Category: Heart Of Darkness

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad are two creative works of art, written in very different contexts but with a similar aim of reconciling collective beliefs to individual beliefs.

Their styles, the use of characters and writing techniques are different, but they both aim at bringing harmony to the apparently complex plots. They successfully do so as they take analogies of undertaking a journey, from the beginning, the rise of conflict and in finding a resolution.

Personal Experiences of Marlow and Tayo in the Heart of Darkness and Ceremony Respectively

In both novels, the writers use fiction in an attempt to bring their own personal experience to paper. The key concern in both has to do with bridging between traditional values and the ideals of modernism. Conrad, when he was serving as a steamboat commander in Congo, was open to brutality of Western world.

He relates his own experience to his main character, a protagonist in relation to the antagonist characters like Kurtz or the general manager. Leslie Marmon Silko uses her personal experience as a Native American in the Ceremony.

The Native American culture is passed on through a profoundly communal process of storytelling from Tayos grandmother, who on sensing the hopelessness in her grandchild, invites the medicine man, Kuoosh to perform a traditional ritual on him.

For reconciliation to occur Tayo has to make difficult choices. He heads to the mountain in search of his Uncle Josiahs lost cattle, which symbolize a new way of life.

During this journey he meets Tseh Montano, a woman his spirit is rejuvenated as she who begins to teach him Native American old traditions. Silko bases her work on traditional Native American stories, using narrative techniques that emphasize Tayos individual belief in relation to their communal aspects.

In both stories, the protagonists are in a journey (Silko, 87). Marlow in Heart of Darkness explores the uncharted journey to Congo, Africa. Poignantly, in Congo, he realizes that, the uncivilized Natives, perhaps, have more common sense than the Europeans who came to enlighten them.

It is only when he understands the need for balancing moderation between assimilation of western ideologies, and native beliefs that a resolution is reached.

The Departure, Initiation, Return stages Illustrated in the Two Novels

Tayo in the Ceremony attempts to reconcile his peoples traditions healing ceremonies to cure the new modern illnesses. This is evidenced by a traumatized Native American, from the Laguna Pueblo because of his unstable upbringing and experiences during World War

II. Further the trauma, is surged because of brawls insinuated by his childhood pals; Leroy, Harley, Emo and Pinkie, who also participated in the war, hence, leading to self-medicating. This situation gives them a temporal solution. On the contrary, Marlow puts himself in the position of an observer who sees the brutality of the white colonialist towards the natives.

Tayo, who participates in the ceremony and has to undergo his peoples ritual to redeem them either from the drought or from the oppression. This is evident with characters acting as the protagonist in both novels to contrast their own beliefs and the reality.

In the Heart of Darkness, Conrad embraces Marlow, whose preliminary objective is to locate Kurtz, who feels they have a common passion for the wilderness (89). As the story proceeds, it is ostensible that Kurtz is frenzied in this wilderness, which hints to his own end.

The general manager, although he has great devotion to the natives but in real sense concerned more about his own success. The brick maker cannot make the bricks because he supposedly has no material. Overall, Kurtz symbolizes how Europeans when they began to realize their harm to Africa. Kurtz relationship with the mistress the passion for Africa by whites which is only temporary.

His terminal illness is a representation of the eventual death of imperialism as they are unable to adapt or respect the existing African culture (Conrad, 90).

In the end, Marlow tells kurtz intended that his last words were her name this is symbolic of the imperialist noble act to explore and try to do good in her honor and to African continent respectively. Unlike in ceremony Tayos friends are in admiration of the oppressive white society for giving them the opportunity to fight in the war.

In the Ceremony, the protagonist is continually saddened, by how his childhood friends Harley, Leroy, Emo, and Pinkie spend most of their time drinking and in reminiscing about how much they felt respected in their soldier uniforms great during the war. For Tayo, this is an indication of negative bias the Native Americans experiences by the whites, whom, paradoxically they seem to esteem.

As Tayos journey unfolds, we are met with the story of an individual, which interweaves that of his entire community. The Native Americans culture and beliefs are portrayed as wonderful and worthy assimilating and be adopt in a white society.

The Master of the Two Worlds

Silko (74) illustrate that Tayo feels nausea, and vomits before Kuoosh leaves in the ceremony, and Kuoosh recognizes that he has no powers to cure him. The healing cannot happen because, Some phenomenon cannot be cured like we used to since the white people came(109).

In The Heart of Darkness, the inherent succeeds to endure the repetitive efforts of initial white subjugators, to rescind their traditional way of life, they become stronger in sustaining the conditions that loom their values, unlike before. In both novels, the protagonist, have to be removed from a state of comfort and undergo through continuous opposing forces to reach a resolution.

The plot is carefully developed by Silko such that in Tayo embarking on a journey full of personal ceremonies to bridge Native American traditions and those of the westerners. Conversely, Conrad embraces Marlow as an arbitrator between the two extreme of Kurtz and the Company

This moderation as the protagonist allows the reader to identify with him. In the end, the writer resolution is effective in reconciling Marlow, uncorrupt white who is open minded and sensitive and does not become indoctrinated to the materialistic ideals of the imperialists.

Kutzs last words, horror ,horror show that his struggle between his evil tendencies and his conscience as expressed by Marlow to his intended who is a symbol of good is unable to corrupt that by rendering kurtz words. Oddly, it is through death that Kurtz turns to the world he had been so isolated.

However, through this isolation, he seeks Marlow for the preservation of his legacy. Both Marlow and Tayos disillusionment begin very early. Marlows disillusionment starts when he arrives on the shores of Africa (Conrad, 9). What he had expected he does not get, the atmosphere and the people has changed.

The black people he had once viewed as savages seem to make more sense that the supposed civilized white people. Tayos has to experience separation just like Marlow; he has to leave the very circumstance of his experiences and upbringing.

His words are formed with invisible tongue as the army physician tells him; the continued drought situation and other challenges create the need to find a solution. The climax is where the ceremony with Betonie cannot be completed.

He has to go to the mountain where he meets Tseh Montano, the spirit woman who he is aware at last that she has always loved him and his people. Tayo bridges the distance between the collective beliefs of his people and his own isolated consciousness because he has loved the Spirit Woman who brings all things into being.

Tayo challenges the American ideal of bravery to include an emotional awakening, He cried finally seeing the pattern, the way all the stories fit together-the old stories, the war stories, and their stories to become the story that was still being told (Silko, 246).

When he returns from the mountain even His own grandmother admits that that he is no longer special but has been integrated into the of Laguna way of life. She comments: these happenings do not excite me anymore (Silko, 260). Perhaps she is also implying the successful merging of the two worlds.

In both novels, the writers have been successful in their use of creative writing in a build- up of conflict to achieve very conclusive resolutions. Their differences in character and style of writing can be the ultimate achievement in reconciling the conflict of different worlds into one.

Works Cited

Conrad Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Oxford: Bibliolis Books, 2010

Silko Marmon Leslie. Ceremony. New York: New American Library, 1978

Plot, theme, setting, characters, symbolism and point of view are the fundamental components that comprise most literary genres. Characters, plot, setting, and dialogue aid in moving the story along. One, two, or all of these mechanisms combined explains the fundamental premise or theme of the work.

Symbolism is a conglomeration of symbols used to explain and/or embody an idea. This idea is usually the theme of the work  in essence the authors particular commentary on something. Its vital role lies in its dual nature/purpose  it links all the components under the surface to the external action which in turn helps explain the theme.

Through allegory, metaphors, etc. the symbols represent something in addition to its literal connotation. An excellent example of symbolism and its correlation to theme is Joseph Conrads thought provoking novella, The Heart of Darkness  an expose on human savagery via imperialism. A part of the Western Canon, the novella was published in1902. Since the dawn of time, human nature has without a doubt exuded a persistent vein of unwarranted violence and cruelty.

The array of violence permeating the earth has been and is committed by those in high places and amongst average/ everyday people. Compound with such violence is the menacing ethos of one mans heaven is another mans hell. Human savagery is equally as much a weapon of mass destruction. Literature, as does all aspects of society, examines this unsavory element in human nature.

