heart of darkness essay questions and answers

129 Heart of Darkness Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

⁉️ how to write a critical review on heart of darkness, 🏆 best heart of darkness topic ideas & essay examples, 💡 interesting topics to write about heart of darkness, 🎓 simple & easy heart of darkness essay titles, 📌 most interesting heart of darkness topics to write about, 👍 good research topics about heart of darkness, ❓ heart of darkness essay questions.

If you’re looking for a study guide on how to write Heart of Darkness essay, you should definitely check this post. Below we will share a few ideas that will help you to cope with the assignment.

The key idea of a critical review is that you have to evaluate the main issues, arguments, theme of the book, etc.

The first step to a successful essay is the active reading. Take notes that will help you to understand what the author wanted to show you and the way he does it.

Here are few Heart of Darkness essay questions to analyse in your paper:

Narrator’s point of view.

Joseph Conrad uses two different first-person point of view. The book begins and ends with narration of a traveler who listens to Marlow’s story while the main part of the plot is told by Marlow.

Think, why does the author use this technique instead of traditional third-person or first-person narration? How does this framing changes the reader’s interpretation of the story? How do you think, is Marlow’s story real? Is there any evidence to prove it? Is the traveler reliable? Check our Heart of Darkness essay samples to get more inspiration!

Symbolism in the story

If you’re assigned to write Heart of Darkness symbolism essay, than you have a lot of opportunities! The Conrad’s book is full of symbols. And here are a few examples:

Think, what does fog symbolizes in Marlow travel. Is it a nuisance or a kind of barrier? Can it symbolize the Marlow’s journey uncertainty or his mental state?

Examine Kurtz’s character and personality. In your paper, explore episodes when he acts as God for native Africans. Or, you can analyze the greed and power in Kurtz’s actions.

• The accountant

The accountant symbolizes the company and its goals. The way he appears in the story reflects the actual image that the company wishes to create while undergoing the colonization: elegant outside, but destructive inside.

Of course, we didn’t mention all the symbols presented in a book. Make your own research and define what else symbols are represented in Heart of Darkness.

Heart of Darkness essay themes

If you’re looking for the themes of Heart of Darkness, check some of them below:

• Racial discrimination theme

Theme of racial discrimination in the novel shows how is dominating in Africa. Analyze how the racial crimes that Kurtz committed against Africans correspond to racism today.

• Evil and good theme

Explore how Kurtz’s ambitions that seems good relate to his true goals which are not so admirable. On the other hand, you might want to analyze Marlow’s struggles to make the right decisions.

• Violence and greed

Conrad describes two types of violence in the novel: provoked cruelty and violence among the savages. Explore how Kurtz uses violence to dominate the Africans and to attack steam carrying Marlow.

Investigate the period of ivory trade and how it has impacted the native Africans’ freedom and life. What were the role of violence in the competition between the European companies.

Are you dissatisfied with your Heart of Darkness essay because it does not make enough of an impression? Try looking at our collection of examples and get more ideas on how to improve it!

