Introduction

In the novel Heart of Darkness, Conrad explores the internal and external complications with psychoanalytic thoughts conveyed by the antagonist, Marlow. Marlow’s journey on his ship, the Nellie, provides the reader with multiple sporadic ideas as he travels down the uncertain Congo River towards Africa. Conrad illustrates the darkness of Marlow’s unknown journey not only through atmospheric setting but also through a change of conscience as he encounters ‘savages’ and learns to appreciate his known and newly discovered knowledge about other parts of the world. Understandings of the text vary upon the interpreter; moreover, authors: Frederick Karl and Ross Murfin analyze the novel to illuminate how Marlow’s internal thoughts affect the reader. The different opinions perceive Marlow’s dream state to be an effective atmospheric event that adds to his journey but others vaguely state that Marlow’s indecisive conscience is troublesome for the course of the novel. Conrad allows the reader to add their imagination to the journey to the unknown land that establishes a necessary ominous mood Heart of Darkness illuminates the darkness within Marlow’s mind as he unknowingly seeks a new and obscure Africa; therefore, the reader is thrown into a psychological dream state journey that constructs an atmospheric mood external to the text as well.     

Essay idea

For my Heart of Darkness essay I want to discuss Marlow's conscious vs. unconscious state of mind. I would talk about the reader's reactions as well as Freud, Conrad, and Karl's interpretation of Marlow's state of mind and how this effects the readers perception of Marlow's journey. The essay would discuss the how different views of different authors mix with Marlow's unconscious dreamstate's effectivenness throughout the book.

Karl

When Karl describes Marlow as "a law-abiding morally sensitive man.."(126), he connotes the rationality within man's mind. I agree that Marlow's view on man's rational mind is interrupted and corrupted because of his 'dark' journey in the Congo. Karl concludes that Marlow is so irrational that his judgment of societal regulations is unjust because of his elongated journey. Karl believes that Marlow is an experienced explorer because of his non-explored mind, give-or-take. I disagree with this point, during the journey Marlow might discover internal realizations about his inner-most expectations of man, but that does not mean that he is irrational prior to his journey; his inexperience improves his internal thought process rather than creating a new internal way of thinking altogether.

Murfin

Murfin's "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Heart of Darkness" demonstrates the connection between the author's influential mental state on the reader as well as the perceptions the reader encounters while percieving the text. Thus, Murfin describes psychoanalytic symbols to intertwine with the reader's mind, like Oedipal desires. I like when Murfin analyzes Marlow's "id" and "superego." Since Marlow has the internal conflict between his id and super ego throughout his dreamlike journey into the darkness of the Congo, his internal conflict conflicts with the reader's internal mental state as well. I mostly agree with all of Murfin's analysis of Heart of Darkness, except some parts of his analysis are a little unclear to me.

Question: What does Murfin mean by "the readers are drawn to a text based on what we desire to hear"?

Heart of Darkness paragraph

"I let him run on, this papier-mâché Mephistopheles, and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my forefinger through him, and would find nothing inside but a little loose dirt, maybe." When talking to the brickmaker, Marlow uses the imagery of the brickmaker being made out of papier-mâché. This connotes that the brickmaker has no purpose and is 'empty.' The brickmaker is personified as a hollow figure that can be related to nothing but loose dirt. Marlow describes the brickmaker as a useless object, essentially, and he could 'poke his forefinger through him' without him feeling anything. 

Heart of Darkness: paragraph 80

"I felt often its mysterious stillness watching me at my monkey tricks, just as it watches you fellows performing on your respective tight-ropes for-- what is it? half a-crown a tumble ---" At the end of paragraph 80, Marlow continues to create an ominous atmosphere as he travels down the river with the cannibals piloting the ship. The personification of the "mysterious stillness watching" Marlow depicts the unclear journey he continues to explore. Pages 394-395 is also where Marlow begins to go crazy which continues through out the rest of his expedition through Africa's wilderness.  

Heart of Darkness: Paragraph 82

"We had enlisted some of these chaps on the way for a crew. Fine fellows--cannibals--in their place." When the cannibals are hired to pilot the ship, Marlow sarcastically labels the cannibals as "fine fellows"; however, since Marlow's tone is hard to uncover sometimes, the sarcasm may depict his true anxiety about the journey. Cannibals are not typically known to be 'fine fellows' so the sarcasm states the irony accurately, but Marlow's mysterious uncertainty adds to the savage Africa he is exploring. Since the atmosphere is dark, Marlow's sarcastic humor adds to the one as well because it is unclear as well.

Darkness: Question 4

Before Marlow embarks on his journey to Africa, his aunt has unrealistic expectations of Marlow’s expedition. She relates him to an “apostle” to broadcast her assumption of him being brave and courageous; however, Marlow’s motive is the complete opposite. Marlow seeks to inhabit the savage Africa for profit instead of his aunt’s assumption of seeking adventurous skill to establish himself. When she assumes Marlow is traveling there to challenge danger and becoming a notable leader, she describes him as an “emissary of light.” This comment is not only ironic because Africa is dark and dangerous, but also she believes Marlow is going to withstand a dominate leadership role and become renowned when his purpose is the opposite.

HOD #2

Marlow describes London in "very old times, when the Romans first came here" as a dark and mysterious territory that is unknown. Thus, Marlow uses vivid imagery to create an inescapable atmosphere from the beginning: "cold, fog, tempests, disease, exile, and death,--." London's past is described as a territory run by "savages" which is opposite from the current circumstance of London now, being luxurious. Therefore, the connection between London in Roman times and the English colonization of Africa is that there was an unknown (savage) territory of "mysterious life of the wilderness" in both the Romans and colonists' cases.