Revered as one of the greatest English novelist of all times and a cornerstone to modernist literature, Joseph Conrad was a native of Poland. His distinct contribution was the development of a unique prose style with a non-English sense of tragedy.

The backdrop for most of his literary cadre was maritime or seaboard settings. Such settings allude to the autobiographical nature of his work  Conrad had been a member of the French and British Merchant Navy. The thematic core of his writings examined the trials and tribulations of the human spirit/soul in relation to duty and honor as well as the pervading affects of world empires.

Most importantly, such inner schisms are reflective of the novelists fight with his own emotional demons (depression, pessimism, self-doubt, etc.). Despite such emotional upheaval and excavation of the human soul, Conrad had an unwavering sense of moral judgment and justice as evidenced in The Heart of Darkness. Aforementioned, The Heart of Darkness explores the dehumanizing affects of imperialism  in this particular instance the horrific European colonization of the Belgian Congo.

The novella depicts a sojourn in the life Englishman Charles Marlow (Conrads alter ego). A narrative within a narrative, Marlowe recounts his physical and mental experience as a Captain on Congo steamship.

A myriad of symbolisms exist in the novella. The deepest and second largest river in the world, the Congo or Zaire River has been used as an allegoric symbol by many literary greats (Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, Vaschal Lindsay). In The Heart of Darkness, the river symbolizes Marlowes search for his soul or journey into his inner spirit. This journey can yield ones true self identity, but often is not a pleasant experience.

Quest for self identity is an integral part of the human evolvement process which is indelible and universal. Sometimes such soul searching can be dark/cloudy/ muddy experience as inferred by the dark and wilderness nature of the River. Marlowes description of the river renders such interpretation as true.

In and out of rivers, streams of death in life, whose banks were rotting into mud, whose waters, thickened with slime, invaded the contorted mangroves that seemed to writhe at us in the extremity of an impotent despair. Nowhere did we stop long enough to get a particularlised impression, but the general sense ofvague and oppressive wonder grew upon me. It was like a weary pilgrimage amongst hints for nightmares (Conrad).

The river opens Marlowes eye to the cataclysmic evil man is capable of rendering. The further he travels the more the layers of his soul are shed.

The elephant is the largest of land animals on earth. With a life span of 50 to 70 years, they can weigh up 26,000 pounds and measure in height over six yards. They are known for their exceptional memory as well as wisdom/intelligence and considered an exotic emblem. Elephants represent mammoth power and strength  like imperialism. Indicative of colonization is the pillaging of resources and objects viewed as sacred. Ivory is the external dentition or upper incisors of an elephant.

Profoundly amazing, countless numbers of elephants have been slaughtered for these simple protruding ordinary upper teeth. Acquiring a symbol of wealth and lavishness was and is the impetus for such slaughter. Ivory is a major commodity in this novella characterizing greed and destructiveness to the point that humanness, morality, and civility is subjugated as referenced by Marlowes following observations.

The word ivory rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some corpse. By Jove! Ive never seen anything so unreal in my life.

And outside, the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion&&.Strings of dusty niggers with splay feet arrived and departed; & and in return came a precious trickle of ivory(Conrad).

Ivory has become an idol, deified like a God, and acquiring at the expense of others no matter what the cost.

Light and dark, good and evil, black and white  a great deal has been attached to these words when it comes to justifying the subjugation of a people. Black, dark, and evil are synonymous attributing the traits of ignorance, death, negativity where as white, light, and good of course epitomize innocence, life, purity, or enlightenment.

Suppose these categories represented in essence the reverse  where innocence, good etc. was applied to black, etc. and evil and ignorance to white? Kurtzs Woman With the Torch, which hangs at the Central Station, paintings seems to infer this premise.

The painting depicts a blindfolded woman standing against a black background with a lighted torch. Women have always been idealized from the standpoint of purity and innocence with such attributes bringing solace to a gloomy world. Marlowes views support this premise.

Its queer how out of touch with truth women are. They live in a world of their own, and there had never been anything like it and never can be. It is too beautiful altogether, and if they were to set it up it would go to pieces before the first sunset. Some confounded fact we men have been living with consistently every since the day of creation would start up and knock the first thing over (Conrad).

The woman in the painting personifies this image  to point of being unreal. Her flaw however, is that she is rendered blind via being blindfolded. What is she blind to? It has been suggested that the woman symbolizes a blind/uncivilized Europe coming to impose their domination/values/way of life (the torch) over the African Continent and its peoples.

History espouses that African and many other ancient countries (China, etc.) were in existence long before Europe. With these civilizations far more advanced how is it possible that they needed to be civilized? The painting depicts how arrogance and ignorance fuels imperialism and lays the foundation for a false sense of power.

Most importantly, as indicated by the blind fold, its blinds one from these ignoble traits and as well the perpetrated injustices. He seems to imply that it is not about color that deems one evil, good or bad, but rather what is in their hearts. In the end Marlowe finds truth in the darkness that had been covered up by white falsehood.

True, by this time it was not a blank space any more&a place of darkness. But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river& resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land&the snake had charmed me (Conrad).

Other significant images are the heads on sticks and the flies. The former represents barbaric nature of the so called civilized colonizer. By the time Marlowe comes in contact with this barbarianism, he has already seen a great deal. His only way to deal with the horror is via humor as he regards it as no big deal (Conrad). Death and decay has always been associated with flies as Satan who other name is Lord of the Flies

Via symbolism, the darkness as indicated by the title has a threefold nature with the colonization and the Congo wilderness representative of two. All of the negative connotations attributed to Africa as the Dark Continent and the people are vividly depicted. An intrinsic component of imperialism/colonization is culture clash  a clash between the colonized (Congolese) and the colonizer (British).

This clash is ubiquitous in The Heart of Darkness as well the role of individual conscience and duty/image. Marlow embodies the industrialized/ imperialistic West with its trappings of technological excellence, civic administration, and insatiable need to civilize the so called savages  the uncivilized.

The evilness of the colonizer spirit is embodied in Kurtzs character, the enigmatic and rogue ivory collector. In this invincible clash  a mental quagmire throughout the novella  the reader witnesses Marlowes personal ethos at odds with his institutional persona as the novella progresses.

He becomes very sensitive to human suffering and savagery and learns the ultimate consequence of imperialism  destruction and evil. It subjugates all of humanity as Marlowe comes to realize. Following the expectations of others is not always good and being trapped to point that ones principles are compromised propels one into a hellish state. It is the worst kind of authoritative/imperialistic control.

The Heart of Darkness appears to be the vehicle Joseph Conrad uses to show disdain or utter contempt for imperialism. The acceptance/normalcy of inhumane acts and the manner in which they are carried out manifest how humans can be monsters. The Heart of Darkness is thought provocative and tragically relative today just as it was when published.

It serves as Joseph Conrads plea for the sanctity of humanity and the human experience on earth. Contributing to Conrads outstanding literary legacy, The Heart of Darkness transcends time and place as well as culture and will forever leave an indelible influence/impact on Western Literature.

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph (1998-01-05). Heart of Darkness & Other Stories. Wordsworth Editions Ltd.

Introduction

Heart of Darkness by Conard Joseph (Conrad, 1902) and The Crime of the Congo? by Arthur Conan Doyle are two stories of British and Belgian people in Africa in the early 1920s. The novel Heart of Darkness (1900) is one of the most unique and outstanding works based on philosophical and psychological interpretations, historical and sociological issues. Until the actual military conquest of most of Africa by Europeans, the continents populations, except in regions significantly influenced by intruders from Asia, were largely left free to shape their own individual paths of development. Thesis Using unique symbols and literary devices, Conrad creates the main idea of oppression and perception of the African continent by Europeans through the lens of old prejudices and bias against Africans.

