ENG 201: Symbolism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness Analysis

This discussion board post analyzes the use of symbolism in Joseph Conrad's novel, *Heart of Darkness*. The author focuses on two primary symbols: the African continent (specifically the Congo) and the Congo River. The Congo represents the loss of societal constraints and the potential for darkness and uncertainty. The river symbolizes Marlow's journey into the depths of his own mind and the potential for moral corruption. The analysis highlights how Conrad uses these symbols to critique European colonialism and explore the dark side of human nature when given absolute power. The post emphasizes the symbolic nature of the journey up the river and its connection to Marlow's psychological transformation, arguing that these symbols are central to the novel's thematic concerns and the critique of colonial practices. The author also references relevant academic sources to support their claims.

Running head: ENGLISH COMPOSITION
English Composition
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Introduction
Literary devices are an indispensable tool which are used to give an artistic and
thematic immediacy to works of literary fiction. It lends the story an aesthetic appeal and
displays the author’s full potential to captivate the reader’s attention and deliver a potent
message to the minds of whoever may happen to read the story. In every sense, literary
devices lend poetry to a genre whose structure in itself prosaic, transcending genre-based
conventions and defying the constraints put in place by context and time, claiming for itself a
taste of immortality.
Discussion
The story under review for the literary devices that have been used in it, is the novel
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Through the use of literary devices, Conrad here
has been able to convey more than what the reader is able to read on the pages of the novel
itself. In order to full appreciate the brilliance of the story, it is imperative that we look at the
literary device that was predominantly used.
The primary literary device which Conrad used was symbolism. In fact, it could be
said that the entire novel is an attempt at symbolism in novel-writing. There are two major
symbols that binds the entire novel into one, compact thematic unit. The first one pertains to
the continent of Africa, itself; specifically to the Congo where the entire action is taking
place. The Congo represents the unfettered freedoms a man might experience if he is set free
from the established norms and customs of civilization. There is no telling what he might
become, and considering how the African continent was given the epithet of being the dark
continent, not only does it refer to the uncertainty with which a person may face the
consequence of too much freedom and detachment but also that the consequences of such a

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freedom may indeed be as dark and foreboding as the portrayal of the Congo itself (Nofal 77-
93).
The second symbolism pertains to the image of the Congo River as a journey. Charles
Marlow travels up the river to the trading post where Kurtz is located, in order to retrieve him
from that station. As much as it is an actual journey along the route of the river, symbolically,
it is also an image for the journey that Marlow undertakes to the very, inner-depths of his
mind to arrive at a point which is uncertain and which reflects what he could become if he too
ceases any connection with basic values and principles, becoming someone who would bear a
striking resemblance to Kurtz in every aspect. Considering how much of the novel is taken up
with the description of Marlow regarding his activities during the journey, it is not impossible
to miss out the utterly symbolic nature of this central plot device (Taghizadeh 1206-1210) .
A question might be asked as to why are these two instances of symbolism are
considered central to the novel’s use of literary devices. The answer would be that it is an
excellent framework by which Conrad is not only able to explore the inner psyche of the
minds of men when absolute power is given to them with the absolute freedom of wielding it,
but it also contextualizes really well with the subtext of Conrad critiquing the act of European
colonialism – the fact that he selected the Congo is highly relevant as it was during that time
the Congo Free State was subject to the brutal exploitation of King Leopold II of Belgium,
since the Congo was legally deemed to be a part of his own property. It was by that time that
reports of horrific atrocities being meted out to the native Congolese population were
appearing in leading newspapers and journals. Hence, not only is the use of symbolism in this
particular manner is useful for the fictional plot to unfold itself but also it is able to show
what could be the dire consequences if something were to really happen if someone like
Kurtz had the authority to do so as he wished.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, The Heart of Darkness is a fascinating example where the use of
symbolism not only gives context to the plot and character development but it also allows the
author to sub-textually remind the idea that no matter how civilized a person practicing
colonialism could be, there is always the possibility of them descending into the primitive
form of chaos and cruelty if he is given too much freedom to exercise his level of entitlement
that civilization grants him.

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References
Nofal, Khalil Hasan. "Darkness in Conrad's Heart of Darkness: a linguistic and stylistic
analysis." The Buckingham Journal of Language and Linguistics 6 (2013): 77-93.
Taghizadeh, Ali. "Penetrating into the dark: an archetypal approach to Joseph Conrad’s heart
of darkness." Theory and Practice in Language Studies 5.6 (2015): 1206-1210.
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