• Imperialism in Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness” Heart of Darkness reflects the paradoxes of imperialism in the late 19th century through exposing the exploitation of foreign lands and people, Africa and the Africans in particular; the novel uses its characters and their […]
• Character of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness The quote is indicative of the loneliness that Kurtz experiences and depicts the intensity of his emotions in being away from his homeland. The character of Kurtz conveys symbolism that is important in understanding his […]
• Stream-of-Consciousness Technique: Joyce’s “The Dead” and Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” In this part, the stream of consciousness is used to tap the emotions of the reader about the tour to the western part of Ireland.
• Marlow in “Heart of Darkness” The third level of darkness that comes out from the novel is that of the tendency of every human being to be evil.
• Heart of Darkness – Analysis of Marlow’s Lie Both Marlow and Kurtz see the intended as the epitome of the naivete of women. According to Marlow, Kurtz is the “best of the best”.
• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: A Modernist Work Heart of Darkness perhaps utilizes the importance of women and the role they played in the modernism period. Women have assumed the traditional role of men in the society of being the breadwinners of the […]
• Chinua Achebe’s “An Image of Africa” and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” Reading Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness it is possible to see the cases of prejudiced opinion about Africa and its citizens, however, this point of view is aimed at presenting the situation which was in […]
• “Young Goodman Brown,” “Heart of Darkness”: Analysis Stating that the character of Goodman Brown is significantly more dimensional than it is represented in the surface in the story, Hurley asserts that young Goodman Brown’s darkness hides within him, which makes the character […]
• Symbolism of Nature in J. Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ The ‘Heart of Darkness’ is replete with symbolism, from the beginning till the end, and Conrad uses nature to symbolize every situation in the story.
• Feminism in “Heart of Darkness” and “Apocalypse Now” However, one realizes that she is voiceless in the novel, which highlights the insignificance of role of women in Heart of Darkness.
• Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” & “Things Fall Apart” by Achebe: Comparison The work of art reflects the reality of life and hardship experienced by people: “The vision seemed to enter the house with me – the stretcher, the phantom-bearers, the wild crowd of obedient worshippers, the […]
• Imperialism in the “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad Throughout his entire voyage he is exposed to the brutality of the European attitudes and the rules of colonialism. The colonial activities are given a harsh image by the author of the novella.
• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: Novel Summary This was the period when Marlow came to understand that the manager was deadly against Kurtz and wanted to get rid of him.
• Human Soul in the Story “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad The atmosphere that is created, very much adds to the general theme and the relationship between the characters and the surrounding environment.”Heart of Darkness” is a story where the setting plays a great role in […]
• Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart: Narrative In the same vein, Joseph Conrad’s novella “Heart of Darkness,” written in 1899, is about the struggle of two civilized Europeans, Marlow and Kurtz, after they ventured in to the wouldarkness’ of uncivilized Africa,’ and […]
• Style in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad Set in deepest and darkest Africa, the pace and narration is quite compelling and bears a richly descriptive and evocative style – a style that is needed to consider not an image of Africa, but […]
• Colonialism in the ”Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad The main theme of the story is colonialism and its effects not only to the Africans but also to the whites/colonizers.
• Symbolism in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad There is the use of visual imagery in his work, and this was achieved through the use of contrast. At some point in the novel, Conrad’s use of imagery appeared vague and confusing in that […]
• Imperialism and Racism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness He lauds “the book’s anti-imperialist theme…a stinging indictment of the callous and genocidal treatment of the Africans, and other nationals, at the hands of the British and the European imperial powers,” and also details the […]
• Colonialism Role in the “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad A lot of coined description had been made out of the character of Kurtz the captain of the ship, Director of the Companies that sailed and explored a part of Africa for ivories in the […]
• Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’ and Joseph Conrad’s ‘The Heart of Darkness’. Theme Analysis Here, the essay compares how the theme of colonization is captured in the novels, and goes ahead to explain the techniques employed by each author in conveying the theme.
• Analysis of the Joseph Conrad’s Novel “Heart of Darkness” Although he is a philosophic wise man, the thrilled experience in Africa forces Marlow to take a different course in terms of his character. His curiosity and intelligence motivates him to explore Africa where he […]
• Conrad’s ”Heart of Darkness” as Post-Colonial Western Canon The protagonist of the novel, captain Marlow, observes that the suffering of the native people under the yoke of bureaucratic officials is extremely tough.
• Ethical Issues in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad Kurtz is a great threat to the entire organization especially the powerful position of the manager of the company that Marlow was working with.
• Joseph Conrad’s Novel “Heart of Darkness” In the Congo, he is clearly not in favor of the Africans but as a portrayal of how Africans needed the whites to salvage them from the darkness they were living in.
• Ethical Dilemma in “Heart of Darkness” by Conrad In spite of the fact the situations are rather different, it is necessary to discuss the possibilities of the other outcomes and results.Mr.
• Colonialism Critique in the “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad The main idea of the novel is based on the determination of the roots of people evil, the impact of the surrounding environment on people attitude to the norms of ethics and moral as well […]
• Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Review Congo locates in the center of the continent and can be compared within the heart of Africa.”The vision seemed to enter the house with me – the stretcher, the phantom-bearers, the wild crowd of obedient […]
• Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” & Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” There can be no doubt as to the fact that Joseph Conrad’s novel “Heart of Darkness” and Francis Coppola’s movie “Apocalypse Now” significantly differ from each other, in terms of plot’s composition, geographical settings, and […]
• Mirror Image: Heart of Darkness & Things Fall Apart However, Okonkwo is helpless once he finds British colonization creeping in and destroying the traditional parameters of the village and their culture as a whole along with the ramification of their religion with the invasion […]
• Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness” Novella Similarly, the theme of darkness, as evident from the title of the work, in its spiritual sphere, underpins the merit of the novella.
• “Heart of Darkness” Novel by Joseph Conrad Congo locates in the center of the continent and can be compared within the heart of Africa.”The vision seemed to enter the house with me – the stretcher, the phantom-bearers, the wild crowd of obedient […]
• The Presence of “The Other” in “Heart of Darkness” and “Ulysses” While adhering to the dominant reading of “Heart of Darkness”, the novel can be read as a criticism of the treatment of the natives by the Belgians.
• “Heart of Darkness” a Novel by Joseph Conrad Disguising the work as an autobiographical traveler’s story, the author chooses to focus on the issues of race, colonialism, and the indigenous, which become central to the author’s exploration and the story in general.
• “The Heart of Darkness” a Novel by Joseph Conrad As its mission, the European imperialism had the “civilization” of the world and expansion of the Christianity over the conquered nations through the forced introduction of the European administrative powers and its culture.
• The Use of Stream-of-Consciousness Technique in the Dead and in the Heart of Darkness There is even more to it the deployment of stream-of-consciousness technique in The Dead, was also meant to encourage readers to consider the possibility that, contrary to the philosophical conventions of the 19th century, the […]
• Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Heart of Darkness Oscar Wilde’s comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, is a satire of everything stuffy and constrictive in the 19th and early 20th century. The play explores the theme of the relations between the sexes.
• Comparison of the Stories “Heart of Darkness” and “The Lamp at Noon” The atmosphere that is created, very much adds to the general theme and the relationship between the characters and the surrounding environment.”Heart of Darkness” and “The Lamp at Noon”, are stories where the setting plays […]
• Taking a Glance Into the Heart of Darkness: The Ambitions and Failure of the Civilization Indeed, the goals of the people, heading for the terra incognita of the distant and savage lands are not quite clear; wisely enough, Conrad does not disclose the aims of the travelers from the very […]
• Joseph Conrad: The Heart of Darkness The thematic core of his writings examined the trials and tribulations of the human spirit/soul in relation to duty and honor as well as the pervading affects of world empires.
• Heart of Darkness and the Ceremony The plot is carefully developed by Silko such that in Tayo embarking on a journey full of personal ceremonies to bridge Native American traditions and those of the westerners.
• Commitment in Terms of Sartre’s Existentialism in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• Chinua Achebe’s Criticism of the Depiction of Africa in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• A Post-Colonial Criticism of “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• A Psychological Journey Into an Individual’s Core of Evil in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• Characterism and Symbolism in “Heart of Darkness”
• An Analysis of Similarity in Motif of the Journey and Different Ideas in “Flay Away Peter” and “Heart of Darkness”
• Achebe’s Misinterpretation of Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• An Analysis of Colonialism and Imperialism in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• An Analysis of the Theme and Symbol Used in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• The Villian Archetype in “Heart of Darkness”
• An Analysis of Mysterious Characters in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• An Interpretation of “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• An Analysis of European Civilization’s Symbolism in “Heart of Darkness” by James Conrad
• Characters, Setting, Themes, and Symbols of “Heart of Darkness”
• The Importance of Setting in “Apocalypse Now” and “Heart of Darkness”
• An Analysis of the Main Character Charles Marlow in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• Achebe’s Failure to Understand Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• An Analysis of the System of Colonization in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• A Suspenseful Tale of a Man’s Journey in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• An Analysis of Africans Dying in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• Literary Devices in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• An Analysis of the Civilization in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• The Use of Contrasting Places in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• A Comparison of “Heart of Darkness” and “Apocalypse Now” in Literature
• An Analysis of the Concept of Light and Dark in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• A Personification of Darkness: A Comparison of Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
• A Comparative Analysis of “Heart of Darkness” and “A Passage to India”
• Expression of Moral Ambiguity in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• An Analysis of a Man’s Ways of Survival in a Deserted Place in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• Human Greed and Deception in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• An Analysis of the Mystery in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• Character Analysis of Eliots in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrads
• A Literary Analysis of the Major Themes in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• A Story of Life and Death in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• Stylistic Devices That Make “Heart of Darkness” Proto-Modernist
• An Analysis of Character Relations in “Heart of Darkness”
• Character Analysis of Marlow and Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• Black and White as the Symbols of Civilization and Savagery in “Heart of Darkness”
• A Representation of the Western Civilization Through the Character of Mr. Kurtz in “Heart of Darkness”
• The White Collars in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• A Perfect Depiction of Alienation and Isolation in “Heart of Darkness”
• The Connection Between Physical Illness and Madness in “Heart of Darkness”
• Attitude Towards Women in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• The Use of Allegories in “Inferno” by Dante Aligheiri and “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• Use of Irony in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• An Analysis of Heart and Soul Discovery in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• The Symbolism of the River in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• The Case of Marlow and Kurtz as Two Competing Heroes in “Heart of Darkness”
• An Exploration of the Narrator’s Perspective in “Heart of Darkness”
• An Analysis of Chinua Achebe’s Argument on Racism in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• An Overview of the “Things Fall Apart” and “Heart of Darkness”’ Characters
• A Postcolonial Perspective of “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• An Analysis of the Africa Through the Novels “Heart of Darkness” and “Things Fall Apart”
• An Analysis of the Abuse of Power in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• A Look at the Three Stations in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• The Use of Light to Symbolize Civilization in James Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• Understanding the Meanings of Heart and Darkness in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• The Advantages of Building a Society in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• What Is the Main Point of “Heart of Darkness”?
• How Does the Novel “Heart of Darkness” Represent the Atrocities Occurring in the Congo Under King Leopold II?
• Why Is It Called “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Does Darkness Symbolize in “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Is the Thesis of “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Does Marlow Symbolize in “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Is the Symbolism and Theme Analysis in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad?
• How Women Are Treated in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now”?
• What Are the Major Themes in “Heart of Darkness”?
• How Certain Death Scenes in “Heart of Darkness” Illuminate Key Themes?
• How Do Characters Develop Throughout the Book “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Groups Are Represented in “Heart of Darkness”?
• Which Are the Strong Versus Weak Characters in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”?
• How Is Proto-Modernism Displayed in “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Does the Writing Style Add to the Book “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Does the Ending of “Heart of Darkness” Mean?
• What Do Kurtz’s Final Words Mean in “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Is the Horror in “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Is the Contrast Between Capitalism and Moral Enlightenment in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”?
• Ethnocentrism: With Whom Resides the “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Two Themes Affect Marlow and Kurtz in “Heart of Darkness”?
• Who Are Unconventional Narrators Within “Heart of Darkness”?
• Why Did Coppola Transform Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” Into “Apocalypse Now”?
• How Are the Female Characters Represented in the “Heart of Darkness”?
• Was “Heart of Darkness” a True Story?
• How Reliable Are the Narrators in the Novella “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad?
• What Is the Dark and Light Imagery in “Heart of Darkness”?
• Who Plays the Fool on the Hill in “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Is the Conflict Between Truth and Ideals in “Heart of Darkness”?
• What Are the Religion and Racism Themes in “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad?
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Heart of Darkness

