Introductory Paragraph

            Black is bad. White is good. If only it were that simple for Marlow’s journey to the Heart of Darkness. In Conrad’s novel the symbolic meaning of white and black are constantly changing and lack consistency. There is a certain ambiguity with the color images in the novel and a lot of the time the symbols are the opposite of their typical meaning. The ambiguity with the color falls into the general theme of the novel because most elements of Heart of Darkness are vague and perplexing. In Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the symbolic meaning of colors, specifically black, white, and ivory, have an atypical ambiguity factor which contributes to the theme of Marlow’s journey to chaos.

3. Use any ONE quote from Karl to examine one aspect of the novel

"The persistence of dakness, especially the color black, sets the tone and elicits our response." In Heart of Darkness, the colors Conrad utalizes, specifically black and white, do not have the typical symbolic meaning in the context of the novel. In fact, the meaning of white and black are switched. That being said, the switching of typical meaninf seems to be a reoccuring theme in the novel. For instance, at the beggining of Marlow's tale, he speaks about England pre-colonization and compares it to ancient Rome, basically espousing the chaos. England is not usually associated with chaos and destruction so its one of the reversals in Heart of Darkness. The colors of white and black are one of the elements that contribute and foreshadow the overall journey to chaos.

Essay Ideas

My first essay idea is to examine Marlow's journey as he approaches Kurtz, specifically his mental and emotional journey. I will use literary clues to do so, for instance by analyzing his speech pattern and narrative style as well through the actions he takes. I want to also analyze his development of Post Traumatic Syndrome and look for signs of it.
My other idea would be to look specifically at one symbol perhaps the rivets or Kurtz as a character.

Marlow's Phsycological Journey

In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow, the main character makes a physical journey to the Congo. However, as he explains his journey throughout the novel we gain incite to his physical journey. It is very evident through the way he speaks about his experiences that it took a toll on him emotionally. We can definitely see an element of post traumatic syndrome. For example, Marlow states "You remember it, you dream of it, you wake up at night and think of it-years after- an go hot and cold all over." Marlow's journey to Africa was unlike anything he had experience before and all this new information he received had an emotional impact on him.

#6 pg 430

The torch in the painting could have several meanings in the context of the story. It could represent civilization or the love of knowlege, but ultimately it is a beacon and it is a positive symbol. The torch juxtaposes with the dark face of the woman in the painting. The intersting aspect of the painitng is that the woman is blin folded, possible representing a blinded justice. There is a clear disconect between the torch and the blind fold which can possibly signify a abnormal moral compass. I think Marlow would agree with this painting because of the disconnect that exits between the torch and the woman but also between the people and colonizers. Marlow constanly makes note of the "strangeness" of the people to ther point where he is impressed with a man based on his ability to make himself presentable.

#2 pg 429

The first couple paragraphs of Heart of Darkness is very vivid in its discription of the ominous and dark setting. Marlow begins his tale of a journey to the heart of darkness with an account of London in "very old times,when the Romans first came here" to exemplify the darkness of the situation. The way Marlow describes London, England sounds like a terrible colony. England is the punishment for those who gamble are exiled to England. In the situation he explains, everything is reversed and that is why he makes the connection between England in Roman time and the English colonization of Africa.