Shed Some Light

Joseph Conrad wrote a novel of deceptive meaning. It appears to be straightforward in its objective, but it is not so simple. Everything inside those pages suggests meaning beyond the literal. On the surface, it appears to be the narration of an experience: Marlow’s experience. Mildly entertaining, the story talks about his adventures as a ship captain and the obstacles he encounters as he travels into the heart of the continent in search of Kurtz. Heart of Darkness has much more to it than what is imminent on the surface. There are a number of levels of interpretation. It is reading from different angles, and each angle provides a different context.

As Marlow nears his objective, he begins to understand how far into the unknown they have come. Kurtz inhabits a place “so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness” (103). They have traveled far into a mysterious land towards the core of Africa. In it Kurtz lives in solitude, “far in the depths of the forest” (103). The depth of a mysterious land alludes to the unknown and undiscovered. Humanity has conquered all sorts of mysteries. We have mastered numbers, science, art, deceit, politics and many other tools that enable us to live in a global community. However, we are still in the quest to master ourselves. It is that quest for spiritual realization and mental control than continues to intrigue humanity. We are yet to find the answers to that puzzle.

Kurtz lives in the midst of such mystery. Characters hint towards his greatness but all they can relate are those “splendid monologues” (109). As the word suggests, monologues include a single individual. A monologue in this context is the talking with one’s self: reflection. When we reflect we dwell in the darkest places of our mind as we search for answers to infinite questions. Marlow was also searching for answers in his adventures. He was also trying to find a purpose for himself. This process tries to understand the functioning of human emotion through logical reason. But these reflections “echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core” (108). Conrad’s use of the word hollow refers to a hole or a gap in knowledge. No matter how long we search for answers, our thought will only echo indefinitely without conclusion because we lack the tools to understand the ultimate creator of reality: the human brain.

Marlow’s road into the unknown in search for Kurtz goes beyond the literal level. It has clear relationship with humanity’s quest for knowledge and understanding. Conrad describes his own attempt to crack into his brain in search for the answers through Marlow’s experience. It represents himself wondering into the darkest corners of his mind where the final pieces of the puzzle dwell guest to the unknown.