Discussion section

Metaphors and other stylistic devices

Using metaphors of white and black men, Conrad portrays that culture and economic relations between tribes and African states were unknown for Europeans who perceive this land as underdeveloped and dangerous for a white man. With the appearance of a settled agricultural civilization, The symbolic meaning of the title can be explained as follow: It was very quiet there. & Whether it meant war, peace, or prayer we could not tell. & We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet (Conrad). The novel concentrates on one of the most unique African countries, Congo. Congo locates in the center of the continent and can be compared within the heart of Africa. The vision seemed to enter the house with me  the stretcher, the phantom-bearers, the wild crowd of obedient worshippers, the gloom of the forests& the beat of the drum, regular and muffled like the beating of a heart  the heart of a conquering darkness (Conrad). Conrad underlines that most of Africa, therefore, underwent slow and measured evolution in isolation from the events occurring in the major centers of world civilization. Conrad is no nearer a central reality at the geographical heart of the darkness than he was when, proceeding down the coast, he was aware of a general sense of vague and oppressive wonder (Conrad).

Symbols of darkness

Using the symbol of dark continent Conrad states that Africans were never entirely cut off from many of the important steps in mans progress taking place in areas outside the continent. Conrad underlines that there was a great difference between European countries and African states. The title has a symbolic meaning reflecting European prejudices against the African continent, inability to understand and accept a black population. On the other hand, darkness is associated with the wildness of the land and the underdevelopment of the states. The title has both positive and negative meaning within the center of a man, of a wilderness and human experience itself. African populations are associated with aloneness or remoteness from the world there is revealed a general condition of human experience.

Euphemisms

In the work, Conrad intentionally uses euphemisms like Nigger to create emotional tension and impress readers with vivid images of oppression. In the heart of darkness, the word Nigger and Negro is used in profusion and to imply that the Africans were worthless citizens who had to be treated like animals. It must be understood that the novel was actually written in 1902 when the word was commonly used to depict Black people. The Africans served as mere objects and prop devices for Marlow and Kurt, to be used and discarded as they wanted. In the passage to India, native Indians are called muddles who are fit for only scorn. While it is true that racism and discrimination exist in both the novels, it is however much subtler in the passage to India and British ladies at least talk about native Indians, even though it is in scorn. Beatings and torture are not related in any of the passages. But on the other hand, racism is practiced and displayed at its worst in the heart of darkness where Africans are routinely killed. Conrad describes native populations: They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now  nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom (Conrad). It has been suggested that the title, Heart of Darkness has a lot of symbolic elements. Africa was known as the Dark Continent and the title suggests the onward journey into the darkness of the continent where there is very little difference between good and evil, between light and dark, and between correct and incorrect. It has also been argued that the title represents the darkness of the heart of the British people who were actually savages at heart under the fine clothes and their instincts of dark behavior, repressed desire to kill and savagery comes out when no one is there is observe and censure.

Conrad and Doyles perception of Africans

Similar to Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle portrays that Europeans, namely Belgians, oppressed native populations and perceived them as underdeveloped nations. The poor natives are exploited, tortured, raped, killed, enslaved, and starved to death. An analysis reveals the extremes in the environment that the two stories are set in and the morality and the extent of depraved mentality that the British could display. Arthur Conan Doyle depicts Congo as an ordered place with a judicial system, a social system in place where social classes were clearly differentiated. While the British could level any type of charges against the local Indians who were regarded as second-class citizens, still the British Judicial system prevailed. The accused were allowed to prove their innocence in court and the judgment was fair. On the other hand, in the heart of darkness, the Congo River and the British or rather the Belgian company that believed the only way to survive in Africa was to treat the Africans like animals. There was obviously no law and order system and the British were never brought to trial for the brutal killings, beheadings, and torture that they inflicted on the natives. The following paragraph reveals the extent of cruelty displayed by Kurt black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids  a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and, with the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth, was smiling, too, smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber (Conrad). The horror and the violent life that Kurt has lad has undermined his health and he soon falls seriously ill and dies on the way back and his last words are The Horror, the horror. Marlow goes back to England and meets Kurts wife and tells her a lie that the last words Kurt spoke were her name. One of the characters, Kurt has taken over a village and has forced the villagers, many of them cannibals to go headhunting and he has placed severed heads on the fence of his house as ornaments and also to warn off other offenders.

Arthur Conan Doyle vividly depicts that the administrator embodied military, administrative, and judicial authority, all three. He saw to law and order, the execution of the law, and the completion of public works. He supervised tax collection, administered the census, and watched over and advised local chiefs. He also served as the lowest level of the judicial system, since, in contrast to British practice, there were no native courts. Though we persuade ourselves that the Africans skin is very tough, it needs an extraordinary constitution to withstand the terrible punishment of one hundred blows; generally, the victim is in a state of insensibility after twenty-five or thirty blows (Doyle 21). It was the administrators duty to see to it, as the law quaintly stated, that the natives gave up their habits of indolence and became peasants and agricultural laborers. Conrad uses avid images of oppression and suffering to create a unique world unknown to European people. The difference is governed not merely by language, but by an entire attitude. At once serious in nature and ludicrous in expression, is representative of the general dramatic situation in which the evil characters of the novel find themselves. This curious juxtaposition of elements has been aptly characterized by the phrase, evil. Like other colonizing powers, the whites also acted on the maxim of divide and rule, destroying the larger African polities in order to integrate the smaller divisions into the colonial state. That radically altered the political landscape and also ushered in fundamental social and economic transformations. The latter did not always signify progress for the Africans but because they lay outside the ken of colonial officials went unconsidered by them. When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the realitythe reality, I tell youfades. The inner truth is hiddenluckily, luckily. But I felt it all the same (Conrad). Conrad uses the word reality to depict the essence of the wilderness. Similar to Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle portrays historical settings and social relations inside the African community. The creation of a unified territorial administration was one of the aims sought by reformers around the turn of the century. Another less important aim was securing more autonomy for the individual colonies. These demands, coming from leading colonial officials, coincided with wishes which local communities of white settlers and businessmen had been expressing for years. Built to convey a theme of highest eminence to an audience of broadest diversity, they combined symbolism, typology, realism, and homiletics. Within a dramatic context representing the providential order that governed all things and all mankind, there arose a dramaturgical method that staged evil as something comic, not only for reasons grounded in the medieval philosophy of evil but for the more practical homiletic purpose of engaging the least sophisticated of minds. Though evil in the mysteries could be laughed at, it could not lightly be dismissed; even in its most grotesque or ludicrous manifestations, it remained a ubiquitous force in the earthly existence of man. The activity of the natives is thus limited to very restricted areas, and their economic condition is immobilized. Thus, abusively applied, such legislation would prevent any development of native life (Doyle 54). Evil conventions were being firmly established: the discomfiture of the godless was consistently represented by two basic emotionswrath and despair; the suffering of innocents, on the other hand, was dramatized in lyric lamentation, and consistently arose from established situations either as part of Christs passion or within a domestic context. And all the elements of suffering and evil were rendered endurable and intelligible in terms of the over-ruling, benevolent, and just scheme of Christian providence. Awareness of this scheme, both in its ideological and dramaturgical dimensions, was the key to the interpretation of suffering and evil on the medieval stage.

Conclusion

In sum, the Heart of Darkness can be seen as a literary achievement as it utilizes unique characters, plot, themes, symbols, and historical context. The basic framework is simple and mechanical, designed to be understood by everyone; and like most simple mechanisms, it was destined to last a surprisingly long time. The suffering of the human heroes, in either their physical or spiritual forms, is always retributive because of the homiletic nature of the novels Since the moral hero is essentially the man who falls victim to vice, there are no suffering innocents. In the rigidly defined structure of morality, both suffering and evil are non-problematic. If the dramatic context of the novel provided the essential clue for the interpretation of evil and suffering, the solidity and permanence of that context were responsible for the unshakeable conventions which governed the expression of suffering and evil.

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of DarknessPenguin Group (USA) Inc. 1999. Web.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Crime of the Congo? Aegypan, 2007. Web.

Symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, and metaphors are literary devices used by the writer to enthrall readers, and it is different from literary style and diction. Style relate to the actual words and sentences constructed by the author, while the devices are derived from the content of the passage. Things Fall Apart is the most famous and a rare modern influential African novel in English to make history and inspire people of different backgrounds, even after 50 years of its publication in 1958. In the same vein, Joseph Conrads novella Heart of Darkness, written in 1899, is about the struggle of two civilized Europeans, Marlow and Kurtz, after they ventured in to the darkness of uncivilized Africa, and their realization of inherent cruelty of human mind, which is capable of anything, to attain their goal.. Conrads Heart of Darkness is written in complex poetic style, whereas Achebe used very simplistic prose in Things Fall Apart to portray his African characters. Though Achebe was much critical about the attitude of Conrad in portraying Africans in Heart of Darkness, as a classic writer Conrads novella successfully stimulates and excites the mind of his readers even today. However, a critical analysis of the books Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart will be helpful in understanding how the colonial narrative influenced Conrad and Achebe.

Conrads Heart of Darkness, possibly the greatest short novel in English, asks troublesome questions on human aggression, disturbs preconceptions and hypocrisy of white on black, and possibly force the reader to ponder deeper into his self and human behavior. Heart of darkness reproduces dominant turn of the twentieth century values, discourses and prejudices, in order to expose and tackle colonialist motives and justifications. (Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness). Conrad used poetic language to paint images in our minds, and the metaphors to animate these images and allow them to breath. Conrads choice of words and word combinations, his poetic tone and sophisticated style, and smooth transitions craft a sensual experience, and it is an excellent example for his ability to manipulate the abstract language to attain his goal. The basic narrative structure of Heart of Darkness is a frame-tale with inset stories, an experiment with oblique narration, a tale within a tale. (Conrad, p.xxv).

Heart of Darkness is about what a mans heart become after they leave civilization, and is much more than a story about colonialism in the Congo. The characteristic of darkness is the inability to see and conceptually it fits with the title of Conrads book The Heart of Darkness. But, as a description of human condition, failing to see a human being means failing to understand that individual. In reality, Conrad implies that the colonizers were unable to equate them with the natives and admit them as humans. The colonizers were blinded not in the eye, but in their heart, apt to his choice for the title Heart of Darkness. The theme of darkness hiding beneath the veneer of culture and civilized European society has been greatly focused in the novella, through the characterization of Kurtz, an unscrupulous ivory trader in the Congo. Conrad used darkness to quantify mankind and human beings, who are blinded by their greed and lust, such that they turn a blind eye to the sufferings and turmoil of their fellow human beings and the poor and impoverished inhabitants of this Dark Continent.

Colonization of Africa was termed as an effort to enlighten the uncivilized and bring them up with western civilization. (Conrad, 135). Considered as dark-primitive society, with little or no individual identity, the advanced society of Europe took it as a moral responsibility to civilize Africans. In its true spirit this act of brother-hood and camaraderie definitely enlighten the people of black continent and may help in human emancipation of natives. But, in actuality it was to plunder the natural wealth, particularly ivory, and convert the native blacks into slaves of white masters. Conrad suggests that greed and material gain is the real motive behind the colonization and all the gimmick of brining light to Africa was a cover up to this cohort action. While it addresses the timeless struggle of mans self-deception and inner conflicts, influenced by Conrads own sense of isolation from his past, the story of Marlows journey into the Congo also exposes the clashes, exploitation and barbarity between European and African societies during 19^th Century colonial expansion. (Joseph Conrad).

Conrad has sprinkled a liberal doze of derogatory, outdated and offensive terminology, so much so, that the reader would not be wrong in terming him a racist, at least in as much as this book is concerned. In many instances in the book, he has fundamentally undermined the very essence of humanity and peaceful co-existence, and has chosen to term the African natives as savages, niggers and cannibals. This use of Conrads language in a major portion of the book acutely disturbs or even haunts the readers, and does little to exalt the unbiased view of the writer in the readers perspective. But, in Conrads defense, it may be said that, at the time of setting of the novel, nigger was not always considered a derogatory term and much of the setting was contiguous with the subjugation of natives, as has been the major part of colonist setting. However, in the final lap of the novella it may be seen that Conrad has a message to send across the colonizing fraternity through Heart of Darkness that Africans are also human beings, and deserve fair and equal treatment, rather than equating them with animals.

Achebe was chiefly offended by Joseph Conrads The Heart of Darkness, once declaring it a novel which&depersonalize a portion of the human race, reducing a great culture to a handful of threats and grunts. He wanted to tell the readers that his people (people of Africa) do not respond to situations by unintelligible grunts, they would speak and he required that speech to be written down through Things Fall Apart. Language is also the part of the genius of Things Fall Apart as the earlier novels about Africa were written in a typical Africanized prose that seemed to mimic the way a Nigerian would speak English. Achebe solved this problem by drawing on different levels of English, from slang to the most precise 20^th century realism.

Achebe believes Africans had their own history, their own celebrities, and reputations, and writing the novel Things Fall Apart was an act of atonement for the abandonment of traditional culture. Achebe tries not only to inform the outside world about the Ibo cultural traditions of Africa, but to remind his own people of their past and to assert that it had contained much value, contrary to European perception that Africa, the dark continent, has no history or culture worth considering. Most striking feature of Things Fall Apart is to create a complex and sympathetic portrait of a traditional village culture in Africa and resenting Africa as a stereotype primitive land as Conrad calls it. The language of the novel is simple, has a brilliant and innovative stroke, and the characters use an elevated diction that is meant to convey the sense of Ibo speech.

The opening sentence of the novel, Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond, is simple, declarative, and at the same time revolutionary. The story is set around the turn of the 20^th century, and the main character Okonkwo, a wrestling protagonist, is a man who embodies a culture in decline from the virtues and limitations. He is committed to the codes of battle and confrontation, the act that led to his greatness, but tragically helpless before the modern power and persuasion of the missionaries. Hence, because of change in values, Okonkwo became soft like a woman. There was complete transformation in social and cultural values. Thus, Achebe presents a changed scenario in his native land with missionary work from the Western world through his novel Things Fall Apart.

Achebe viewed Conrad as a racist, intoxicated with colonial narrative, as he shows inordinate love to the word nigger that is used frequently in Heart of Darkness and wanted to change the image of Africa through his novel, and he turned out to be a success. Though, Conrad dehumanizes all the characters in general and Africa in particular in the novel, it does not celebrate the dehumanizing of a portion of human race, but points out the hypocrisy of European attitudes towards Africa. Achebes novel is a triumph of contradictions: a memorial for a tribal culture by an author whose father was a convert to Christianity; a history-making book about a man whom history left behind; a document of a preliterate people written in the finest contemporary prose. Achebes story of a Nigerian tribesmans downfall before the advance of colonial power stands as the new beginning of indigenous African fiction, an early and enduring portrayal of a culture that had been seen only through the aristocratic stare of Western eyes.

Works cited

Conrad, Joseph. Hampson, Robert. (Ed). Heart of Darkness with the Congo Diary. London: Penguin. 1995.

Joseph Conrad: Biography and Works. The Literature Network. 2000-2008. Web.

Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness: An Essay on the Othering of Africa with Reference to Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness. bbc.co.uk. 2002. Web.

An important aspect of any story is the setting that the reader can imagine. The atmosphere that is created, very much adds to the general theme and the relationship between the characters and the surrounding environment.

Heart of Darkness is a story where the setting plays a great role in the development of events and delivers a tone that is very unique and specific to the different situations. It also connects to higher moral themes that relate to human nature and culture in a specific time period.

The story Heart of Darkness was chosen because it unites the darkness of the jungle with the darkest parts of human soul. The reader begins to feel the heavy atmosphere, as soon as Marlow starts his journey on the boat. The eerie surroundings, unknown land and people who are much different from the known world make the setting very foreign.

The journey represents a world where evil forces rule and lead people into the most ruthless and violent actions. The author has done a great job showing how the atmosphere and a persons greed for power can result in madness and obsession. Most importantly, the journey is the travel inside a mans soul where the darkest corners are observed and cannot be lighted.

In such a world people discover their true identities and those of others. From the very beginning, when Marlow sees the doctor before he starts his journey, he has his head measured and is being asked seemingly ridiculous questions. The doctor clarifies that he has a theory about the type of people who travel to such placesthey are characterized by psychological irregularities (Conrad 77).

