Heart of Darkness Hello Darkness my old friend)

Hello Darkness my old friend

Written by Joseph Conrad

Published in 1899

NOVELLA Hello Darkness my old friend

Historical context [Views and Values] Hello Darkness my old friend

- During the last two decades of the 19th century → Colonisation of Africa occurred. - Most European nations competed for African nations, claiming to want to “civilise” the natives. - This disguised the majority of Europeans’ underlying desire to exploit the land in whatever way

possible, regardless of who got killed - European colonialists believed that they were saving the Africans by giving them civilisation and

religion - The industrial revolution late 18th century - From a contemporary point of view, the people of the late 18th century adopted racist views

towards black people. Hello Darkness my old friend White supremacy over blacks in the novella (AKA racism)

- Colonialism and trade came with the idea of a race more superior than those who occupied the land.

- King Leopold II of Belgium was responsible for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State as almost 10 million africans died under his rule despite him never setting foot there.

- Same as the native Americans vs the European colonists - Heart of Darkness tackles the same idea – the white men completely dominating over others

- “Helpers withdrew here to die”, they were not helpers but slaves forced to work until physical exhaustion

- Not given any personal traits unless they resemble the Whites

- “Helpers” redirect the blame from the colonists; “Shapes” not men are used to describe the “shadows”

- Focuses on the effects on the white colonizers instead of the devastation on black natives: doesn’t focus on the evils of colonialism

Hello Darkness my old friend Modernist Thinking

- During this time period, everything is questioned including religion. Rise in scientific discovery during this time (Darwinism).

- Authors attempted to use new techniques including the framed narrative which was not commonly used.

Hello Darkness my old friend State of the Congo

- The colonial agenda still exists in the Congo til this day, corporations have taken residence. - Still considered a warzone: very gruesome methods such as rape is still used in warfare

Hello Darkness my old friend

Language features [Literary technique] Hello Darkness my old friend Structure

- Africans only present due to the necessity of the story. They act as a plot device. - Elephants notably absent: only present in form of ivory: only their monetary value is touched on

this acknowledges the impact of imperialism - However doesn’t critique/comment on: still supporting of imperialism through lack of challenge

Unreliable narrator. This allows for audiences to make their own opinions of the values presented - Unreliableness of Marlow

- Altering recollection of situations so he is portrayed more positively for his audience - Hindsight allows him to look back at the events and change his understanding of the

past. The time for self reflection afterward, allows for portrayal as a more wisened/enlightened character

- Unreliableness of the story's Narrator - Marlow lies to the beloved concerning Kurtz’s demise in order to “save her feelings”

- Never shown sentiment beforehand: reinforces unreliability - Prevents reflection, ends conversation

- The story of Heart of Darkness is altered simply because the Narrator is retelling the story that Marlow is telling which is based on his perspective and the audience is inclined to challenge some of its views

- Frequent jumps in time throughout the narrative - Causes anxiety in the reader

- No omniscient reader: not getting into people's heads; insecurity Story told in layers, this is Indicative of the narrative style Hello Darkness my old friend Irony

- The cannibalistic savages are able to reign in their desire to eat where it’s contrasted against the pilgrims who were enthusiastic about killing the natives, who give in to the idea of sport

- “Faithless pilgrims” about Europe; Godlessness, corruption: soulless Hello Darkness my old friend Theme of nature Portrayed as prehistoric, powerful and with a sense of beauty Personification of the jungle: ‘prehistoric’ nature against the river ‘Thames’ which has been civilised by the Romans

- The language alludes to the darkness inherent in humanity and in nature - Psychological impact; otherness (prehistoric)

- Loss of moral compass, no authority, lack of social construct - Heavy focus on aspect of change: due to lack of societal constructs

- Marlow has the boat which helps him retain his sanity- the boat is somewhat personified “But still we crawled” , feeds into reading that whites are invading African landscape

- The work allows Marlow to maintain civility; prevents him from ‘thinking’, of looking into himself, into the darkness, into the Id

- Narratology, novella, short novel - Easy, fast to read/long short story

- Rule of three - Three chapters - Three times Marlow breaks the story, where he talks to the audience (the people on the

boat, the actual audience) (Dreamlike state) - Three stations

- Hits the first exterior station in Africa (European settlements) - Second station: Meets people like the manager, the machinations of empire,

enlightening the Africans - The third station

- Three women: Aunt, Savage, Intended - Russian Doll effect: Found not in the centre – Africa – but in the periphery - Unreliable narrator – cannot trust the narrator

Hello Darkness my old friend Symbolism

“A city that always makes me think of a whited sepulchre”

- An ornately decorated tomb that holds a corpse and also means someone who is inwardly corrupt but outwardly virtuous (refer to King Leopold II of Belgium) also means hypocrite

- Represents origin of European Colonial Enterprise which brings death to white men and to their colonial subjects

- Colonial Enterprise is governed by a set of principles that enable cruelty, dehumanisation and prevents change

- The Europeans are the literal and figurative ‘White Death’ sweeping across Africa Women represents decency and purity

- Potential goodness in humans, which is important to colonists after seeing the heart of darkness - Represent naive illusions that are at the root of the social fictions of europe which justify colonial

expansion - Objects that men use to display their own success and status

Hello Darkness my old friend THE ACCOUNTANT

- He symbolizes the Company as it wants to be perceived. He dresses elegantly but impractically, ignoring the heat and the poverty of the black native African workers surrounding him, emphasizing the Company's professionalism. He is always immersed in his accounting books, diligently completing his work, which represents the Company's devotion to perfection and excellence.

