The other possibility for the story can be seen as being a metaphorical "darkness" that is seen in the men themselves. Their hearts or soul may be full of darkness and hatred. In some cases, this may even lead the men to lose sight who they really are, particularly Kurtz who seems to be completely embeveled in darkness. He loses sight of who he is in the jungle, leading to the overall "heart of darkness" that the story implies.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Prompt 18
In Heart of Darkness, the title can be seen to represent many aspects of the story, both literal and figuratively. In literal terms, the darkness can be related to the trees and the forest. When it becomes night, the forest can be quite easily be seen as a heart, or pit of darkness, possibly even a heart filled with darkness. The men can find the darkness anywhere in the forest, and it may even be disorientating. The jungle has many obstacles and in some cases can make things difficult. The vast darkness gives an allusion to their future trouble and misfortunes that may come in this forest, and implies that escaping may be a difficult task.
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It is amazing how many meanings can be justified out of one single title. I completely agree with everything you said with the exception of Kurtz losing himself. I always felt as though he found himself or he saw the truth and the way of the world. Society might claim that he lost himself but society always seems to fear what it does not fully understand. As he embraces the customs more I would say he finds out the errors in his ways and witnesses the horrors. That is how I interpreted the title though and I still respect your idea.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you said "the men can find the darkness anywhere". The way that this is crafted brings a rush of new meanings to my brain. In this sense darkness becomes a parasite, a disease, an unshakable force that the men must deal with. Sadly as you mentioned everyone cannot handle the extreme darkness. This darkness makes me think of Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carried. While we grow older and no longer need nightlights, it seems as though men can never get over the fear of the dark, especially in the setting of a jungle where everything is alive around you, but you cannot see it.
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