This represents a cultural predisposition towards individuals who are considered to be mentally unstable in the difficult times. The story points to a significant part of human societies and demonstrates that many nations have gone through similar hardships and inequalities.

The postcolonial elements are present throughout the story. There is much reference to the freedom of the African land and the control that the colonizers are going to establish. The story describes a time in history when the natives were being enslaved and deprived of the land that was rightfully theirs. Their struggle through the unbeatable chances makes their battle even more in vein and makes them feel small and helpless.

The desperation and hopelessness are described through imagery and are constantly present in the story, aligning the surrounding environment with the inevitability of change. All the forces of nature and human desperation come together to form an atmosphere of frustration and an unfamiliar world. The mood of the story and the harshness of nature are displayed through imagery and personification.

The superiority of a group of people or even a country is portrayed through the views and norms of the society. The dominance and racism are clearly shown to take over everything else, in the endless fight for more land and power over others. The civilization is redefined through comparison between the developed world and places that have not yet been influenced by great characteristics of progress.

When Marlow describes Kurtz, the loss of reason and how he became infatuated with an idea of his own greatness, it is possible to see how people can get lost in an idea and the surrounding world stops mattering (Conrad 105).

The Heart of Darkness describes a journey into the land of horror and pain, and this is representative of the peoples deepest emotions and outlook on life. It is interesting that even standing in one place an individual can delve into the deepest parts of their heart and mind, yet find no comfort and outlet of their feelings.

Similar stories are mostly centered on the surrounding environment, and the peoples manifestation of their thoughts only adds to the general theme of darkness, as well as loneliness and cruelty of the beliefs and peoples characters. Even though the events might seem fictional or mysterious, they all have a connection to real life and the demands of the time and culture.

Even though it is made obvious that people are not the rulers of their lives and forces of nature, they take advantage of others by enslaving and depriving.

The insignificance of human individuality and the efforts are made obvious by how rough conditions can direct and force people into a situation that so desperately must be avoided. The darkness of the stories confirms that people have no control over human nature and greed, as it is one of the main determinants in the forceful colonization and wars.

The authors of stories such as The Heart of Darkness have realistically illustrated how the surrounding environment overtakes the lives of individuals and robs them of almost all control.

The connection to reality is very vivid and the circumstances can be physically felt. More importantly, the norms and goals of society are clearly illustrated as being savage, but are made out to be civilized. Even in the present time, there are places in the world that are not unlike The Heart of Darkness.

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. The Heart of Darkness. Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press, 1999. Print.

Introduction

Much literature is devoted to Africa as a black continent, however, none of these pieces is discussed in such a way as Joseph Conrads novel Heart of Darkness does. One of the most popular critiques of this work is Chinua Achebes paper titled An Image of Africa.

As for me, Chinua Achebes An Image of Africa is an unfair personal vision which was presented as the point of view of the whole mankind. Reading Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness it is possible to see the cases of prejudiced opinion about Africa and its citizens, however, this point of view is aimed at presenting the situation which was in the world.

The authors idea is to show how European civilized people see Africa. It does not mean that Joseph Conrad is a bloody racist (Achebe 11), it means that Joseph Conrad has noticed the problems which existed in Africa and tried to show them to the whole world.

Chinua Achebes Unfair Judgment of Joseph Conrads Novel

Reading Chinua Achebes An Image of Africa, it is obvious that the author blames Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness in racism and too negative attitude to Africa and its citizens.

Calling the author of a book a bloody racist (Achebe 11), the critic wants to convince the whole world that the ideas discussed in the novel are purely authors ones and nobody is able to share those points of view.

As for me, I absolutely disagree with this statement as Joseph Conrads novel is the vision of African continent by simple European people.

That rude description of Africa and sometimes prejudiced opinion about people who lived there is the reflection of the social opinion of Europeans about the continent.

Saying that Africa is the other world, the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where mans vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality (Achebe 32), Achebe does not mention the fact that this is not a personal point of view of Joseph Conrad, but the vision that was inherent almost to each civilized European.

It is not a secret that the vision of Africa in America and Europe was too prejudiced. Considering people there as uneducated, rude and only possible for hard work, civilized people usually contrasted Africans to themselves, therefore, Achebes blame personally to Conrad is groundless.

Reading the Caryl Phillips interview with Chinua Achebe aims at proving that Joseph Conrad is not a racist, the discussion opens many aspects which are not discussed in the book.

Chinua Achebe has perceived Conrads writing as a personal offence, he writes, Conrads presentation of me is my problem and I have a responsibility to deal with it& I dont come from a half-made society as your friend Naipaul would say.

Were not half-made people, were a very old people. Weve seen lots of problems in the past. Weve dealt with these problems in Africa, and were older than the problems. Drought, famine, disease, this is not the first time that were dealing with these things in Africa (Phillips).

This statement helps see the personal offence on Conrad and his writing. That is why the critique of this person is that sharp and negative. Some words in Conrads novel offended Achebe and he expressed his offence through the dissatisfaction with the author.

However, why should not Achebe present his dissatisfaction about the society who encouraged Conrad for writing such a story, why the social opinion does not offence Achebe? These questions have remained unanswered.

Colhoun is also sure that Achebes vision of Conrads Heart of Darkness is wrong due to incorrect judgment of the same idea. Vice versa, Colhoun is sure that Conrad and Achebe are on the same side.

Colhoun is sure that Conrad did not want to offence anyone and Achebes dissatisfaction with the language used in the novel is explained by the unawareness of the time when Conrad lived.

Colhoun is sure that Conrad did nothing offensive, he just used the language which was common during the time he wrote (Colhoun).

Therefore, Chinua Achebes negative reaction to Joseph Conrads is just personal vision of the issue explained by the negative personal relation of the critic and the arguments he uses are just unsupported personal opinions.

Joseph Conrad wrote about Africa as it was seen for others and no one can blame him in prejudiced personal attitude to Africans.

Conclusion

Joseph Conrad was not a racist, this was a person who wanted to present the life of African people as it was seen by Americans and Europeans. Personal vision of Joseph Conrad as a bloody racist (Achebe 11) is just a personal statement which is not supported with any reasonable proofs.

Achebes arguments are based on the personal vision of the written text. It is Achebe who may be blamed in appropriate study of the background of writing before making such statements.

Of course, some facts and expressions in Conrads writing are rather unpleasant, however, the author wanted to show the real situation, not the one we see right now.

It is important to perceive Conrad within the frames of the time he wrote his novel, but Achebe failed to do it.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. An Image of Africa: The Trouble with Nigeria. New York: Penguin, 2010. Print.

Colhoun, Jason. An analysis of Achebes An Image of Africa: Racism in Heart of Darkness. The Imperial Archive Project. 2002. Web.

Phillips, Caryl. Out of Africa. The Guardian. 2003. Web.

Traditionally, writings that have contributed significantly to the development of European culture and thought are considered the Western literary canon. Post-colonial literature created by writers of the former colonial countries or thematically focused on post-colonial societies enriches this canon with a new vision. Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness focuses on the relationship between local colonial people and the British Empire and reveals the unpleasant side of colonialism. According to Simmons (2020), the writers life experience and perspicacity allowed him to reflect on the colonial situation at that time deeply, and his fictions look beyond their moment to anticipate post-colonial revisionism (p. 2). This paper criticizes Heart of Darkness as the western canon from a post-colonial point of view and analyzes Conrads ambivalent attitude toward British colonialism.

Colonialism and Exploitation

Many Victorian British writers had patriotic feelings about the Empire and supported its colonial expansion. Conrad, despite his Polish origins, was also a citizen and patriot of Great Britain. This fact has primarily determined his complex and contradictory attitude to Englands colonial policy, including in the African continent, where the writer himself traveled (Simmons, 2020). In the novel, the author describes the brutal and inhumane treatment of African natives by ivory traffickers. Conrad describes the behavior of white exploiters as greedy without audacity and cruel without courage (Conrad, 2009, p. 31). The protagonist of the novel, captain Marlow, observes that the suffering of the native people under the yoke of bureaucratic officials is extremely tough (Conrad, 2009). He tries to convince himself that he is different from the exploiters. In this way, Conrad transmits the complicated feelings that arose during his trip to Central Africa. The author demonstrates how the representative of the aggressor country tries to deal with the guilt.

