"Heart of Darkness" and a Dark Economy: Two Themes

In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a number of themes are prevalent. However, two themes always preside at the surface of this work's murky Congo waters: the innate darkness of humans and the terrible lengths humans will go to pursue financial wealth. To begin this brief examination of the themes in Heart of Darkness, consider the concept of human "darkness" itself.

Throughout the work, Marlow, the man who ventures through the very heart of the African continent and receives a first hand perspective of the ivory trade, elucidates his observations of the ivory companies' practices and the pervasive use of native labor. What Marlow is conveying to the reader through his often graphic depictions of what he observes is that what allows the ivory magnates and their men to literally ravage massive parts of a foreign continent and then, using often-brutal practices, submit the native peoples to agonizing labor and many times physical abuse is the "darkness" that resides inside the hearts of the ivory traders. One way that the reader becomes more intimately aware of what this "darkness" is and how it is portrayed as an ugly element of human nature is through Kurtz, the mighty ivory magnate himself.

Upon Marlow's making the reader aware (through his written observations) of the intense human suffering as experienced by the Africans, he finds out, and relays to the reader, that Kurtz is indeed at the helm of these tyrannical and ghastly operations. "The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own [...] He had taken a high seat amongst the devils of the land--I mean literally," Marlow speaks of Kurtz (1926). Indeed, it is one thing to speak of humans possessing dark powers. It is entirely something else, though, when suggesting that human darkness is innate in people's hearts.

Perhaps this point is best illustrated through an observation of Marlow himself. Marlow begins his journey into the African continent with, essentially, the intent of observing the terrible practices used by the ivory traders to collect the coveted material and ship it off to market. However, one finds that Marlow himself, initially very much disgusted by the ugly scene playing out in Africa due to the ivory-hungry colonists' intrusion of the land, becomes increasingly sympathetic toward and awed by Kurtz's solid reign over the whole of the region's ivory trade. In fact, there comes a time when Marlow even refers to Kurtz as "a gifted creature," (1924).

Ultimately, what one realizes when reading this book is the concept that human darkness is an element that is pervasive, often grows silently and, moreover, is innate. That Kurtz can possess the oppressive power he holds, the other company workers can take part in the tyranny, and that Marlow--an otherwise innocent man--can also becomes snared by the darkness of human nature expresses to the reader that everyone should be aware of the terrible darkness that can and does ultimately reside within all of us.

Another element one sees in this work is that much of this "darkness" is exposed for the pursuit of financial wealth. Why is it that many of these company workers (and Kurtz himself) are in Africa, raiding the lands and essentially using tyrannical practices over the native people to garner ivory? To gain riches and power. Kurtz, through his "tak[ing] a high seat amongst the devils of the land," suggest that concept that he has traded literally made a pact with Satan to exchange his long life as a good man, so to speak, for a short life of power and fortune (1926). Perhaps this point is made all the bolder by Kurtz's death at the end of the story.

Indeed, the pursuit of money is portrayed in this story in all of its ugliest forms, and what makes the case even sadder is that while some men, such as Kurtz, may be after the grandest forms of financial fortune, even more ordinary figures, such as the many company employees, find themselves partaking in the terrible practices of ivory trading presumably just to make comfortable wages. The overriding theme here is not that money itself is, so to speak, bad. It is the larger concept that the pursuit of money can often times make people go to extraordinary lengths to obtain it. Principally, one sees in this work that the pursuit of wealth has compelled Kurtz to lead a most brutal and oppressive form of ivory trading that spares the land of its ivory resources (elephants) and renders a whole population of natives subject to the rules and ways of the colonists.

In Heart of Darkness, one grasps the concept that people can possess some most terrible traits. Some people live to oppress others, and others live to earn extreme wealth. What this work helps us to understand is that human darkness is something that resides in all of us and, if left unchecked, can wreak havoc upon not just others, but ourselves. Furthermore, this work reminds people that some will take whatever road (pleasant or treacherous) necessary to obtain wealth. Lest we ever forget the human catastrophe that can arise when human darkness and he pursuit of wealth collides as one, as is the case in Heart of Darkness.

Work Cited:

Conrad, Joseph. "Heart of Darkness." The Norton Anthology: English Literature. General Editor Stephen Greenblatt. 8th ed. New York: Norton, 2006. 1891-1947.