is a clash between these two concepts. The imperial powers regard themselves as the civilized lot. The natives, on the other hand, are referred to as the savages. Over time, however, the imperial powers become savages themselves based on the atrocious acts of violence they commit against the natives (Milius & Conrad, 113). Imperialism is therefore displayed with a touch of hypocrisy and mockery. The imperialist condemns the natives for carelessly killing each other while they do the same to the natives. They are at an advantage over the natives based on the firearms that they possess, and use this advantage to manipulate the natives to submission.
Finally, the nature of evil is the focus of both the book and the film. The Congo jungle is referred to as the heart of darkness because of the evils practiced by those who live within it. This is similar to the evils practiced in the Vietnam War by the American imperialists. With so much evil going around, one has no choice but to settle on what is considerably a lesser evil.
Conclusively, the heart of darkness touches on the concepts of imperialism, colonization and the different forms of evil. The latter is not limited to a certain people or race. The epitome of all this evil, however, rests on the character Kurtz. The latter, a European national, sinks into the depths of evils, such that he can only describe it in two words at the end of the story. Conrad, in portraying Africans as savages, does not forget to portray the universality of evil. The African jungle spices up the darkness of the practices of the natives and the imperialists. Perhaps the exposure to too much evil makes the Europeans evil as well, making them forget their intended purpose in the African continent.
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. Heart Of Darkness. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Library, 1996. Print.
Milius, John and Joseph Conrad. "Apocalypse Now". San Francisco: American Zestrace, 1969. Print.
