Joseph conrad heart of darknes
Joseph conrad heart of darknesJoseph Conrad’s Use of Light and Dark in His Writings
Many books are written by an author purely for informational, recreational, or monetary reasons, but some books are written to demonstrate a point. Joseph Conrad’s book Heart of Darkness is one such book. If the book is examined only superficially, a tragic story of the African jungle is seen, but when the paragraphs are picked apart, a deeper meaning arises. Joseph Conrad uses the theme of light and dark to contrast the civilized with the savage in Heart of Darkness. The next 5 pages analyze Conrad’s use of light and dark in Heart of Darkness. First, they explain how Conrad’s past and experiences affected his writing. Then, they show how light versus dark is used to contrast the civilized and the savage. Finally, they will examine Conrad’s use of light and dark in Heart of Darkness to contrast the civilized and the savage.
Joseph Conrad’s past experiences contributed greatly to his literary style. He was born December third, 1857. His childhood was unstable; “Conrad’s parents came from families that sacrificed property, liberty, and life in the futile struggle for independence.” (Gillon-3) His father, Apollo, “joined a radical patriotic group which was working for another uprising.” (Gillon-4) Apollo was jailed, and then was exiled to Vologda, in northern Russia. Joseph and his mother, Evelina were allowed to go with Apollo. During this time, Joseph’s mother died because of Russian officials refusal to treat her with care. The remaining two Conrads moved to southern Russia. Conrad had few friends because his family was exiled, his mother was dead, and he spent much of his early years with his depressed father. “The mood of hopelessness and resignation became a pervasive quality of his work.” (Gillon-5) He was a seaman for his early years, therefore, all of his stories have a connection to the sea. He moved to England and took all the appropriate tests to become a captain. On April twenty-ninth, 1890, he accepted the position of first mate on a Congo steamer. Joseph thought that the experience in the jungle would be “romantic,”(Gillon-16) but, “Instead of romance, Conrad found the horror of the jungle and its savage laws, the utter degradation of man isolated in the wilderness.”(Gillon-17) According to Adam Gillon, the author of the Twayne book concerning Conrad, “His concern was now with his own fate and that of humanity.” “Conrad the sailor was dead… out of his misery and disenchantment Conrad the writer was born.” (Gillon-17)
In Conrad’s first influential novel, The Nigger of the Narcissus, the central idea of light and dark first arises. The sailing ship Narcissus is caught in a storm, and the only black mate aboard, James Wait, has a symbolic meaning. He is the stopping point on the ship, because none of the sailors trust him. He, as his name suggests, always waits before acting. Wait is a “jinx” (Gillon-39) and “the ship will not reach land safely until Jim...
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