DARKNESS IN HEART OF DARKNESS

Humza Bin Masood

ABSTRACT: This paper focuses on an interesting question that why Conrad had used the word Darkness as symbolism in his Novella “Heart of Darkness”. Paper is based on the believes and discussion in “Lying as Dying”, “Conrad’s Critique of Imperialism in Hear of Darkness”, “Macaulay’s Minutes”, “Autocracy and War”, “Black Skin; White masks” and a poem “Immigrants” by Pat Mora and Robert Frost. Paper also focuses that why Conrad had written this Novella and how it is related to Conrad’s life as well as comparison of his writings in “Heart of Darkness” and “Autocracy and War”.

INTRODUCTION: Heart of Darkness is a novella from Joseph Conrad. This explains about the journey of two major characters Kurtz and Marlow. It focuses on Racism, Symbolism, etc. Joseph has not given any name to real life character. Journey was via River. In this Story there are two major characters Marlow and Kurtz. First part of Journey was in Africa which is based on Racism of Africans and White men. At central station the ship which Marlow need to sail was skunked and it needs to be repair. At this time Manger started to frighten Kurtz about his job as he was sick and Marlow was there. Then they have a journey with pilgrims on the way they had an attack from natives but before Marlow frighten them with stream whistle African helmsman died because of arrows fired by Natives. At the same time Kurtz apparently seem to the natives as a God. After they surrounded all of them but Kurtz speaks to natives and they moved from there. Manager take Kurtz to streamer where a native woman appeared seems to be Kurtz’s mistress. At night Kurtz’s moved (crawling) to native camp; when Marlow started him to search. There Marlow convinced him to go to the boat and they set off the river next morning but Kurtz health became bad. On the way Kurtz died after giving his documents to Marlow. Marlow listened to Kurtz and when He was dying his last words were “The Horror! The Horror!”. At this moment Marlow felt ill nut he recovered himself. After one year he was able to reach to Europe and met Kurtz’s Fiancée who asked Marlow about last words of Kurtz and he was not able to speak the truth and he told a lie to Kurtz’s Fiancée that Kurtz’s last words were her name.

DISCUSSION: Stewart had given an excellent quotation by Freud in his article “It is indeed impossible to imagine our own death; and whenever we attempt to do so we can perceive that we are in fact still present as spectators”. (Freud, Our Attitude towards Death). In novella “Heart of Darkness” Kurtz died and Marlow felt ill but still he had survived and was able to reach Europe. If we see a biography of Conrad we came to know that he had such experience when he was working with Belgian Trading Company when he use to sail ships (Bloom, 2009). This is believed from his experience and the Quotation by Freud that Marlow was Kurtz himself he had just tried to dogged his readers that he was not a part of a story instead he was a part of this story. Now keeping this thing in mind let one have a look to this discussion “Kurtz himself is introduced as the barely liv-ing fulfillment of the mortal fate of Marlow as contemplated through his double, Fresleven-though such thoughts hover at the level of mere foreboding, without as yet any explicit parallel between Marlow and Kurtz, except that they are both European agents in Africa” (Steward, Lying as Dying). This shows that Marlow and Kurtz have a strong relation, which means that Conrad have strong relation with Kurtz.

            Keeping the above discussion in mind one can have a discussion on the life of Kurtz and Marlow. Kurtz was been criticized in a novella by the Manager when Marlow joined the ship. By this Kurtz fell ill, he felt ill more when he had seen Africans working more and more, he started to live in African where he want to take rest while Natives pretended him as a God. This cruelity was almost same like Pat Mora had explained in immigrants and Africans also want to have less work and they also want to be like Europeans which Kurtz also wants.

Wrap their babies in the American flag,

Feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie,

Name them Bill and Daisy,

Buy them blonde dolls that blink blue

Eyes or a football and tiny cleats

Before the baby can even walk,

Speak to them in thick English, hallo, babee, hallo,

Whisper in Spanish or Polish

When the babies sleep, whisper

In a dark parent bed, that dark

Parent fear, “Will they like

Our boy, our girl, our fine American

Boy, our fine American girl?”

(Pat Mora)

These were the feelings of Kurtz for the natives as well which seems to be true as in Novella it is explained that he went towards natives as night. When there were the last words of Kurtz there is also one thing that was the death of African Helmsman and Marlow was afraid as Helmsman died almost near to his feet. This was a fear of Marlow for some time and fear symbolizes darkness. Marlow fear was also related to Kurtz as Kurtz was taking care of natives and he wants them to live a luxury life.

Kurtz had moved to the natives at night and he want to live there Marlow had called him back this shows that Kurtz had respect and love there. In fact he was an apparent God for the natives but he had some love. Natives were living the life of slavery. The value of efficiency was promoted in the late nineteenth century by social Darwinism, which believed that only the "fittest" could and should survive (Hunt Hawkins, Conrad’s Critique of Imperialism in Heart of Darkness). This means that Africans had to die as Europeans were surviving better; but it is not in the way Kurtz had looked this matter. Africans can survive better if they struggle that what Kurtz also want and he want to give an indication that one should be there and fight for the rights of the Africans.

“Oh, I know the blacks. They must be spoken to kindly; talk to them about their country; it’s all in knowing how to talk to them. For instance. . . .” I am not at all exaggerating: A white man addressing a Negro behaves exactly like an adult with a child and starts smirking, whispering, patronizing, cozening. It is not one white man I have watched, but hundreds; and I have not limited my investigation to any one class but, if I may claim an essentially objective position, I have made a point of observing such behavior in physicians, policemen, employers. I shall be told, by those who overlook my purpose, that I should have directed my attention elsewhere, that there are white men who do not fit my description.

(Frantz Fanon, Black Skin; White Masks)

This is something related to novella that Black peoples are treated badly by white people, if one considers novella, Then one comes to know that Natives have to work late night and had to work hard for food. Kurtz have care for natives but he wants to be a leader. Kurtz don’t have money but want to the leader so this means that he want to be superior. If we look at the last words of Kurtz “The Horror! The Horror!” had a clear image that Kurtz have some care for natives and even when he was dying he realized that it is not about the matter of money but human rights and he had given the symbol of Horror which is related to rights of natives.

CONCLUSION: According to the above discussions one can conclude that Marlow was Conrad himself. Conrad had some relation with Kurtz. Conrad had given the title “Heart of DARKNESS” to the novella because he this was the feelings and heart is symbolized as a feelings and Darkness as symbolism of Horror that were the last words of Kurtz. These words were related to the care and love for the natives. More over as discussed above Kurtz and Marlow had some relation so it means that Conrad had some feelings as of care, love, etc. for natives and Africans at his journey and while working in Belgian Trading Company. The title is based on the words of Kurtz that were “The Horror! The Horror!”.

REFERENCES:

·        Stewart, Garrett. Modern Language Association. PMLA, Vol. 95, No. 3 (May, 1980), pp. 319-331

·        Hawkins, Hunt. Modern Language Association.  PMLA, Vol. 94, No. 2 (Mar., 1979), pp. 286-299

·        Conrad, Joseph. University of Northern Iowa. The North American Review, Vol. 181, No. 584 (Jul., 1905), pp. 33-55

·        Fanon, Frantz. Black Skin; White Masks

·        T. B. Macaulay, Macaulay’s Minutes. 1835.

·        Frost, Robert. Immigrants. 1920.

·        Mora, Pat. Immigrants. 1989.