62 pages • 2 hours read

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Discussion Questions

Marlow’s journey takes him up the Congo River. How does the river function as a metaphor for Marlow’s descent into Kurtz’s world?

At numerous points in the novel, Marlow notes the Company men’s obsession with ivory . Beyond its material value, what is the symbolic significance of ivory?

The novel is structured in such a way as to position Kurtz as Marlow’s ultimate destination. How does Kurtz slowly become the center point off the narrative?

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Heart of Darkness

Joseph conrad, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Heart of Darkness: Introduction

Heart of darkness: plot summary, heart of darkness: detailed summary & analysis, heart of darkness: themes, heart of darkness: quotes, heart of darkness: characters, heart of darkness: symbols, heart of darkness: literary devices, heart of darkness: quizzes, heart of darkness: theme wheel, brief biography of joseph conrad.

Historical Context of Heart of Darkness

Other books related to heart of darkness.

• Full Title: Heart of Darkness
• When Published: 1899
• Literary Period: Victorianism/Modernism
• Genre: Colonial literature; Quest literature
• Setting: The Narrator tells the story from a ship at the mouth of the Thames River near London, England around 1899. Marlow's story-within-the-story is set in an unnamed European city (probably Brussels) and in the Belgian Congo in Africa sometime in the early to mid 1890s, during the colonial era.
• Climax: The confrontation between Marlow and Kurtz in the jungle
• Antagonist: Kurtz
• Point of View: First person (both Marlow and the Unnamed Narrator use first person)

Extra Credit for Heart of Darkness

Heart of the Apocalypse. Heart of Darkness is the source for the movie Apocalypse Now. The movie uses the primary plot and themes of Heart of Darkness, and shifts the story from Africa to Vietnam to explore the hypocrisy, inanity, and emptiness of the American war effort there.

Heart of Darkness: Analysis and Themes

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

First published in 1899, Heart of Darkness – which formed the basis of the 1979 Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now – is one of the first recognisably modernist works of literature in English fiction. Its author was the Polish-born Joseph Conrad, and English wasn’t his first language (or even, for that matter, his second).

As well as being a landmark work of modernism, Conrad’s novella also explores the subject of imperialism, and Conrad’s treatment of this subject has been met with both criticism and praise.

In this post, we’ll offer an analysis of Heart of Darkness in relation to these two key ideas: modernism and imperialism.

The Problem of Storytelling

In a letter of 5 August 1897 to his friend Cunninghame Graham, Joseph Conrad wrote: ‘One writes only half the book – the other half is with the reader.’

In other words, a book should leave the reader with room to manoeuvre: it should be, to borrow Hilary Mantel’s phrase, a book of questions rather than a book of answers. The reader makes up the meaning of the book as much as the writer. This is a key feature of modernist fiction, which is often impressionistic : giving us glimpses and hints but refusing to spell everything out to the reader.

With this in mind, it’s worth considering the moments when Marlow stops and interrupts the tried and tested literary framework of the novella. One of the questions which it’s very easy to trick people out with is the question, ‘Who is the narrator of Heart of Darkness?’ ‘Why, Marlow, of course!’

Except the narrator is not Marlow – not the main narrator, anyway. Marlow doesn’t address us , the reader; he addresses his friends on the boat, the Nellie , and then there is an unnamed narrator, one of the other people on the boat listening to Marlow, and it’s this unnamed individual who addresses us in his role as the conventional narrator.

And Marlow, who tells the story to the real narrator and his companions, cannot just sit and tell it. He has to check with his audience that they are ‘getting it’; and they’re not getting it, at least not fully. They’re having to work hard to ‘see’ what he’s recounting to them. That is, there’s a constant anxiety on Marlow’s part as to whether his audience – his ‘readers’, as it were – are understanding the story he’s telling them.

Marlow interrupts his narrative several times, at least once simply because he is despairing of the efficacy of his own storytelling technique. It’s the literary equivalent of ‘breaking the fourth wall’ – we may just about be beginning to imagine the scene in the heart of Africa when suddenly our imagination is jolted back to Marlow, sitting in a boat on the Thames.

We’re not invited to get too cosy with Marlow’s narrative, and not just because of the dark events he’s describing: the way he describes them is constantly making us question what we are being told:

Do you see the story? Do you see anything? It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream—making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream-sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible which is of the very essence of dreams …

Note the subtle play on the word ‘relation’ here, where as well as meaning ‘the telling of a dream’ (relating a story to someone), it also glimmers with the other meaning of ‘relation’, i.e., one who is related to us, such as a brother or sister. It is as if fiction, stories, are the cousins of dreams, in that they’re both narratives that are at once both vividly and yet only dimly remembered. That is, you remember some aspects of dreams vividly, and others only hazily.