- His only response to the groans of a co-worker is to complain about how it's hard to do math when someone's dying across the room, showing the cold professional manner the Company conducted its business. His varnished boots help us see exactly how hypocritical and disgusting the company is.

Hello Darkness my old friend

TWO KNITTING WOMEN - The Two Knitting Women represent the Moirae: the ancient Greek personifications of fate. Two

of the three Fates spin the life-thread of each human being whereas the third Fate cuts the thread when the time comes for man to die. The Fates, being immortals have foresight and thus can see every man's fate.

- Marlow contrasts them: old, young; thin, fat; uncanny, cheerful. The Greek conception tended to describe the three Fates as being young, middle-aged, and old: the young one represents birth, the middle one life, and the old one death.

- The Latin quotation included at the end of the description means "They who are about to die salute you." Traditionally, this was a greeting made to the emperor by condemned Roman criminals, gladiators, or anyone else who was about to encounter death.

- Kurtz is the symbol of the inevitable, of death Hello Darkness my old friend THE DOCTOR Before heading to Africa, Marlow has to visit a doctor. The Doctor evokes unpleasant feelings for Marlow and hence for the reader. He is not a symbol so much as an agent of foreshadowing, but a reminder that the imperialist project affects everyone, and not always in a positive light. In particular, he seems to be too interested in whether there's any "madness" in Marlow's family, and he calls the information "my share in the advantages my country shall reap from the possession of such a magnificent dependency" (1.26). Simply—he sees the explorers and agents as one unethical scientific experiment. By measuring Marlow's skull, he sees it as something akin to taking scientific observations of his brain. The placement of The Doctor near the beginning of the novel is a reflection of how Science is becoming more prominent in society during the late 18th century. The death of Kurtz “Mistah Kurtz - he dead” mirrors how God is dead and religion is no longer at the forefront of society. Hello Darkness my old friend THE CONGO RIVER

- Acts as the physical symbol of the heart of darkness - Represents the mouth of the snake that swallows people into darkness - Marlow slowly loses his sanity and civilisation as he travels through the river

- Throwing his shoes overboard - Grasping onto a book to hold onto his sanity - Steamboat represents sanity and civility and he tries to remain occupied with it

Hello Darkness my old friend CLOTHES

- Represent european civility which implies its fragility - Africans do not wear clothes and are therefore portrayed as savage - Marlow loses his sanity after throwing his shoes - The Harlequin was able to survive and remain sane because he’s constantly fixing his clothes

Hello Darkness my old friend FLIES Flies symbolises death due to their nature of hovering over dead bodies. A long time ago, the devil received the nickname "Beelzebub," which most people translate as "Lord of the Flies." In Heart of Darkness, flies notably appear when an agent dies in Chapter One ("In the steady buzz of flies the homeward-bound agent was lying finished and insensible" [1.48]) and when Kurtz dies: "A continuous shower of small flies streamed upon the lamp, upon the cloth, upon our hands and faces" (3.44). H ello Darkness my old friend

Light and Dark - Light does not necessarily symbolize pure goodness or pure enlightenment. Conrad's vision is

so dark that it cannot be concluded that he trusts or believes in light wholeheartedly. As Marlow says, "sunlight can be made to lie, too" (3.50).

- Marlow compares white men to black men and concludes (potentially) that these men are all the same. When his steamboat is stuck in the fog: he says that the fog is so thick that they can't tell up from down.

- Without a fine line separating polar differences like the difference between black and white, or up and down you cannot tell anything at all: there is no meaning.

- Conrad begins to subvert the colours - The white light of colonialism isn’t as bright, the darkness is not as dark

- White light; awakening; enlightenment - The natural sun vs the gloom of London

- Figurative darkness; the colonialists carry it into the Congo - Death, sickness - The sepulchral city, white on the outside but dead on the inside – Belgium

- If black is seen as racist, and white is negative, then white can also been seen as racial Hello Darkness my old friend References to God Marlow is constantly compared to Buddha who was an enlightened teacher-figure. Kurtz on the other hand, is described as a thunderous and fiery Jupiter figure. The God Jupiter was prone to the negative human emotions of jealousy, vengeance, and ambition. Interestingly, Marlow refers to the white men on the ship as "pilgrims." Like the Puritans at Plymouth Rock, "pilgrim" is a word for mass numbers of people embarking on a religious journey for spiritual enlightenment. This may just be ironic, since altruistic enlightenment was one of the supposed motives for Europe’s imperialistic forays into Africa. Alternatively, the label of "pilgrim" may just infuse the tale with a spiritual undercurrent, making Marlow's discussions of darkness and light sound religious.

