Light and Dark in Cnrads Hearte of Darkness and Secret Shar essays

Light and Dark in Cnrad's Hearte of Darkness and Secret Shar essays Joseph Conrad uses the words light and dark to show many different points throughout the novel Heart of Darkness and the novella The Secret Sharer. He uses the words in showing the differences in good and evil. He also uses these terms to contrast differences in civilization and the uncivilized, loneliness/isolation and happiness, and sanity to insanity. Conrad, no doubt, relates characters in his stories. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses Marlows personal confession, a profound discussion of mans moral complexity,(Concise Dictionary, p.69) to outline the story. He obviously relates the character of Marlow to himself, as he had experienced many bought with, dark, lung ailments as a child, and also had a want to explore. (p. 69) In Heart of Darkness, Conrad explores his memories of a journey through the Congo. His memories include his feelings of sympathy towards the natives of the Congo, as well as his hatred of the Imperialist. He uses the memories to add to the perceived, darkness, of the jungle to give a gloomy overall effect. Seemingly Conrad is fed up with mans ability to make other men suffer. Conrad even uses Marlow to show how England once was dark, uncivilized country. England is shown in its primitive stage of development. By the same token many people have compared Marlows journey into the Congo as a journey through Hell. (2 p.136-137) In Heart of Darkness Conrad uses the character of Kurtz to show supreme darkness. Kurtz embodies everything wrong about man, from greed, to power, to reality. Some have compared Kurtz to Satan himself, or Satans incarnate. Some interpret the use Kurtzs way of leading people away from the light, or sanity, to argue their point while others regard Kurtz as a great leader/businessman who did whatever it took to get the job done. The most profound usage of darkness in Heart of Darkness is the death of Kurtz. When M...