And ‘hazily’ is just the word. Note how the narrator describes Marlow’s way of telling a story, in a passage from Heart of Darkness that has become famous:

But Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be excepted), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine.

This passage pinpoints what Conrad is doing with Heart of Darkness : using the framework or basic structure of many an imperial adventure story of the late nineteenth century ( Heart of Darkness was originally serialised in Blackwood’s Magazine , which was known for its gung-ho tales set in exotic parts of the world which were under European imperial rule), but undermining it by questioning the very basis on which such stories are founded.

Language, as the multilingual Conrad knew, is an imperfect and flawed tool for conveying our experiences.

Delayed Decoding

‘Delayed decoding’ is Ian Watt’s term for the moments in Conrad’s fiction where the narrator withholds information from us so that we have to work out what’s going on bit by bit, just as the narrator himself (and it is always a him self with Conrad) had to at the time. As Watt himself writes, delayed decoding serves ‘mainly to put the reader in the position of being an immediate witness of each step in the process’.

It’s as if you were there, and as confused and bewildered by it all as the narrator himself was. A good example is the moment when Marlow comes upon the abandoned hut in the jungle, and finds a strange book on the ground which contains notes pencilled in the margins which, he tells us, appear to be written in cipher, or code.

He – and we – later find out that it’s not written in code, but Russian. He makes us wait until the point in the narrative when he found out his mistake before he corrects it. This has two effects: it brings us closer to Marlow’s own experience (we learn things as we go along, just as he did at the time), but it also makes us work harder as readers, since we are encouraged to appraise carefully everything we are told. We can’t trust anything we read.

Much modernist fiction may be written in the past tense, as Heart of Darkness is, but a good deal of modernist fiction is narrated as though it were written in the present tense . That is, it wants to recreate the immediacy of the experience, the way it felt for the character/narrator as it happened .

It’s as if it doesn’t trust the overly neat brand of hindsight which is offered by the traditional Victorian novel written in the perfect (past) tense. Delayed decoding is one of the chief ways that Conrad goes about recreating the ‘presentness’ of Marlow’s experience, the sense of what it was like for him – surrounded by things he’s only half-figured out – as these things were happening to him.

The literary critic F. R. Leavis, who was otherwise a great admirer of Conrad, remarked that Conrad often seemed ‘intent on making a virtue out of not knowing what he means.’ Certainly Conrad seems to enjoy uncertainty, obscurity – darkness, if you will, like the Heart of Darkness .

In The English Novel: An Introduction , Terry Eagleton remarks that Conrad’s prose is both vivid or concrete and ambiguous or equivocal. It’s like describing mist in very precise terms, or depicting something as solid and tangible as a spear in terms which seem to make it melt into the air. This takes us back to Marlow’s own comparison between the story he is telling his companions and the experience of a dream.

Heart of Darkness and imperialism

Imperialism is an important theme of Heart of Darkness , but this, too, is treated in both vivid yet ambiguous or hazy terms. As Eagleton observes, the problems with Conrad’s treatment of imperialism are several: first, his depiction of African natives comes across as stereotyped and insufficient (a criticism that Chinua Achebe memorably made), but second, Conrad depicts the whole imperialist mission as irrational and borderline mad.

This overlooks the Enlightenment rationalism that underpinned the European imperial mission: colonialists used their belief in their ‘superior’ reason as an excuse for enslaving other peoples are taking their resources.

This belief may have been misguided and immoral, but it was hardly ‘irrational’: to depict it as such rather lets imperialists off the hook for their crimes, as if they were not in their right minds when they committed their atrocities or plundered other nations for their wealth.

However, when compared with other writers of his period, Conrad can be viewed as a more thoughtful writer on empire than many other late nineteenth-century authors. Consider Marlow’s account of the dying African natives:

They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now – nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. … Then, glancing down, I saw a face near my hand. The black bones reclined at full length with one shoulder against the tree, and slowly the eyelids rose and the sunken eyes looked up at me, enormous and vacant, a kind of blind, white flicker in the depths of the orbs, which died out slowly.

This passage continues:

He had tied a bit of white worsted round his neck – Why? Where did he get it? Was it a badge – an ornament – a charm – a propitiatory act? Was there any idea at all connected with it? It looked startling round his black neck, this bit of white thread from beyond the seas.

Marlow is ‘horror-struck’ by the sight of these starving people, although he does go on to describe them as ‘creatures’, which strikes a discordant note to our modern ears. But it’s clear that Marlow is appalled by the plight of the natives where many colonialists of the time would have simply stepped over the bodies as an inconvenience.

From this, Marlow turns to describing the next European he meets:

When near the buildings I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment I took him for a sort of vision. I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clean necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand. He was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear.

The contrast could not be clearer. The ‘greenish gloom’ in which the dying African youth fades away has become that thing of comfort: the European’s ‘green-lined parasol’. The ‘bit of white worsted’ tied around the African’s neck is replaced by the ‘clean necktie’ of the colonialist.

Of course, the novella’s ultimate depiction of the corruption at the heart of the imperial mission is Mr Kurtz himself, who has set himself up as a god among the African natives. An fundamentally, here we are presented with more questions than answers. Kurtz is driven mad by it all – there’s imperialism as an irrational undertaking again – but what is equally telling is Marlow’s decision to lie to Kurtz’s fiancée when he visits her at the end of Heart of Darkness .

Is it because, to borrow Kurtz’s final words, ‘the horror’ would be too great? Is it an act of sympathy or cowardice: is Marlow complicit in the horrors of imperialism in continuing to insulate those ‘back home’ from the atrocities which are carried out abroad so that, for instance, Kurtz’s fiancée can have that ‘grand piano’ (with its ivory keys, of course) standing in the corner of a room ‘like a sombre and polished sarcophagus’?

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2 thoughts on “Heart of Darkness: Analysis and Themes”

Your analysis of Heart of Darkness was well written and held my interest throughout. Thank you!

A Conrad fan

It was perfectly possible to be both anti-imperialist and racist when Conrad wrote “Heart of Darkness”. “Race” was used in a much wider and vaguer sense than the word would be used now – where we would attribute something to “culture”, Conrad and his contemporaries attributed it to “race”. People spoke of the “races” of England. Josef Škvorecký examines the presence of the Russian Harlequin in Kurtz’s outpost in his novel “The Engineer of Human Souls” and in an essay “Why the Harlequin?” https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/crossc/ANW0935.1984.001/269:21?rgn=author;view=image;q1=Skvorecky%2C+Josef

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Heart of Darkness

By joseph conrad, heart of darkness summary and analysis of part one.

A ship called the Nellie is cruising down the Thames--it will rest there as it awaits a change in tide. The narrator is an unidentified guest aboard the ship. He describes at length the appearance of the Thames as an interminable waterway, and then he describes the inhabitants of the ship. The Director of Companies doubles as Captain and host. They all regard him with affection, trust, and respect. The Lawyer is advanced in years and possesses many virtues. The Accountant is toying with dominoes, trying to begin a game. They already share the "bond of the sea." They are tolerant of one another.

