Quinn on Heart of Darkness

We cannot read Quinns Ishmael without re-evaluating ourselves. Quinn confronts us with powerful revelations about mankind. According to Quinn, if we continue to live in our taker lifestyles, we will eventually destroy ourselves. Conrads Heart of Darkness illustrates a real life manifestation of Quinns insights. Written nearly a century ago, Conrads tale of early English … Read more

Heart of Darkness: Ignorance and Racism

Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale – mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, “Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction … Read more

The novel Heart Of Darkness

In the novel Heart Of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, the main character makes a decision to go against his convictions by telling a lie about Kurtzs death to the intended. After careful analysis of the situation, one can see that Marlow is justified in lying to the intended because the lie enables Marlow live … Read more

A Journey into the Heart of Darkness

The white man is evil, or so says Joseph Conrad in his novel Heart of Darkness, which describes the colonial transformation of the symbolically angelic African wilderness into an evil haven for the white man.  The novel presents a psychological journey into the core of evil or “heart of darkness” in one’s own mind, as … Read more

Heart of Darkness vs. Apocalypse Now

Heart of Darkness, a novel by Joseph Conrad, and Apocalypse Now, a movie by Francis Ford Coppola can be compared and contrasted in many ways. By focusing on their endings and on the character of Kurtz, contrasting the meanings of the horror in each media emerges. In the novel the horror reflects Kurtz tragedy of … Read more

Heart of darkness

Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was a Polish-born author who wrote in English.  He became famous for the novels and short stories that he wrote about the sea. Conrad left Poland at the age of 16 and arrived in England at the age of 20, unable to speak English.  During the next 16 years … Read more

Heart Of Darkness

In Heart of Darkness it is the white invaders for instance, who are, almost without exception, embodiments of blindness, selfishness, and cruelty; and even in the cognitive domain, where such positive phrases as “to enlighten,” for instance, are conventionally opposed to negative ones such as “to be in the dark,” the traditional expectations are reversed. … Read more

Change In Heart Of Darkness

Joseph Conrad once wrote, ‘the individual consciousness was destined to be in total contradiction to its physical and moral environment’; (Watt 78); the validity of his statement is reflected in the physiological and psychological changes that the characters in both his Heart of Darkness and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now undergo as they travel up their respective … Read more

Symbolism In Heart Of Darkness

Every great author posses the ability to create a novel deeply woven in symbolism and subliminal messages. Underneath the literal journey encountered in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness lies a tale saturated with subtle, yet, significant imagery that brings forth the true meaning of the novella. Throughout Heart of Darkness Conrad uses a plethora of … Read more