Heart of Darkness - Metaphorical or Physical Journey

The worth of any physical journey can be measured by the value it has to the traveller; by the psychological, moral and philosophical insight gained during the course of travel. This is especially valid for a trip of such immense significance as the one undertaken by the narrator in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Marlow, as he travels along the Congo River in Africa. The symbolic importance of the Congo River is paramount throughout the novella; however, it is equally important to consider the role of the river on which the tale is told – the Thames, the centre of the nation that dominated colonial expansion. Both rivers offer a platform of observation of their respective societies – allowing Marlow to remain independent from these†¦show more content†¦This motif of white is repeated throughout the novel, especially in Brussels where Marlow mentions the ‘starched white affairs’ of the Company uniforms, and near the end of the text descri bes the corpse like ‘Intended’ as having a ‘pale head’, ‘ashy halo’ and a fireplace of ‘monumental whiteness’. Marlow who is described as being ‘in the pose of a meditating Buhhda’ sees a different connotation to the white (just as white is associated with death and mourning in Eastern philosophy). Whilst Marlow sees and experience this hypocrisy first hand in Europe, on the Congo River, he observes an almost cinematic stream of images of temptation and sordidness, with the River acting as a ‘moral buffer’ for him, as his perceptions of humanity and morality change. This change in Marlow’s nature happens through the characterization of Africa as a living hell which Conrad (through Marlow) achieves by continual allusions to the ‘Inferno’ in Dante’s Divine Comedy, which details the persona’s own journey into the centre of the earth and through the nine circles of hell. This is most effectively achieved when Marlow admits to his listeners: ‘I felt as though, instead of going to the centre of a continent, I were about to set off for the centre of the earth.’ This is paralleled when Marlow visits the company Offices and describes his assignment as going ‘dead in the centre’ (again invoking deathly overtones), w hich also explicitly references Dante. Like Marlow’s morals and philosophy, theShow MoreRelatedEssay on journeyhod Journey Motif in Heart of Darkness and Jasmine1046 Words   |  5 PagesJourney Motif in Heart of Darkness and Jasmine  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      In Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness and Bharati Mukherjees Jasmine, the physical journey represents the setting for the psychological journey that both main characters undergo. Each stage of the journey is correlated to an emotional insight, and the implications are great enough to incur a change in the protagonists lives. Through the discovery of distant lands and foreign ideas, Marlow and Jasmine are prompted to look internally to findRead MoreSignificant Elements Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1326 Words   |  6 PagesConrad’s novella ‘Heart of Darkness’ are appropriated into Francis Ford Coppola’s film ‘Apocalypse Now’ in the setting of the jungles of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. 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