At the same time, the cruelty and injustice of white exploiters remain undeniable for Conrad. The writer is not trying to put the situation in a more pleasant light. During the narration, Marlow describes in detail the black people dying from exhaustion, who were neither enemies nor criminals, and who were exposed to pain, abandonment and despair (Conrad, 2009, p. 15). Thus, the author clearly expresses the adverse consequences of the British colonization policy.

Conrad anticipated post-colonial criticism not only in describing the suffering of the natives but also in revealing the vested motives that guided the colonizers. Central Africa, including Congo, was rich in ivory, which was of great value in the West, and large areas of equatorial forests, which were essential as a resource for developing industrial Europe (Simmons, 2020). Many natives were subjected to harsh exploitation precisely to obtain these resources. According to Simmons (2020), untold Congolese lives were sacrificed for this commodity in what historical documents portray as an orgy of brutality and exploitation (p. 7). Thus, Conrad had forewarned many of the issues that post-colonial writers had subsequently addressed. The writer analyzed the existing relationships between the Empire and colonizers on the one hand and the colonies and natives on the other. Moreover, he described the controversial and ambivalent experiences of a European civilization representative who empathized with the black population.

Cultural Issues

It should be emphasized that despite his sympathy for the suffering natives and his sense of injustice in this regard, Conrad remains faithful to Western cultural principles. Despite the violence of white exploiters, in the authors opinion, they are still more civilized. Conrad describes Africa as another world, much more savage and unpleasant than Europe. Besides, a relatively large part of the narrative is devoted to describing the natives and their customs as wild and strange to Marlow, who is the authors prototype. Heart of Darkness provides a depiction of how another European, Kurtz, achieved power over the natives through barbaric rituals that included planting heads on the stakes (Conrad, 2009, p. 62). Marlow even considers the behavior of Africans somewhat inhuman and indicates the strangeness of the thought of his remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar (Conrad, 2009, p. 37). An episode of Kurtzs report to the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs demonstrates that the writer does find the native culture wild.

Some authors even believe that such a narrative and description witness Conrads racism. Azam (2019) cites criticism of the writer, which states that he considers the inhabitants of the African continent to be uncivilized and primitive. It should be noted that in other literature on the problems of black people, they are depicted differently. For instance, in Sula, the main heroine, a young black woman, was an initiative person who opposed her communitys conventional life standards and chose her path (Morrison, 2004). In Maps, Farah (2012) narrates an orphaned Askar who becomes an intellectual and reflective young man who becomes concerned with his origins and identity over time. Thus, these authors depict black characters as more humane and similar to an ordinary person in the representation of the European, as opposed to the wild image of the natives in the Heart of Darkness. According to Azam (2019), racism was considered to be just one common part of the Victorian mindset (p. 120). However, Conrad empathized with the exploited Africans and thus recognized their human nature, although their cultural customs and attitudes were wild to him.

Linguistic and Narrative Techniques

Conrads cultural commitment demonstrates that he belongs to the Western canon, while the subjects and issues of his writings represent a post-colonial paradigm. At the same time, this evaluation is also based on the mastery and proficient use of English by the writer. According to Williams (2019), Heart of Darkness is insular, psychological and reflective (p. 38). Conrad uses first-person narration, allowing the reader to live out both thoughts and experiences of Marlow. The individual voice is the special approach of the writer, who constructs the narrative role that reacts and interprets outside influences (Williams, 2019, p. 39). The reader remains fully focused on the chain of reasoning and feelings of the narrating character. Meanwhile, Marlow uses complex linguistic constructions, which allows him to perform better in the role of a narrator and the role of the character.

It should also be noted that the individual voice allows Conrad to demonstrate the ambiguity of the attitude to what is happening  the cruelty of exploiters and the wildness of the natives. According to Williams (2019), Heart of Darkness is distinctly ill-disposed towards permitting any voice to speak which detracts from the master narrative (p. 48). Thus, external factors intervene only when necessary to emphasize the narrators ideas or experiences. The masterful use of this perspective and techniques has given the novel and its author such fame.

Conclusion

Heart of Darkness should be considered a Western canon, as it is an example of the masterful use of English in storytelling and is embedded in the European cultural tradition. The novel can undoubtedly be classified as post-colonial literature since the issues it raises reflect Conrads criticism of colonial exploitation. The author, on the one hand, condemns the abuse of Africans and, on the other hand, is unable to accept their wild customs, and that constitutes the ambiguity of his attitude.

References

1. Azam, N. (2019). Prejudice in Joseph Conrads post-colonial novel Heart of Darkness. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 8(5), 116-121.
2. Conrad, J. (2009). Heart of darkness. Auckland, New Zealand: The Floating Press.
3. Farah, N. (2012). Maps. New York, NY: Arcade Publishing.
4. Morrison, T. (2004). Sula. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
5. Simmons, A. H. (2020). A persisting unease: Joseph Conrads (Post)Colonial fictions. In K. Seigneurie (Ed.), A companion to world literature (pp. 1-12). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
6. Williams, J. R. (2019). Post/Colonial linguistics: Language effects and Empire in Heart of Darkness and Nostromo. In Multilingualism and the twentieth-century novel (pp. 33-72). London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Introduction

In this paper, I am commenting about the style used by Joseph Conrad, in the given passage from his famous book, The Heart of Darkness. Set in deepest and darkest Africa, the pace and narration is quite compelling and bears a richly descriptive and evocative style  a style that is needed to consider not an image of Africa, but rather the protagonist, Marlow s experience of Africa and Marlows attempts to understand and represent that experience. (Conrad xxxi). I strongly feel that he has indeed been able to render an impacting style in his description of events that occurred in this passage extracted from the book which reaches out to the heart and psyche of Conrad himself.

Main Body

According to me, the style is narrative, unequivocal, powerful and vivid, sometimes even starkly vibrant and evocative in content and depth, matched only by the characters, however minor, that Conrad breathes life and soul into. According to me, he has used the direct narrative, no-frills style.

I feel that the protagonists intrepid voyage into the Congo and his experiences dealing with the locals and trying to take Kurtz back home is visualized and written in an inimitable descriptive style by Conrad.

What I have felt after reading the novella is that the choice of diction deliberately used by Conrad in this passage was to convey, more than a physical journey, a moral sojourn of the writer through characterization of Marlow to the deepest recesses of actors mind and his reactions to his impending journey. Marlow wished to seek out his own identity in this voyage and Conrads style supports it.

The settings of this passage, description of staid and archaic surroundings reinforces the visual image presented to the reader about the lurking greyness in the office atmosphere, complete with shades of bureaucratic officialdom, which however, turns optimistic and bright towards the end of the passage.

In this passage from the novella, The Heart of Darkness, racism is being presented with such vividness that, for once, I am compelled to overcome the predominant racial aspects, before settling down to read and understand the storyline. His picturization of the immense impact of racist overtures in the dealings of various characters, especially Kurtz, the ivory dealer is well conceived and portrayed and has gained the impact it most needed.

The portion for which this essay needs to concern itself is found in Para 3, Pgs.24-25 of the first chapter of this novel. It is mainly concerned with describing Marlows visit to the office of his future employers, in order to sign the documents for taking the African cruise to bring back the ivory trader, Kurtz, who was very sick and needed to be relocated back to his home country, Leopoldville.

His use of similes are very apt and considerate, for instance in Para 3, lines 4-5, he uses the simile as arid as a desert to describe the surroundings in the building. Another striking analogy employed by Conrad and impressive to me was his reference, And the river was there- fascinating-deadly-like a snake. (Heart of Darkness Line 15). In the passage under review, there have been no instances of anadiplosis, anaphora, epanalepsis or epistrophe. His rendering style, according to me, is short, direct, succinct and persuasively simple.

