Jordan Kelly
British Literature/Composition
Period 6
13 December 2013
Without light, there is no darkness. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Marlow, the main character and light-bearer of the story, recounts his past experiences and establishes the forces of light and dark. However, his definition of dark being inferior and dependent on light is incorrect because it is the European explorers’, Marlow included, light that calls an inferiority to the “dark”, when it is actually a misunderstanding and attack on the unknown. Therefore, the Heart of Darkness is the manifestation of inhumane philosophies of the “light”, brutality and negative emotion.
The Heart of Darkness can exist in anyone. However, this “darkness” can be seen more prevalently during Marlow’s voyage up the Congo. The natives rebelled against Marlow and his crew because of their “Heart of Darkness” created by the “light” of the explorers and trades that wanted to “civilize” them. Furthermore, if there had not been this “light:” there wouldn’t have been the “darkness” created from its shadow.
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