Exploring Themes of Death and Darkness in Conrad's Heart of Darkness

This essay provides an analysis of the death scene of Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, focusing on the themes of darkness and oppression. The essay interprets Kurtz's final words, "The horror! The horror!" as a realization of the brutality he inflicted upon the native residents of the Congo Free State. It discusses how Conrad uses Kurtz's death to highlight the darkness within the colonizers' minds and the destructive impact of their actions on the colonized people. The essay concludes that Conrad effectively portrays the hollowness and moral decay of the central character, emphasizing the consequences of his oppressive behavior.

Running head: HEART OF DARKNESS - AN ESSAY
HEART OF DARKNESS - AN ESSAY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HEART OF DARKNESS - AN ESSAY
Joseph Conrad is one of the most celebrated Polish-British writers who is well known for
his writings in English language. The author is known for the depiction of the non-English
sensibility into the written English language. The majority of the stories that were penned down
by the eminent novelist bore the themes of trials that had been present within the universe that is
faced by the concerned human beings who have been residing within the universe. The various
situations that are related to the novels and the other writeups that are provided by the eminent
writer portray him as a prose poet who might be said to have been belonging to the highest order.
The following essay deals with the death scene as presented by the author in one of his famous
novels, the Heart of Darkness and further proceeds to provide a discussion on the theme of the
darkness as depicted by the celebrated author.
The Heart of Darkness a novel by the celebrated novelist, majorly deals with the themes
of darkness and the oppression that were faced by the various members of the African tribes who
were often treated as inferiors to the colonizers in the area. The concerned imperial members of
the various countries that have been colonizing in the various states of the African continent. The
novel sketches the story that was narrated by the one of the members who had been sailing on a
boat that was carrying he passengers upstream the Congo River to the Congo Free State located
at the heart of Africa. The story narrated by the Charles Marlow depicts the obsession of the
concerned narrator with the ivory trader, Kurtz, a central character to the novel of Conrad. The
concerned extracted passage that is being discussed in the essay deals with the conditions that
depict the death of one of the central characters of the novel, Kurtz. The death of the ivory trader
is described by the narrator in a very vivid manner that states that the death of the trader had
occurred with the darkness haunting him in a grave manner. The description as provided by the

2HEART OF DARKNESS - AN ESSAY
narrator states that the trader had been reflecting on the various brutal and tyrannical acts that
were implemented by him on the native residents of the Congo Basin.
‘He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision—he cried out twice, a
cry that was no more than a breath: “‘The horror! The horror!”’
(Conrad, p. 71)
The statement of the narrator, implements that the concerned trader had been reflecting
on the huge amounts of the tyranny that he had implemented on the concerned population of the
Congo Free State and had been realizing the effect that was faced by the concerned residents of
the area. The narrator further explains that the concerned trader in discussion had succumbed to
the corruption and had along with his other comrades taken to the implementation of the brutality
towards the concerned locals and had also explained these brutalities to be the measures that
would help in bring about the progress and the civilization in the concerned area. The narrative
in this stage of the novel is observed to have come to an end and deals with the return of the
narrator as well as the ivory trader from the uncivilized condition of the Congo Free State to the
civilized world that was present in the state of England. The ivory trader being seriously ill fails
to make it to the mainland of England and breathes his last on the boat itself. The last words of
the ivory trader, Kurtz “‘The horror! The horror!” depicts the fact that the trader had in his
heart of hearts known the fact the acts of brutality that were inflicted upon the concerned people
of the Congo Free State were the manifestations of the evils that were deep-rooted in the minds
of the apparently civilized people of England.
The major theme that has been discussed by the celebrated author in the concerned novel,
Heart of Darkness, is the theme of darkness that exists within the minds of the concerned people

3HEART OF DARKNESS - AN ESSAY
who have been residing in the civilized countries. The author, through this piece of the novel
aims to deal with the darkness that exist within the minds of the individuals who might be
presented to be the residents of the civilized areas of the world who were entrusted with the
activities that are related to the bringing about of the progress and the civilization in the areas
wherein the concerned civilized nations of the world have been establishing colonies in order to
bring about an establishment of the progress and civilization in those areas thereby helping in the
upliftment of the residents of the area. The last words of the ivory trader, Kurtz in this case tends
to summarize the brutality of the treatment that was meted out to the concerned natives of the
area by their European counterparts who claimed to be of a superior clan than the concerned
people who resided in the Congo Free State. The hostility that is developed in the minds of the
concerned oppressors is observed to have rendered them to be blind to the sufferings that their
behavior has been inflicting on the concerned locals who have been residing in the areas. The
author portrays the darkness that settles in the minds of the oppressors who have been inflicting
such oppressive behavior on the natives. The given extract aims to put forth the reflective nature
of the mind of Kurtz thereby leading to the extreme pressure that is exerted on the minds of the
oppressed classes. The darkness that is existent in the minds of the concerned oppressors that
haunts them at the final hours of their lives that makes them react in horror to the atrocities that
they had imposed on the various residents of the concerned area. The concerned trader had
employed his positional power over the natives of the country in order to extract more and more
ivory from the area thereby securing his position in the concerned company. The concerned
trader, however, on his deathbed realized the fact that all the wealth that he had earned all his life
through the implementation of the various oppressive measures was not worthy enough to put
forth the treatment that he had meted out to the residents. The last words of the ivory trader had

4HEART OF DARKNESS - AN ESSAY
reinstated the hollowness that existed within the mind and the psyche of the concerned central
character of the story, Kurtz, the ivory trader. The author successfully depicts the fact that the
downfall of the concerned character was due to the various negative as well as evil actions that
were performed by the concerned character who had immersed himself in the various evil and
oppressive acts that lead to the huge sufferings of the residents who had been spending their lives
in the Congo Free State.
In lieu of the above discussion it might be pointed out that the author of the novel had
correctly and aptly described the final moments in the life of the ivory trader wherein he is
observed to be reminiscing and reflecting about the life that he had spent in the Congo Free State
as an employee of the European Company and then realizes the horrific nature of the various
measures that he had implemented on the residents. Thus, it might safely be concluded that the
concerned author has brought about the theme of darkness very prominently in the celebrated
novel, the Heart of Darkness.

5HEART OF DARKNESS - AN ESSAY
References
Joseph, Conrad. Heart of Darkness. Strelbytskyy Multimedia, 2017.