Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - A Close Read of The Jungle

A compelling novella, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness projects a sordid picture of a horrific jungle in the African continent and discloses the universal notion that applies to humanities: when circumstances are bad enough, men can turn into monsters. Not only is the jungle a battleground between the strong and the weak, the moral and the sinful, it also functions as a crucible in which people must struggle against their own primitive urges and learn that they are barbaric at heart.

Literally an uncharted region in the explorer's maps, the jungle in Heart of Darkness embodies uncertainty and dread. When left in such a fearful situation, the British settlers naturally descend to irrationality and rely on excessive violence. It may have been initially for self-defense, however, when Marlow observes (with annoyance) the men's pointless shooting outburst during the ambush on the river, the display of violence becomes a manifestation of the settlers' desire for power and their need for superiority. Another extremely graphic exhibition of violence in Heart of Darkness marked by thirst for superiority resurfaces when Marlow comes upon the dried out human heads staked on Kurzt's property. Though it is decidedly an evidence of Kurzt's lust for violence, it also indicates that this is his way of marking his territory, as well as his mad God complex-the need to feel that he is residing among this worshipers.

One may be inclined to say that the settlers' behavior in Heart of Darkness are manipulated by the fearful setting that they are in. In other words, these terrified irrational people are behaving solely based on instincts. However, this idea is proven false during Marlow's eavesdropping incident on the manager and his nephew, in which they discusses the hanging of the Russian man as a very simple business because there are no laws in the jungle. This incident shows that the men in Heart of Darkness are not insane-to be insane, one must be unable to distinguish right from wrong and to think rationally. In this case, the men can perfectly rationalize, yet they choose to commit a crime while entirely conscious of it, just because civil restraints do not apply to them in the jungle. They are white imperialists, therefore, they only go by white men's laws. When these laws aren't there any more, the imperialists are free to indulge in their primal urges, because there is no immediate punishment delivered to them.

Ultimately, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a recollection of a voyage into the human's pysche, which turns out to be themselves as much a savage, uncharted regions as the jungle itself.