- Modernist writing style making the reader anxious, reflecting the thoughts of the loss of religious foundation

Hello Darkness my old friend Heads on sticks The heads-on-sticks symbolize Kurtz's excessive brutality which helps the readership to determine that Kurtz has fallen into madness. The appearance of these heads-on-sticks is the graphic climax of the book, which comes conveniently close to the plot climax. Not a coincidence. Marlow does not immediately declare the shrunken heads before him, "Oh, and by the way, those ornamental knobs were actually heads." No—he walks us through it, showing us his reaction, indicating that it is an important moment in the text worth writing about in detail: "its first result was to make me throw my head back as if before a blow." But we still don't know why, even after we find out that they're "symbolic." In fact, we don't find out that they're heads until halfway through the paragraph. As if to symbolize the way Marlow combats horror with humour, he tells us that these "black, dried, sunken" heads are "smiling continuously" in their "jocose dream of eternal slumber." Which is not necessarily the language you would associate with shrunken dead heads on a stick. Hello Darkness my old friend

Critical readings [Interpretations] The three critical theories (ways of knowing) and ways to interpret the text

- Understanding: taking it for what it is - Emancipatory: impatient and questioning everything, criticizing the author - Critical knowing: meta, thinking about oneself, never-ending flow knowledge,instead of criticizing

the author, you criticize society itself and oneself Hello Darkness my old friend Interpretations of Work:

- Work sets you free. Helps keep one’s sanity. Marlow is kept sane by his boat. - Work imprisons [the natives], in colonial context. - Work encourages a hive mind. Enslaves psychologically. Kurtz breaks away from this by going

native. Hello Darkness my old friend Interpretations of God and Religion “Mistah Kurtz - he dead” - Kurtz can be interpreted as a metaphor for God.

God is dead – the sense of absolutes with the introduction of science - Flipside is that there is no God in Africa

Hello Darkness my old friend Interpretations of the Moirai [Fates]

- Also called the Fates and they are greek deities associated with Birth, Life, and Death. Different characters throughout the story can be seen as the three.

- Marlow could be represented as Lachesis, the Fate who determines the length of a person’s life. - Namely the way he chooses to let the idea of Kurtz live on, not handing in the letters and

such. - And the way he threads his story by cutting back and forth into the past and present

- Kurtz symbolises the death (the inevitable) in the form of Atropos. Interpretations of Africa

- Africa treated as just a backdrop for a European story; therefore ignores the native people save for moments in which they are criticised.

- Darkness comes from Africa. It is Darkness due to the actions committed in the Continent and the people within it (both natives and colonists). “The horror” that Kurtz refers to.

- Africa represents prehistoric times. Explains lack of civility. Interpretations of Europe

- Europe is the Heart of Darkness. This is referenced in the beginning of the book: “And this also”, said Marlow suddenly, “has been one of the dark places of the earth.”

- The city is a “sepulchure”. Appears clean and white on the outside, but within there is a decay [of morals or humanity].

Hello Darkness my old friend Interpretations of Conrad’s Racism

- Conrad wrote from a skewed perspective. He was a white colonialist; inherently racist. - African’s viewed as subhuman at the time. Therefore no point in giving them a voice within the

story. No texts criticising racism, hence Conrad is more progressive than his contemporaries. - Marlow and Kurtz display evidence of treating African natives as equals. Possible evidence of

Conrad challenging racist ideals of the time. Example: Criticism of Imperialism through Marlow’s sarcastic asides; “The noble cause” is an ironic remark.

- Conrad is able to recognise that Imperialism is mainly about dominance over the weaker powers.

Hello Darkness my old friend

Preoccupations and Concerns [Themes/Big Ideas]

The representation of the themes that clash with each other and its portrayal within the novel: - Light and dark - Black and White - Life and Death - Good and Evil - Ignorance and Wisdom - Civility and Savagery - Mystery and Enlightenment - Religion and Science

In the novel, Marlow becomes more experienced and wisened after journeying into the Congo River and his preconceived notions of what is black and white changes

- Reversal of traditional pattern - Darkness means Truth, in the abyss, a man discovers who he is - Whiteness/Light means falsehood as civilisation is used as a mask to cover up the

savagery and greed (refer to the whited sepulcher)

Conrad and Racism - The white meōn aren’t ignorant of the different races, they are aware of the difference in skin

colour and culture - They kill the natives for the sake of it

- The white men believe they are the civilised ones compared to the natives - Colour of skin is used to rationalize the actions towards the natives - Presents Africans as inhuman

- Equating a worker to an animal - “To look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather

hat, walking on his hind-legs” - “Unearthly” atmosphere of Congo jungle with the “alien” nature of the natives

- Positions of the colonists at the turn of the century Hello Darkness my old friend Civilisation versus savagery Civilisation created from setting laws and codes

- Encourage men to achieve higher standards - Stops men from reverting back to their darker tendencies

Hello Darkness my old friend The Concept of Tribalism

- The ‘Us vs. Them’ Mentality that enables the Europeans to discriminate against the Africans by enforcing their dominance and will to enhance their own self-image and superiority

- The psychoanalytic reading suggests that europeans who opposed the natives can be likened to the warring tribes of primitive times, associated with the loss of the id and civility