INTRO (1st draft)

In the heart of darkness, by Joseph Conrad, Marlow goes on a journey to Africa with the hopes of taming the wild society and their ways of life. However as he goes deeper and deeper into the jungle of Africa, his reality and his dreams become harder to differentiate. Marlow's mental state is shown through his choppy and scattered speech patterns which signify his confusion and nervousness. He has no idea what lies ahead in the "heart of darkness" and this uncertainty leads his mind to wonder into a dreamlike state. Though the jungle is effecting Marlow's subconscious negatively, he never lets this fearfulness stop him from surviving the journey.

Psychological Significance of Journey

As marrow continues on his his journey, his speech patterns become vital to understanding his unconscious. On the surface of the text, his physical journey is obvious but his psychological journey is what lies beneath. Marlow's choppy and elongated sentences reveal his uncertainty and fear of what he will encounter throughout his travels. He is in the middle of an unknown barbaric jungle and naturally it is effecting his emotions negatively. But despite Marlow's fear he continues his journey and has yet let his unconscious overcome his determination.

Page 430 #6

Marlow uses the painting of "a woman draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch" to represent the journey that lies ahead. Ironically, the woman is holding a torch to guide her through the darkness while at the same time she is blindfolded. Thus representing mallows journey and how he is entering Darkness himself and heat lies ahead is unknown. The blindfold can also puritan to unknown effects that the europeans will have on Africa. Their intentions are obviously positive, however, they might be unaware of other possibilities such as harming the society. In addition, the flame could represent the injustice of what the Europeans are doing to the Africans. But the painting as a whole, most importantly in my opinion, reveals the darkness that lies ahead. They are entering a strange land with no idea of what the future holds for them.

Heart of Darkness (pg.429 #2)

Marlow expands on Rome in "very old times" and how it used to be considered a poor and savage place. He mentions this because Rome in "very old times" is similar to the current conditions in Africa. From this comparison, as well as the title of his tale itself, demonstrates how he believes in the good within the bad - "heart of darkness." Marlow uses the similarities between the the Roman invasion and the English colonization of Africa to illustrate the potential Africa still has to become a beautiful and structured place just as Rome did.