Then there is Marlow . He has an emaciated appearance--sunken cheeks and a yellow complexion. The ship drops anchor, but nobody wants to begin the dominoes game. They sit meditatively at the sun, and the narrator takes great notice of how the water changes as the sun sets. Marlow suddenly speaks, noting that "this also has been one of the dark places of the earth." He is a man who does not represent his class: he is a seaman but also a wanderer, which is disdainful and odd, since most seamen live sedentary lives aboard the ship that is their home. No one responds to the remark, and Marlow continues to talk of olden times when the Romans arrived and brought light, which even now is constantly flickering. He says those people were not colonists but conquerors, taking everything by brute force. This "taking of the earth is not a pretty thing" when examined too closely; it is the idea behind it which people find redeeming. Then, to the dismay of his bored listeners, he switches into narration of a life experience: how he decided to be a fresh water sailor after coming into contact with colonization.

As a child, Marlow had a passion for maps, and he would lose himself in the blank spaces, which gradually turned into dark ones as they became peopled. He was especially taken with the picture of a long, coiling river. In his tale, after a number of voyages in the Orient and India, Marlow hopes to get charge of the steamboats that must go up and down that river for trade. Marlow looks for a ship, but he has hard luck finding a position. His aunt has connections in the Administration and writes to have him appointed a steamboat skipper. The appointment comes through very quickly, and Marlow is to take the place of Fresleven, a captain who was killed in a scuffle with the natives. He crosses the Channel to sign the contract with his employers.

Their office appears to him like a white sepulcher; the reception area is dimly lit. Two women sullenly man the area. Marlow notes an unfinished map, and he sees that he is going into the yellow section, the central area that holds the river. He signs but feels very uneasy as the women look at him meaningfully. Then there is a visit to the doctor. Marlow questions why he is not with the Company on its business. The doctor becomes cool and says he is no fool. Changes take place out there. He asks his patient whether there is madness in the family. With a clean bill of health and a long goodbye chat with his aunt, Marlow sets out on a French steamer, feeling like an "impostor."

Watching the coast as it slips by, the new skipper marvels at its enigmatic quality--it tempts and invites the seer to come ashore, but in a grim way. The weather is fierce, for the sun beats down strongly. The ship picks up others along the way, mainly soldiers and clerks. The trade names they pass on ships and on land seem almost farcical. There is a uniformly somber atmosphere. After a month, Marlow arrives at the mouth of the big river and takes his passage on a little steamer. Once aboard he learns that a man picked up the other day hanged himself recently.

He is taken to his Company's station. He walks through pieces of "decaying machinery" and observes a stream of black people walking slowly, very thin and indifferent. One of the "reclaimed" carries a rifle at "its middle." Marlow walks around to avoid this chain gang and finds a shade to rest. He sees more black people working, some who look like they are dying. One young man looks particularly hungry, and Marlow offers him the ship biscuit in his pocket. He notices that the boy is wearing white worsted around his neck, and he wonders what this is for. Marlow hastily makes his way towards the station. He meets a white man dressed elegantly and in perfect fashion. He is "amazing" and a "miracle." After learning that he is the Chief Accountant of the Company, Marlow respects him. The station is a muddle of activity.

The new skipper waits there for ten days, living in a hut. Frequently he visits the accountant, who tells him that he will meet Mr. Kurtz , a remarkable man in charge of the trading post in the ivory country. The Accountant is irritated that a bed station for a dying man has been set up in his office. He remarks that he begins to "hate the savages to death." He asks Marlow to tell Kurtz that everything is satisfactory.

The next day Marlow begins a 200 mile tramp into the interior. He crosses many paths, many deserted dwellings, and mysterious black men. His white companion becomes ill on the journey, which makes Marlow impatient but attentive. Finally they arrive at the Central Station, and Marlow must see the General Manager . The meeting is strange. The Manager has a stealthy smile. He is obeyed, but he does not inspire love or fear. He only inspires uneasiness. The trading had begun without Marlow, who was late. There were rumors that an important station was in jeopardy and that its chief, Kurtz, was ill. A shipwreck on Marlow's boat has set them back.

The manager is anxious and says it will be three months before they can make a full start in the trading. Marlow begins work in the station. Whispers of "ivory" punctuate the air throughout the days. One evening a shed almost burns down. A black man is beaten for this, and Marlow overhears: "Kurtz take advantage of this incident." The manager's main spy, a first-class agent, befriends the new skipper and begins to question him extensively about Europe and the people he knows there. Marlow is confused about what this man hopes to learn. The agent becomes "furiously annoyed."

There is a dark sketch on his wall of a woman blindfolded and carrying a lighted torch. The agent says that Kurtz painted it. Upon Marlow's inquiry about who this man is, he says that he is a prodigy, an "emissary of pity and science." They want Europe to entrust the guidance of the cause to them. The agent talks precipitately, wanting Marlow to give Kurtz a favorable report about his disposition because he believes Marlow has more influence in Europe than he actually does.

The narrator breaks off for an instant and returns to his listeners on the ship, saying that they should be able to see more in retrospect than he could in the moment. Back in the story, he is bored by the droning of the agent. Marlow wants rivets to stop the hole and get on with the work on his ship. He clambers aboard. The ship is the one thing that truly excites him. He notes the foreman of the mechanics sitting onboard. They cavort and talk happily of rivets that should arrive in three weeks. Instead of rivets, however, they receive an "invasion" of "sulky" black men with their white expedition leader, who is the Manager's uncle. Marlow meditates for a bit on Kurtz, wondering if he will be promoted to General Manger and how he will set about his work when there.

A logical way to begin analyzing the tale is by applying the title to the novel. "Darkness" is a problematic word with several meanings. It is initially mentioned in the context of maps, where places of darkness have been colored in once they have been explored and settled by colonists. The map is an important symbol. It is a guide, a record of exploration. The incomplete map has a dual purpose in that maps unlock mysteries, on the one hand, by laying out the geography of unknown lands for new visitors, and on the other hand, by creating new mystery and inspiring new curiosity about the lands listed as unknown, in addition to new questions about what is only partly known. The river is another important symbol, perhaps our first symbol of the “heart,” which is itself a symbol of the human spirit. Always moving, not very predictable, the gateway to a wider world, it is an excellent metaphor for Marlow's trajectory. Marlow says that as a child he had a "passion" for maps, for the "glories of exploration." Although this description seems positive, it also sounds ominous. Marlow's tone is of one who recalls childhood notions with bitterness and regret.