This style is right regarding the genre of writing that Conrad indulges in. This is because while writing about subjects like Africa, aspects like darkness, somber, eerie and mysterious need to be used, time and again, in order to produce the right effect and create the right mood for progress of storyline. Besides, it is also needed that artistic impressions need to be provided that could enhance the reading effect and create the right kind of mood that the reader would like to experience while reading this novel. In the genre of books that Conrads Heart of Darkness falls into, it is imperative that the overall effect is created through good choice of words. The stylized themes need to present and unravel the plot and sub-plots within the story, and these need to be dealt in a delicate and sensitive manner  which Conrad has been able to do to a very large measure.

Regarding the passage under review, Conrads use of adjectives is also apt and serves to heighten the needed mood and atmosphere. For instance, he writes about imposing carriage archways and ponderously ajar doors. (Conrad 24). The style is excellent and very much the kind that would be needed to explain and detail aspects. However, I feel that Conrads use of symbolism, especially with regard to the narrator Marlows trepidation and fears about his new appointment and meeting his future employers, who would arrange for his sea faring career into Africa has not been sufficiently highlighted. These aspects need to have been introduced and explored by Conrad to gain a greater degree of credibility and creativity for this work. However, I hasten to add that this, in no way, reduces the existing flavor and receptivity of what has already been penned by Conrad in these paragraphs.

Coming to examples of syndetons, there are at least two examples of these in this passage. The first is &. with Venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones& (Heart of Darkness Line 2) and again in Line 12 a deuce of a lot of blue, a little green, smears of orange&. The first was given to produce the much needed effect of tranquility and loneliness in the street leading to the office premises, and the second, to give the effect of the atmosphere pervading inside the room, the riot of color and imagination that the author imagined in this settings.

Next, coming to asyndeton, that is the lack of conjunctions, used for creating enhanced dramatic effect, there are two examples in this passage. The first, Line 10, There was a vast amount of red  good to see at any time& and secondly, in Line 15  And the river was there- fascinating- deadly-like a snake.

The effects that Conrad thought were in order to heighten the imagery of color and vividness in the first instance, and to drive home the point that the river Congo through which they had to undertake their journey was like a snake-twisted, treacherous and venomous, capable of endangering lives that ventured near it. The adventurous and daredevil spirit shown by the explorer, Marlow is indeed commendable and laudable, and this has been highlighted by these lines. An African voyage  or more appropriately a travel to the Dark Continent, was considered next to death in those times  if the animals, or climate did not kill enterprising explorers, disease and the deceit of the rivers certainly did.

The asyndeton effect surely provides needed effect for heightening and sustaining visual imaginative effects, and retaining the interests of the reader in what would occur next in the narrative. Again the use of comparative antonyms has also been used to good effect  for instance Two women, one fat and the other slim in line 5 speaks about the characterization which Conrad is so adept at drawing forth and another description that goes like this -white-haired secretarial head

The use of punctuation marks has been apt and well-intentioned. There have been instances of em-dash, in line 7, for instance, me  still knitting with downcast eyes  and again in line 15  And the river was there- fascinating- deadly-like a snake.

In this passage, the author wishes to symbolize the calm before the storm. The peaceful, almost somnolent atmosphere which he sought to create in this passage would be in deep contrast with what would occur during the later stages of the story, as the protagonist has to deal with one crisis after another on his mission into deepest Africa, to rescue and take back the company agent, Kurtz.

The woman knitting black wool forecasts aspects of darkness and despondency that overtook explorers in their journey to Africa. The dreariness and unpolished nature of the building and its appurtenances signify the emptiness in the pursuit of traders to amass wealth by exploiting poor natives in ivory trade. Further, it is also believed that inactivity, loneliness and indolence would be companions during his expedition to Africa. The symbolism of dark and brilliance is a major aspect of this travelogue of Conrad. Perhaps, it is his own adventure as a seaman, seen from the perspective of Marlow, a seafarer.

The reason why Conrad chose gloom at the beginning and hope and expectation at the end is that he wanted his readers to experience the fact that human struggles and efforts do pay off at the end and that eventually hard work is rewarding even though it may be laborious and tedious.

Conclusion

The aspect of style in the passage has been discussed in the preceding pages. The reason why Conrad chooses to present a melancholic picture, like that of a somnambulist moving about at night, but which brightens as the passage moves along, is that he wishes to compare it with existence on earth. Human life has to undergo a lot of gloom and despair at younger stages, a struggle not only with the world, but also with oneself, ones own perceptions, trials, tribulations merged with adverse circumstances. What Conrad seeks to express is that humans need to rise above their own destinies and seek peace with themselves and the world.

This has also be said to be the moral of this story, which searches for mechanism of consciousness and search for his own identity.

Conrads storytelling ability, especially his style is as gripping as it is nuanced.

Another aspect that stands out in this novella is the tautness and fascinating nature of its narration, aided with excellent choice of words and exemplary rendition. In this passage from Heart of Darkness, Conrad has been at his best literary style and has used diction and style with great skill and dexterity. His choice of words blend well with the surroundings, his command and effortless use of hyphens enhanced dramatic effect of words. Conrad is widely regarded as one of the pre-eminent writers in the English Language, and that too, with English being his third language, after Polish and Russian. Although English was perhaps a foreign language for him, yet he excelled in writing it and succeeded in gaining laurels for his style of writings.

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness, with, The Congo Diary: Introduction. Ed. Robert Hompson. Penguin Classics, 1995.

Symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, and metaphors are literary devices used by the writer to enthrall readers, and it is different from literary style and diction. Style relate to the actual words and sentences constructed by the author, while the devices are derived from the content of the passage. Things Fall Apart is the most famous and a rare modern influential African novel in English to make history and inspire people of different backgrounds, even after 50 years of its publication in 1958. In the same vein, Joseph Conrads novella Heart of Darkness, written in 1899, is about the struggle of two civilized Europeans, Marlow and Kurtz, after they ventured in to the darkness of uncivilized Africa, and their realization of inherent cruelty of human mind, which is capable of anything, to attain their goal.. Conrads Heart of Darkness is written in complex poetic style, whereas Achebe used very simplistic prose in Things Fall Apart to portray his African characters. Though Achebe was much critical about the attitude of Conrad in portraying Africans in Heart of Darkness, as a classic writer Conrads novella successfully stimulates and excites the mind of his readers even today. However, a critical analysis of the books Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart will be helpful in understanding how the colonial narrative influenced Conrad and Achebe.

Conrads Heart of Darkness, possibly the greatest short novel in English, asks troublesome questions on human aggression, disturbs preconceptions and hypocrisy of white on black, and possibly force the reader to ponder deeper into his self and human behavior. Heart of darkness reproduces dominant turn of the twentieth century values, discourses and prejudices, in order to expose and tackle colonialist motives and justifications. (Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness). Conrad used poetic language to paint images in our minds, and the metaphors to animate these images and allow them to breath. Conrads choice of words and word combinations, his poetic tone and sophisticated style, and smooth transitions craft a sensual experience, and it is an excellent example for his ability to manipulate the abstract language to attain his goal. The basic narrative structure of Heart of Darkness is a frame-tale with inset stories, an experiment with oblique narration, a tale within a tale. (Conrad, p.xxv).

Heart of Darkness is about what a mans heart become after they leave civilization, and is much more than a story about colonialism in the Congo. The characteristic of darkness is the inability to see and conceptually it fits with the title of Conrads book The Heart of Darkness. But, as a description of human condition, failing to see a human being means failing to understand that individual. In reality, Conrad implies that the colonizers were unable to equate them with the natives and admit them as humans. The colonizers were blinded not in the eye, but in their heart, apt to his choice for the title Heart of Darkness. The theme of darkness hiding beneath the veneer of culture and civilized European society has been greatly focused in the novella, through the characterization of Kurtz, an unscrupulous ivory trader in the Congo. Conrad used darkness to quantify mankind and human beings, who are blinded by their greed and lust, such that they turn a blind eye to the sufferings and turmoil of their fellow human beings and the poor and impoverished inhabitants of this Dark Continent.

