Comparative Imagery Of Light And Darkness In Heart Of Darkness

Introduction

Gothic and supernatural elements in literary works have always drawn the reader’s attention, as it a form of art, lifestyle and a sensibility to present an idea of the apocalypse of a given time and context. It is a way to show human decadence by creating an atmosphere of mystery, suspense, and eeriness in the story. The use of Gothicism evokes an atmosphere of horror and dreadfulness along with deterring factors of humanity. With the advent of explorative fiction finding its way in the late eighteenth-century England, the penetrative use of the gothic element became prevalent and enlightening the readers with the time and spatial setting of the work while providing discourse to better understand the intent and content of the texts. Heart of Darkness can be understood as a portrayal of Imperial Gothic with recourse visual representation of Catastrophe. Gothic elements in Conrad's narrative of his personal experience, investigate the colonial ideologies and moral concerns of the imperial government.

Joseph Conrad published this novella, Heart of Darkness in 1899 which beautifully portrays the dark continent, Africa. It is an acme of the British Empire. The work is considered to be one of the most sought after as it rightly shows the growth and expansion of European imperialism and their deliberate intention to form an Empire which was driven by white supremacy. It can be also seen as unprecedented industrial development and territorial expansion pf power. The mutilation of thought process can be associated with the hidden thoughts of the conqueror, who wanted to loot the rich and prosperous continent. They intended to create a framework of politics, economics and social stabilities. They preliminary wanted to start trade and commerce in context of Congo's rich natural raw materials such as Ivory for ornamental use and wild Rubber, as it was largely in demand in European countries for the manufacture of bicycle and car industry, which was on its all-time boom.

Analysis of Heart of Darkness will remain incomplete without discussing its genre. Right from the title of the novella to its plot, it forces the readers to evolve an understanding that the novella falls under the umbrella of Gothic literature. Thus, in this essay, I will define the Gothic genre and then try to establish it by quoting anecdotes and textual evidence with regards to frame narration technique. Description of settings and use of symbols will further establish the thematic message of the novella.

Marlow, who is the protagonist and the narrator of the story is exposed to horrors which leads him to question his personal and social values. The story brings out the apprehensions of the author in the form of a long story that shows postcolonial criticism that helped to expose the reiterative suppression of Africa and its people within the novella. Here we can also refer to a strong personal attitude against black people. The concept of racism stands out in the story with a lot of defaming and criticism. This particular thought gives way to think about the inevitable corruption that comes because of the tyrannical power. It is a mere show of perceived threat of savagery brought into the uncivilised world by the civilised world.

Gothicism in Heart of Darkness

Use of Frame narration

The story, Heart of Darkness begins not on a steamboat making and fighting its way up the river in Congo, but on the deck of a 'cruising yawl', a vessel primarily used for local trade than overseas imposing conquests, which were the sole aim of this journey. The movement of the ship do not wager, the tide dwindling and the wind is almost calm. Here, the reader can see a contrast between the serene European setting and the chaotic and threatening African landscape described later. The advent of frame narration is considered to be a common element of Gothic fiction. Joseph Conrad can be seen making cautious references to elements of gothic by bringing in the anxiety of Marlow, who is the protagonist along with the first- person narrator with an unnamed narrator at the very beginning of the plot. Conrad portrays his adventurous journey in the form of a story and his white heroes with utmost suitability and frequency of unconventionality of imperialism. Such an unconventional portrayal of whites paves the way to contrasting ambivalence between white and black people paving the way to racial discrimination. Although Conrad is the first-person narrator however his identity seems to be merging with Marlow’s, who is the second narrator in the plot. First person’s narration sets the mood of gothic along with strong use of foreshadow where he is introducing the central issues that Marlow is going to be facing: the melancholic character of the city as a centre of civilization, the very nature of imperialism, person’s ability to discover another person’s mind and reach to the core of the subconscious. He says, “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.” Defines his anxiety more than his adventurous nature which contradicts the very thought of this so-called autobiographical account of Conrad’s journey to discover the dark continent.

The story revolves around the fact that how Marlow is desperately waiting to meet Kurtz, which has been shown by effective narration. The entire narrative is divided into three parts and it is fascinating that each of these parts shifts from one chapter to another creating excitement and intrigues the readers to experience the crucial moment in Marlow’s meeting with Kurtz. The first part builds up curiosity in the readers when the narration shows Marlow’s eagerness to meet Kurtz, on knowing his fame in the black community, whom he finds an idealist. In the second part, Marlow has been shown extremely interested in knowing more about Kurtz just before realizing his real truth. And in the third shift, we can see his disgust for Kurtz as he finds many hideous truths about him. The last part of the narration is a strong intervention of the gothic element. However, each part and shift have significant value in the story narrative demanding the listener’s attention.

The interplay between Conrad’s point of view about Marlow's journey and Marlow's personal details creates situational irony in comprehending the two narrations. Conrad's emotional description and use of poetic language create contrasting imagery of light and darkness which highlights the author's powers of observation and arouses an array of emotions being transferred from narrator to reader. Moreover, Conrad's language, not only gives a clear sense of physical places but also indicates the exterior setting upon the interior landscape of the soul.