The cause of this regret is evident in the first description of Marlow. His sallow skin and sunken cheeks do not portray him as healthy or happy. He has had the chance to explore, but apparently the experience has ruined him. This is Conrad's way of arranging the overall structure of the novella. The audience understands that this is to be a recollection, a tale that will account for Marlow's presently shaky, impenetrable state. The author is also presupposing knowledge of colonialism. The bitterness of Marlow's recollection suggests Conrad's strong bias against colonialism, which he seems to be imparting to the reader by expressing Marlow’s difficulties.

The imagery of light and dark clearly corresponds to the tension already evident between civilization and savagery. The Thames River is called a "gateway to civilization" because it leads to and from the civilized city of London. It is important to note that the city is always described in stark contrast with its dark surroundings, which are so amorphous as to be either water or land.

The vivid language of maps becomes more interesting when we consider that the word “darkness” retains its traditional meaning of evil and dread. The fact that Marlow applies the concept of darkness to conquered territories may indicate Conrad’s negative view of colonialism. We read clearly that colonists are only exploiting the weakness of others. Their spreading over the world is no nobler than violence and thievery. On the map, places that are blank and devoid of outside interference are apparently the most desirable for certain people.

Darkness has another meaning that retains deep resonance—a color of skin. Much of this chapter describes Marlow's first encounters with and observations of the natives of the African Congo. The darkness of their skin is always mentioned. At first glance, Marlow describes them as "mostly black and naked, moving about like ants." While in the shade, "dark things" seem to stir feebly. There is absolutely no differentiation between dark animals and dark people. Even the rags worn by the native people are described as tails. "Black shapes" crouch on the ground, and "creatures" walk on all fours to get a drink from the river. They are called shadows: reflections of humans, not substantial enough to be real. Marlow observes the piece of white string on a young man, and he is taken aback by how much the whiteness stands out against the darkness, thinking about the string's probable European origin. He cannot seem to conceive of mixing black and white. Conrad portrays Marlow’s experience of otherness to such an extreme, and with such literary care, that it is hard to see Conrad simply expressing his own experience through Marlow, although Conrad likely was well aware of his own and others’ impressions of such places and did have a choice in how to present them. Writing through Marlow’s experience is a choice that leads us to look through Marlow’s eyes at the darkness he sees.

It is not accidental that Marlow is the only person on the Thames boat who is named. He is a complex character while, even in England, the others are presented not so much as individuals as with titles that name their occupations. Marlow is distinct from them as well; he belongs to no category. He is a man "who does not represent his class" because he crosses boundaries. His reaction to the African natives may not be sensitive by modern standards, but he is more engaged than the other officers at the stations. The Chief Accountant dismisses the cries of a dying black man as merely irritating. Marlow's gesture of offering a biscuit to the young boy with the white string appears to be somewhat considerate. But it also seems condescending, which seems to be more of a character trait than a racist tendency. Marlow can think of nothing else to do as he looks into the boy's vacant eyes. Marlow means well, and despite his individual character he is partly a product of his society.

Immediately following the encounter with the young boy, he meets the Chief Accountant, who is perfectly attired with collar, cuffs, jacket, and all the rest. He refers to him as "amazing" and a "miracle." We observe at this moment the distinctions between savagery and civilization as perceived by Marlow. The diction demonstrates a type of hero worship for this man. His starched collars and cuffs are achievements of character, and Marlow respects him on this basis. It is far too early for readers to think we understand what Marlow is all about.

Beyond Marlow’s distinction of savagery and civilization, we have a window into Conrad’s distinction when we consider his presentation of colonialism through Marlow and the colonists. The bitter irony here is that those who look the most civilized are actually the most savage. Indeed, the institution of colonialism is referred to as a "flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil." Everything it touches turns sour: the station is an administrative nightmare, and decaying machinery lies everywhere. Marlow takes this situation, however, as indicative of a poor work ethic, which he despises. For this reason he is drawn to the blustering accountant, who is a hard worker if nothing else. Marlow, in his own bumbling way, does occasionally try to relate to the natives.

The sense of time throughout the chapter is highly controlled. Conrad purposely glides over certain events while he examines others in minute detail. He does this in order to build suspicion about the place to which Marlow has committed himself. Notice that he painstakingly describes precursor events such as the doctor's visit and all conversations that involve the unseen character Kurtz. Thus begins Marlow's consuming obsession with this man.

So far, Marlow’s interest in Kurtz is more or less inactive and does not inspire fear. Perfectly placed leading questions such as the one about a history of family insanity have the desired effect, however, of alerting readers to a rather fishy situation. That Marlow ignores all of these warnings creates some dramatic irony; it will take him longer to arrive at conclusions that the reader has already reached.

It also is important to recognize that Marlow is telling a story. His recollections have a hazy, dreamy quality. The narrative is thus an examination of human spirit through his perspective, which is quite subjective. Thus, we should question how trustworthy the narrative speakers are. This situation puts even more distance between Conrad’s perspective and the perspective taken by characters in the story. The outside narrator only refers to what Marlow says and does; all others are ignored, and we understand their perspective only through Marlow’s account of what they say and do. Marlow selects the facts (even though Conrad ultimately selects them). Readers interested in this topic should consider in particular Marlow's perception of the African environment, which develops into the novella’s larger themes.

So far as Kurtz is concerned, there has been incomplete communication. Marlow and the reader know him, but not much, yet. He seems sinister; people discuss him in a hushed manner, making sure to praise him. The fact that nobody has anything negative to say about him is suspicious, suggesting that they are all terribly anxious to stay on his good side. The portrait of the blind woman holding a torch, in the first agent's room, suggests the failing of Kurtz: perhaps he has blindly traveled into a situation and has become absorbed in it, much as the woman is absorbed into the darkness of the painting (despite the torch, she is painted in insufficient light). This preemptive warning is useful to keep in mind as we consider subsequent chapters.

Heart of Darkness Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Heart of Darkness is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

How does Marlow think the Roman conquest of Britain compares and contrasts to the British imperial enterprise of his own day?

Marlow reminds us that Britain was once considered savage by civilized Romans. The river Thames (to the ancient Romans) was much like the Congo to the present day Belgians.

What are the main five incidents in the central station in part 1?

He is taken to his Company's station. He walks through pieces of "decaying machinery" and observes a stream of black people walking slowly, very thin and indifferent. One of the "reclaimed" carries a rifle at "its middle." Marlow walks around to...

According to Benita Parry, Heart of Darkness both reiterates and challenges colonial stereotypes. What evidence of this contradiction can you find in this passage?

colonialism is at the heart of Heart of Darkness: it is linked to the idea of cultural identity. The European colonizers seek to impose their own culture and way of life on the African natives, leading to a loss of cultural identity and a sense of...

