Heart of Darkness (ANALYTICAL ESSAY ) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Heart of Darkness (ANALYTICAL ) - Essay Example A team of men is on the Thames waiting for the wind to take proper direction. Marlow whose profession is not clearly defined becomes the narrator in the story and hence represents the voice of the author. He then moves on to talk of Europe having some of the darkest places on earth. He talks of his expedition to Africa, which opened his eyes to the evils of colonization. Illness has been discussed explicitly in the story at different points of time. The Russian companion of Kurtz who went through subsequent illnesses narrates the above lines to Marlow during their meet. The illnesses are very symbolic of the dark environment of colonization where Kurtz was more feared for his whims than respected by the natives who therefore followed his orders like that of God. Sickness has been elaborately discussed throughout the novella; not just physical but mental sickness as well. In this context the passage â€Å"On the contrary. It appears their intercourse had been very much broken by vari ous causes. †¦. smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber† (Conrad, 153-159) could be analyzed. Sometimes they resulted from obsession as it did in case of Kurtz (obsessed with possession of ivory) who once tried to shoot his manager who has been giving him company through all times in order to acquire some ivory from him. When the Russian says, â€Å"they [natives] adored him† (Conrad, 154), the tone implies something more that the words reveal. This was later revealed further as the manager told him about his experiences with Kurtz. The man saw no reason for things, which came, in the way of his demands. When he asked for the ivory he placed his most loyal companion, the Russian, under his gun’s point, which surely surprised Marlow, who has been observing the devotion of the Russian towards Kurtz for quite some time – â€Å"The man filled his life, occupied his thoughts, swayed his emotions† (Conrad, 154). The Russian went on to tell Marlow that he had requested Mr. Kurtz to go back from this life which he himself did not quite like, but despite agreeing to him initially he stayed on and the Russian was determined to stick to him. What is notable in the concerned passage is the strong devotion of the Russian despite facing all odds with his companion. In fact when Marlow called him mad, the Russian strongly protested. This reflect once again the psychological state of the Russian who was an enthusiastic young man but wasted his years quite gladly in the woods merely out of devotion towards Mr. Kurtz. The author brings in the silence and unperturbed nature around the men, which was rather suffocating, to Marlow –â€Å"The woods were unmoved, like a mask -- heavy, like the closed door of a prison -- they looked with their air of hidden knowledge, of patient expectation, of unapproachable silence† (Conrad, 157). On one hand the woods had a lot of give but lay quite some str ess and absorbed a lot from life. Staying alone in such a land perhaps took the toll on Mr. Kurtz and his companion. As â€Å"the appetite for more ivory had got the better of the†¦less material aspirations† Kurtz gathered more natives who apparently adored him but Marlow by now knew better (Conrad, 157). Another evidence of mental sickness arising out of the wild surroundings is the heads that surrounded Kurtz’s house, perhaps to fill the gaps in his life. The Russian must have had a strong influence on his mind especially