Heart of Darkness Intro

In Heart of Darkness, Conrad continually illustrates darkness and horrific imagery to fundamentally alter the protagonist of the story, Marlow. Conrad effectively reveals how Marlow's id, or sub-conscience, is partly released; for example, even after seeing the inhumane nature of Kurtz, Marlow is still able to forgive him. Even though Marlow held a unique obsession with not only finding Kurtz, but also learning about him and his mysterious nature, it is rather hypocritical of Marlow to forgive a man that has allowed their id to be completely released. However, writers such as Frederick Karl and Ross Murfin have analyzed Conrad's psychoanalytic writing, questioning whether Conrad was writing his own feelings about humanity through Marlow. Even though Conrad throughout his novel portrays the evil sub-conscience of man, ultimately he is not the same person as Marlow. Rather, through his novel, Conrad effectively illustrates the unique and somewhat disheartening change in Marlow. After being exposed to the horror that the lies within Africa on his voyage, Marlow's sub-conscience subsequently begins to be unleashed. Thus, rather than portraying himself through the character of Marlow, Conrad is illustrating his inner feelings and attitude through the inhumane treatment of society, consistent images of darkness, and ultimately Marlow's change of attitude in his quest to to fulfill his obsession of finding Kurtz.