Colonization of Africa was termed as an effort to enlighten the uncivilized and bring them up with western civilization. (Conrad, 135). Considered as dark-primitive society, with little or no individual identity, the advanced society of Europe took it as a moral responsibility to civilize Africans. In its true spirit this act of brother-hood and camaraderie definitely enlighten the people of black continent and may help in human emancipation of natives. But, in actuality it was to plunder the natural wealth, particularly ivory, and convert the native blacks into slaves of white masters. Conrad suggests that greed and material gain is the real motive behind the colonization and all the gimmick of brining light to Africa was a cover up to this cohort action. While it addresses the timeless struggle of mans self-deception and inner conflicts, influenced by Conrads own sense of isolation from his past, the story of Marlows journey into the Congo also exposes the clashes, exploitation and barbarity between European and African societies during 19^th Century colonial expansion. (Joseph Conrad).

Conrad has sprinkled a liberal doze of derogatory, outdated and offensive terminology, so much so, that the reader would not be wrong in terming him a racist, at least in as much as this book is concerned. In many instances in the book, he has fundamentally undermined the very essence of humanity and peaceful co-existence, and has chosen to term the African natives as savages, niggers and cannibals. This use of Conrads language in a major portion of the book acutely disturbs or even haunts the readers, and does little to exalt the unbiased view of the writer in the readers perspective. But, in Conrads defense, it may be said that, at the time of setting of the novel, nigger was not always considered a derogatory term and much of the setting was contiguous with the subjugation of natives, as has been the major part of colonist setting. However, in the final lap of the novella it may be seen that Conrad has a message to send across the colonizing fraternity through Heart of Darkness that Africans are also human beings, and deserve fair and equal treatment, rather than equating them with animals.

Achebe was chiefly offended by Joseph Conrads The Heart of Darkness, once declaring it a novel which&depersonalize a portion of the human race, reducing a great culture to a handful of threats and grunts. He wanted to tell the readers that his people (people of Africa) do not respond to situations by unintelligible grunts, they would speak and he required that speech to be written down through Things Fall Apart. Language is also the part of the genius of Things Fall Apart as the earlier novels about Africa were written in a typical Africanized prose that seemed to mimic the way a Nigerian would speak English. Achebe solved this problem by drawing on different levels of English, from slang to the most precise 20^th century realism.

Achebe believes Africans had their own history, their own celebrities, and reputations, and writing the novel Things Fall Apart was an act of atonement for the abandonment of traditional culture. Achebe tries not only to inform the outside world about the Ibo cultural traditions of Africa, but to remind his own people of their past and to assert that it had contained much value, contrary to European perception that Africa, the dark continent, has no history or culture worth considering. Most striking feature of Things Fall Apart is to create a complex and sympathetic portrait of a traditional village culture in Africa and resenting Africa as a stereotype primitive land as Conrad calls it. The language of the novel is simple, has a brilliant and innovative stroke, and the characters use an elevated diction that is meant to convey the sense of Ibo speech.

The opening sentence of the novel, Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond, is simple, declarative, and at the same time revolutionary. The story is set around the turn of the 20^th century, and the main character Okonkwo, a wrestling protagonist, is a man who embodies a culture in decline from the virtues and limitations. He is committed to the codes of battle and confrontation, the act that led to his greatness, but tragically helpless before the modern power and persuasion of the missionaries. Hence, because of change in values, Okonkwo became soft like a woman. There was complete transformation in social and cultural values. Thus, Achebe presents a changed scenario in his native land with missionary work from the Western world through his novel Things Fall Apart.

Achebe viewed Conrad as a racist, intoxicated with colonial narrative, as he shows inordinate love to the word nigger that is used frequently in Heart of Darkness and wanted to change the image of Africa through his novel, and he turned out to be a success. Though, Conrad dehumanizes all the characters in general and Africa in particular in the novel, it does not celebrate the dehumanizing of a portion of human race, but points out the hypocrisy of European attitudes towards Africa. Achebes novel is a triumph of contradictions: a memorial for a tribal culture by an author whose father was a convert to Christianity; a history-making book about a man whom history left behind; a document of a preliterate people written in the finest contemporary prose. Achebes story of a Nigerian tribesmans downfall before the advance of colonial power stands as the new beginning of indigenous African fiction, an early and enduring portrayal of a culture that had been seen only through the aristocratic stare of Western eyes.

Works cited

Conrad, Joseph. Hampson, Robert. (Ed). Heart of Darkness with the Congo Diary. London: Penguin. 1995.

Joseph Conrad: Biography and Works. The Literature Network. 2000-2008. Web.

Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness: An Essay on the Othering of Africa with Reference to Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness. bbc.co.uk. 2002. Web.

An important aspect of any story is the setting that the reader can imagine. The atmosphere that is created, very much adds to the general theme and the relationship between the characters and the surrounding environment.

Heart of Darkness is a story where the setting plays a great role in the development of events and delivers a tone that is very unique and specific to the different situations. It also connects to higher moral themes that relate to human nature and culture in a specific time period.

The story Heart of Darkness was chosen because it unites the darkness of the jungle with the darkest parts of human soul. The reader begins to feel the heavy atmosphere, as soon as Marlow starts his journey on the boat. The eerie surroundings, unknown land and people who are much different from the known world make the setting very foreign.

The journey represents a world where evil forces rule and lead people into the most ruthless and violent actions. The author has done a great job showing how the atmosphere and a persons greed for power can result in madness and obsession. Most importantly, the journey is the travel inside a mans soul where the darkest corners are observed and cannot be lighted.

In such a world people discover their true identities and those of others. From the very beginning, when Marlow sees the doctor before he starts his journey, he has his head measured and is being asked seemingly ridiculous questions. The doctor clarifies that he has a theory about the type of people who travel to such placesthey are characterized by psychological irregularities (Conrad 77).

This represents a cultural predisposition towards individuals who are considered to be mentally unstable in the difficult times. The story points to a significant part of human societies and demonstrates that many nations have gone through similar hardships and inequalities.

The postcolonial elements are present throughout the story. There is much reference to the freedom of the African land and the control that the colonizers are going to establish. The story describes a time in history when the natives were being enslaved and deprived of the land that was rightfully theirs. Their struggle through the unbeatable chances makes their battle even more in vein and makes them feel small and helpless.

The desperation and hopelessness are described through imagery and are constantly present in the story, aligning the surrounding environment with the inevitability of change. All the forces of nature and human desperation come together to form an atmosphere of frustration and an unfamiliar world. The mood of the story and the harshness of nature are displayed through imagery and personification.

The superiority of a group of people or even a country is portrayed through the views and norms of the society. The dominance and racism are clearly shown to take over everything else, in the endless fight for more land and power over others. The civilization is redefined through comparison between the developed world and places that have not yet been influenced by great characteristics of progress.

When Marlow describes Kurtz, the loss of reason and how he became infatuated with an idea of his own greatness, it is possible to see how people can get lost in an idea and the surrounding world stops mattering (Conrad 105).

The Heart of Darkness describes a journey into the land of horror and pain, and this is representative of the peoples deepest emotions and outlook on life. It is interesting that even standing in one place an individual can delve into the deepest parts of their heart and mind, yet find no comfort and outlet of their feelings.

Similar stories are mostly centered on the surrounding environment, and the peoples manifestation of their thoughts only adds to the general theme of darkness, as well as loneliness and cruelty of the beliefs and peoples characters. Even though the events might seem fictional or mysterious, they all have a connection to real life and the demands of the time and culture.

Even though it is made obvious that people are not the rulers of their lives and forces of nature, they take advantage of others by enslaving and depriving.

The insignificance of human individuality and the efforts are made obvious by how rough conditions can direct and force people into a situation that so desperately must be avoided. The darkness of the stories confirms that people have no control over human nature and greed, as it is one of the main determinants in the forceful colonization and wars.

The authors of stories such as The Heart of Darkness have realistically illustrated how the surrounding environment overtakes the lives of individuals and robs them of almost all control.

The connection to reality is very vivid and the circumstances can be physically felt. More importantly, the norms and goals of society are clearly illustrated as being savage, but are made out to be civilized. Even in the present time, there are places in the world that are not unlike The Heart of Darkness.

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. The Heart of Darkness. Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press, 1999. Print.