Study Guide for Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness study guide contains a biography of Joseph Conrad, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Heart of Darkness
• Heart of Darkness Summary
• Character List

Essays for Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

• Alienation: A Modernist Theme
• Darkness and Light: the Illumination of Reality and Unreality in Heart of Darkness
• An Inward Journey
• Matters of the Truth
• The Real Heart of Darkness: The Manager of the Central Station in Heart of Darkness

Lesson Plan for Heart of Darkness

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Heart of Darkness
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Heart of Darkness Bibliography

E-Text of Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness e-text contains the full text of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

Wikipedia Entries for Heart of Darkness

• Introduction
• Composition and publication
• Critical reception
• Adaptations and influences

5 takeaways from the first Trump-Biden 2024 debate

The president stumbled repeatedly, and the former president made false claims repeatedly.

The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.

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President Biden and former president Donald Trump faced off in the first of two 2024 presidential debates Thursday night in Atlanta.

The unusually early first debate came as Biden appears to struggle in the rematch of the 2020 campaign and as Republicans are buoyant about Trump’s chances. But polls suggest it’s still a close race in the key states.

So what did we learn? And what marked the first big clash between the two candidates?

Below are our takeaways.

1. Biden was rough

Perhaps the biggest question heading into the night was how Biden would manage, given voters’ strong concerns about his age and sharpness, as well as his campaign’s previous reluctance to debate.

Biden gave an energetic State of the Union address in March. But it didn’t appear to allay many of those concerns, and jousting with an opponent at a debate — rather than giving a scripted speech — is a different animal.

Thursday wasn’t as strong a performance. At points, it was downright rough.

Biden came out raspy and with relatively little vigor or inflection in his voice. He stumbled over his words and lines of argument. Perhaps the most striking example came as he tried to make an early point about health care, failing to finish his thought before his time was up.

“[We’re] making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with —” Biden said, before trailing off and adding, “the covid — excuse me, with — dealing with everything we have to do with — look — if — we finally beat Medicare.”

It’s at this point that the moderator said his time was up.

Later on, while talking about the border, Biden said, “I’m going to continue to move until we get the total ban on the — the total initiative, relative to what we can do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers.”

Trump shot back, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

Later in the debate, Biden sought to get a little feistier, referring to Trump as a “whiner” over his statements that Capitol riot defendants were too harshly treated. He called him a “loser” and a “child.” But the points didn’t land with much force, just like much of Biden’s performance.

Shortly after the debate, Democrats set about fretting about Biden’s candidacy in a way we haven’t seen before — one top former Biden White House aide called his performance “ really disappointing ” — and the worries will probably continue in the days ahead.

2024 presidential election

2. Biden got some rare traction on Jan. 6, Trump’s legal problems

If there were good moments for Biden, it’s when the conversation turned to democracy; the Jan. 6 , 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol; and Trump’s legal problems.

Biden made a point to highlight Trump’s felony convictions — “The only person on the stage who’s a convicted felon right now is the man I’m looking at right now” — and cite the substance of the former president’s other problems. He mentioned “sex with a porn star” (the underlying alleged event in Trump’s Manhattan conviction) and “molesting a woman in public” (which Trump has been found liable for in the E. Jean Carroll civil case).

Biden also sought to put Trump on the spot over his suggestions that Jan. 6 defendants have been persecuted, something the American people broadly disagree with.

“The idea that those people are patriots? Come on,” Biden said.

Toward the end, Biden told Trump that following his 2020 loss — after which he sought to overturn the results, leading to two of his indictments — “something snapped in you.”

Trump didn’t have great responses, except to cite his claims that his cases have been brought by a weaponized justice system — something that, like Jan. 6 pardons, Americans aren’t on board with . He didn’t really stand by his past comments about Jan. 6 pardons. At one point, he felt compelled to deny having had sex with Stormy Daniels (“I didn’t have sex with a porn star, number one,” he said.)

While Trump’s Manhattan conviction doesn’t appear to have hurt him much so far, it’s also evident that many Americans — especially casual watchers of politics — are unfamiliar with many of these specifics .

But this was largely the exception. Despite Biden’s hopes to turn the 2024 election into a choice and even a referendum on Trump, much of the debate wound up focusing on Biden.

3. Trump unleashed many false claims

It’s no surprise at this point, but Trump’s performance included his usual stream of false and misleading claims.

They included his false claim to having capped insulin costs before Biden did ; blue states executing babies after birth ; there being no terrorist attacks on his watch ; Biden’s wanting to quadruple people’s taxes; and Biden’s having indicted him. (There is no evidence of Biden’s involvement in the cases.)

Biden had a few, too, including at one point mixing up when Trump was accused of having his tryst with Daniels. (He said Melania Trump was pregnant; in fact, she had a young child).

4. A great debate it wasn’t

There were plenty of questions before the debate about whether the format would work. In addition to being very early, the debate featured no audience and a mute button if the candidates talked over one another.

The format mostly worked okay. But that didn’t make it a great debate.

Whether because of the mute button or not, we avoided a replay of the messy food fight of a first 2020 debate . The candidates seemed to understand that talking when it wasn’t their turn wouldn’t do any good.

The lack of an audience also meant they weren’t playing to a crowd — and the crowd wasn’t influencing the affair.

But even without all the shouting and theater, the debate was hardly a substantial master class. It really didn’t get into much of a contrast on the issues.

Trump largely filibustered, repeating his false claims, mostly without fact-checking by Biden and not really at all by the debate moderators (who decided beforehand that it wasn’t their role ). Biden struggled to make his points and drive the contrasts in a way that deprived the proceedings of much flow, though he did counter some of Trump’s claims.

It’s not clear any format could have made for a more compelling debate. Many of the problems traced to the candidates themselves. But it just wasn’t the kind of debate that seems likely to whet people’s appetites for the campaign.

Toward the end of the debate, the two candidates saw fit to argue about their golf games, with Biden talking about his drive and handicap and Trump casting doubt on his ability.

“Let’s not act like children,” Trump eventually said.

“You are a child,” Biden responded.

It was a fitting moment.

5. Trump finally takes an abortion position

Trump has strained to avoid getting pinned down on his abortion position, seeking to say merely that it should be a state’s choice and trying to leave it at that .

But on Thursday night, Trump did — at long last and after blowing his previous deadline for offering a position — finally weigh in on the abortion pill mifepristone .

“First of all, the Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill, and I agree with their decision to have done that, and I will not block it,” Trump said.

The Supreme Court didn’t actually “approve” the abortion pill, instead rejecting a challenge to it based on a technicality.

But it’s a potentially significant statement, given Democrats have cautioned that a second Trump administration could target the abortion pill using an antiquated federal law. It’s the latest signal that Trump fears what restricting abortion in a post- Roe v. Wade world could mean for his candidacy. Imagine even a few years ago that a Republican presidential candidate would say he supports the abortion pill.

Election 2024

Get the latest news on the 2024 election from our reporters on the campaign trail and in Washington.

The first presidential debate: President Biden and Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate of 2024. Here are takeaways and fact checks from the debate .

