3rd

Karl proclaims: “Supremacy over all is all he [Kurtz] seeks: supremacy over things, people, and, finally, values. Having gratified forbidden desires, he is free of civilized taboos. In the Congo, he can do anything” (Karl 129). Kurtz’s loss of societal values created the mental change that Marlow, soon, undergoes as he spends more time in the same environment. Also, When Marlow begins to realize the ‘pleasure principle’ associated with the ‘id’ his societal values begin to vanish, while the Congo’s environment floods his mind. When Marlow begins to break down mentally, the reader has to reflect and reread Marlow’s changed thoughts. Marlow’s change of internal thinking, thus, creates a disorientated thought process to conceive Marlow’s new adjustment. The complications arise as Marlow’s journey steadily progresses as well; therefore, the reader’s perspective on the truth complicates internally too.

2nd paragraph

Conrad’s complicated prose distorts the reader’s mind to form a transitional mind like Marlow’s. As Marlow encounters a conversion from his ‘superego’ state of mind to an ‘id’ the reader experiences a change as well. Marlow is from European society, thus, his morality is the false representation of life that he faces prior to his journey. In the beginning of the novel the doctor warns Marlow: “The changes take place inside you know” (9). The doctor foreshadows Marlow’s mentally internal change which he uncovers down the Congo; moreover, the reader undergoes a similar change. As Marlow travels down the river, he makes clear of the societal attributes that he experiences in everyday life in European customs, which creates question in the readers mind. Karl notably accurately connotes Marlow’s sense of atmospheric change “..elements that become a wedge between man’s seeming rationality and a world suddenly irrational and out of focus” (127). The Congo’s environment twists the reader’s mind to suddenly apprehend the irrationality of everyday society. Marlow’s transition conflicts the reader to decipher the appearance versus reality within the novel, influenced by Kurtz. Since Kurtz is a sporadic thinker that drifts to different scenarios in his mind, the reader is, thus, thrown into a confusing sequence of events. During Marlow’s transition to the ‘id’, he begins to assimilate his thoughts as if Kurtz influenced him to morph internal ideas; moreover, Kurtz has ‘lost’ his superego.

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.