“what exactly is the heart of darkness?” in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

[sakuks]

hi
I need help
I have 2 write an essay on The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The essay topic is “what exactly is the heart of darkness?”
I think it is the darkness that lies within each human being but I am not sure
Can anyone help me as I do not want to write this whole essay then realize that I am writing about the wrong thing
thanx

[sardina]

Hi Sakuks: You´ve touched the line. Only few words. I think that there´s more than one
Heart
Of Darkness.
The heart always is inside giving life
So here the darkness surrounds the heart
And darkness is a living thing or else
We must go first trough darkness
To find the heart
But in darkness
How can we see the heart?
We can´t see
We can hear the sound of his beating.

If you like, try to imagine a whit no limit darkness whit you inside and the heart beating. Maybe what i say is nothing over nothing but for me is a way. I´ll write you next and receive from me all the greatnes four your job. From Madrid best regards. Sardina

[caza]

sakuks

have you gotten the norten critisim version of the heart of darkness or case studies in contemporary criticism. those two versions of the story have critical essays in the back that can help you write your essay

[helloperson]

hi
I need help
I have 2 write an essay on The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The essay topic is “what exactly is the heart of darkness?”
I think it is the darkness that lies within each human being but I am not sure
Can anyone help me as I do not want to write this whole essay then realize that I am writing about the wrong thing
thanx

by any chance do u have MR. B at parkland highschool?

[PsycsX]

he or she probably does, as do we. and there is an answer here: http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=126504#post126504

[Danny Wells]

Hi Sakuks:
Well I am just finishing reading heart of darkness in class and my teacher has explained it very good to me.The heart of darkness is not a story about some guy traveling deep into the african jugle but about how dark and evil a persons mind can be. and also if you think about it the character Marlow is actually the same person as mr Kurtzt (just a happier side of him). So ya if you need any more info you can email me at [email][email protected][email].

[Lit Girl]

Hi

Conrad seemed to make Heart of Darkness intentionally obscure - if you have a copy with notes at the back they show how he deleted explanatory sections from the serialised version when it was published as a book!

I think the HOD can be anything you want: it could be a straightforward reference to the physical location of the Congo which he refers to early on as an area of the map which had been blank/white but was now black (I paraphrase).

Alternately, at the beginning and end he suggests that London is also one of the dark places and you could say that the imperialists have created a HOD in their own country.

The HOD could be the darkness that is in a man's soul that allowed Kurtz to do the terrible things that he did and the fact that so-called civilisation doesn't last long when a man is alone.

It could be that Marlow is forced to compromise his ideals and tell the fiancee a lie - the one thing he was proud of never having done - in order to protect her from the truth of Kurtz's death.

Or it could be something else ...

My suggestion would be to give examples of what it could be - ie acknowledging that there is no right answer - but then say which one you think it is.

Hope that helps

[The Unnamable]

"We live as we dream - alone."

[realvision]

:brickwall I know that my reply is toooooooooooooooooooo late but it's ok.
For me I think that Joseph Conrad meant by "Heart of Darkness" Africa itself , he discribed the africans as a savage, terrible and uncivilised people .As well as living in Africa is like living in the darkness........As a reply to this novel ,Chinua Achebe , nigerian writer, wrote his novel "Things Fall Apart" to make all the world know the african people 's culture.

[lighthirsty]

Is it too late for an idea? The Heart of Darkness is the sin nature of man. It will be evident within every man as well as in every people group. Man is basically evil. We live in the world where we try to disquise that evil by pretending to be good. But inside there is the unspeakable.

[Selkie]

I got that the 'heart of darkness' is everywhere, despite our apparent civilisation. And the 'heart of darkness' is man's ability to revert to his apparent 'animal instinct' that is always alive and well just beneath the surface.

I have always been uneasy with the way the novel seems to almost mythologise this idea and make it appear inevitable and natural, ignoring the fact that human beings also have social instinct; a moral and ethical drive. I fear that the idea of a 'heart of darkness' can be used as some kind of excuse for poor behaviour or crimes against other human beings.

Actually, I have seen the book quoted one too many times in just that context which is what inspired me to make this post! I don't believe human beings are inevitably cruel, barbaric, violent or animalistic. Some are, and they chose to be that way.

[lukgem]

I know the first thread was put on a long time ago, but for anyone who reads this, I hope it helps.

I haven't studied Heart of Darkness for a while as I left school quite a while ago, but we were asked to watch Apocalypse Now which is the film based on this book. Like all films based on books, it is not excatly accurate, but it may give you a better understanding to the book. The film is a certificate 18 in the UK but it is well worth giving it ago.

I did find the book hard going but I did find the film a useful reference and it did make certain parts a lot easier to contemplate.