Key dates and events: Voters in all states and U.S. territories have been choosing their party’s nominee for president ahead of the summer conventions. Here are key dates and events on the 2024 election calendar .

Abortion and the election: Voters in about a dozen states could decide the fate of abortion rights with constitutional amendments on the ballot in a pivotal election year. Biden supports legal access to abortion , and he has encouraged Congress to pass a law that would codify abortion rights nationwide. After months of mixed signals about his position, Trump said the issue should be left to states . Here’s how Biden’s and Trump’s abortion stances have shifted over the years.

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Heart of Darkness Essay | Essay on Heart of Darkness for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Heart of Darkness Essay:  Joseph Conrad is a Polish-English novelist who published the novella, Heart of Darkness in the year 1899. The novella is about an expedition up the river of Congo into the Congo Free State in the Heart of Africa.

Translated into many languages, Heart of Darkness has been widely republished many times. To celebrate the thousandth edition of the magazine called Blackwood’s Magazine, the novella was initially issued as a three-part serial story in the magazine.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on Heart of Darkness for Students and Kids in English

We provide students with essay samples on an extended essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on the topic Heart of Darkness for reference.

Long Essay on Heart of Darkness 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Heart of Darkness is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness could justifiably be described as an introverted journey, including thoughtful change in the voyager. Both metaphorical and literal journey was taken on by Marlow, the protagonist of the novel, into the “heart of darkness”. The journey makes Marlow question the presence and conflict of light and dark within each person.

During the journey, Marlow realizes that every human has the presence of evilness within themselves. Hence, he sees that evil supremacy at the centre of humanity, which helped him in emerging as a new man from the journey. The readers of the novella also realize although indirectly that Kurtz, who was a well-reputed ivory trader and the antagonist of the novel, transformed from a man with good-intentions to one who gives in to his deepest desires and lusts.

The most prominent journey within the novel is Marlow’s journey. His journey into the human’s hearts of Darkness and the deep recesses of the human subconsciousness, even his discovery of what lurks in the pits of the subconscious incites massive change in him even though this whole journey was metaphorically written as his journey into the heart of the Congo.

Throughout the novel, the changes which came inside him was hinted. The mental change inside Marlow’s character has a massive connection to what he witnessed in Africa. As Conrad himself caught many of the carnages under the empire of Leopold II, when he captained a ship in the Congo in 1890, readers assume that many of the horrible things that Marlow observes that guides his change of views regarding humanity are directly inspired by the personal experiences of Conrad.

According to the setting of the story, Marlow was in a way was obsessed with the successful ivory trader Kurtz and he witnessed Kurtz demise at the end. Here Conrad offers parallels between Africa which are seen as the place of Darkness and London, which is the most significant town on earth.

Heart of Darkness indirectly comments on racism and imperialism. The fundamental of Conrad’s work is the idea that there is a slight difference between the people who are termed savages and the people who are considered civilized.

The novella has provided various inspirations in many authors and movie directors such as Francis Ford Coppola was inspired for a film named Apocalypse Now in the year 1979. In the list of 100 best novels in English of the 20th century, the Modern Library ranked Heart of Darkness 67th on their list.

Although the events depicted in the heart of Darkness could have happened anywhere, but Conrad chose the Congo as the leading centre because of the impact and feelings of the climate, the persons involved and also due to the very way of life there.

Conrad creates a mysteriousness and high-tension which originates one to wonder what might happen next and even though nothing extraordinary occurs, each one of the events adds up to the foreboding of the story. The story gives the idea of how even the best of intentions might turn into something twisted and evil even oppressive.

Short Essay on Heart of Darkness 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Heart of Darkness is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

In the English language, Heart of Darkness is considered as one of the greatest novellas. Although from the exterior, it may seem like a dreamlike tale of adventures and mystery, which is set in central Africa, it is the story of man’s emblematic journey into his inner being. The ambiguity of Conrad’s narrative and conflicting interpretations of its actual meaning was contributed by the profusion of vivid details that are important on both symbolic and literal levels.

The Heart of Darkness was written in 1899 and was initially published in the blackwood’s magazine in a serial form, but finally, it was published in the form of a book in 1902 which was named Youth: A Narrative, and Two Other Stories. Later in the year 1942, it was published separately. Many believe that the characters and incidents in the Heart of Darkness were written based on factual bases and from personal experiences of Conrad and as evidence of this speculation a diary was found during the subsequent voyage.

10 Lines on Heart of Darkness Essay in English

1. Joseph Conrad published his novella, Heart of Darkness, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine in 1899, and later he published it in his book named Youth: and Two Others Stories in the year 1902. 2. The horrors of Western colonialism are examined by Heart of Darkness, and it is depicting it as a phenomenon that smears both the lands and people it exploits. 3. The most generally analyzed works of English literature, Conrad’s semiautobiographical tale initially garnered lacklustre reception. 4. Critics did not favour Heart of Darkness initially and rebuked its dehumanizing representation of imperialized people and dismissive treatment of females. 5. Directly engaging with postcolonial realities, Heart of Darkness has endured and now stands as a Modernist masterpiece. 6. Heart of Darkness, although received acclaim among Conrad’s literary circle, the story failed to secure any popularity. Neither when it was published in the magazine nor when it was published as a book. 7. In the 1940s and ’50s, the novella started to gain academic attention as in that period; literary studies were dominated by psychological approach of literature. 8. The novella was understood as an exploration universally of human inferiority. 9. Most of the contemporary analysis is centred not one the text itself but on other commentaries of the book, which thereby elucidates the way that academia might inadvertently spread some of the work’s troublesome element. 10. Heart of Darkness is occupying a position which never changes in the West’s literary canon as an artefact that is the result of human depravity.

FAQ’s on Heart of Darkness Essay

Question 1. What does the word ‘heart’ and ‘darkness’ means in the Heart of Darkness?

Answer: The term ‘heart’ in the title ‘heart of darkness’ means the centre and ‘darkness’ represents wither the unknown or evilness. In the novel, the nature of Darkness symbolizes the African jungle through which Marlow is venturing to find a shadowy associate named Kurtz.

Question 2. What is the message conveyed by Conrad in the Heart of Darkness?

Answer: Conrad wrote this novel to expose the baleful tasks taking place all the time in our world and the book revealed all the evilness in the world, not just among the people. He exposed the horror of the planet that all individuals are responsible for in his work.

Question 3.  What did ivory symbolize in the Heart of Darkness?

Answer: White Ivory is the only thing that Europeans valued in the novel Heart of Darkness which could be found in Africa, but it also equated with corruption and Darkness.

Question 4. In what sense did the main protagonist, Marlow change in the Heart of Darkness?

Answer: In the novel Heart of Darkness, the main character Marlow changes in the sense that he moves towards the center of the earth, taking on a whole different and new perspective and moves away from the evilness.

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