Heart of Darkness
Prompt # 18
What might the title represent—the
heart of darkness—what is this referring to?
“The sunlit
face of the land a treacherous appeal to the lurking death, to the hidden evil,
to the profound darkness of its heart. It was so startling that I leaped to my
feet and looked back at the edge of the forest, as though I had expected an
answer of some sort to that black display of confidence.” (Page 29)The title Heart
of Darkness is referring to the dense jungle where the natives live, the
place so dark and miserable it is the core of all “darkness.” However, the
title represents something much different. It represents the evil in the world
always “hidden” and “death” which is never really felt or seen but is known for
it is the “common fate” of all living things. The Heart of Darkness symbolizes
life, its evil, and its eventual demise. The “darkness of its heart”, “its”
being life, is often always one’s self. A person is the “heart” of their own personal
“darkness;” for life is a jungle so “profound” and dense. The Heart of Darkness is referring to
the dense jungle were the natives dwell but represents life were “the natives”,
humans, continuously dwell in spite of “the
hidden evil” and “the lurking death.”
Anna, I agree with your assertion stating that the title, “Heart of Darkness,” is an allusion not only to the physical darkness of the African jungle, but also an allusion to the darkness of life. I’d like to further define the title as also referring directly to the darkness that is present within the hearts of man - the darkness that allowed the slave traders to watch so many Africans die for the sake of economic prosperity. In that way, the “darkness” in the title represents greed within every mans “heart” that allows them to commit terrible deeds against humanity.
ReplyDeleteLike you and Evan said, “the heart of darkness” has multiple, symbolic meanings. Going off of what you, Anna, said about the heart of darkness being the natives in the jungle, I see it as the “darkness” just being an attribute to represent both the literal and metaphorical setting of the jungle, while the natives act as a human heart in that they create life in the jungle, and ultimately the motive of the imperialism and control seen throughout the novel. As many believe that all life stems from the heart, it only makes sense that both evil and good would also stem from this.
ReplyDeleteAnna, I really enjoy your view on the title and its relationship with the book. I especially enjoyed your metaphor of the jungle being the heart that pumps blood (darkness) to the natives. It got me thinking about today’s society and where the darkness lies. If the jungle is the heart of that period’s darkness as well as its center of society, then there must a “center of society” in today’s times where in lies the darkness that feeds us today. The idea that there is still a “heart of darkness” in today’s society, I find both unnerving and exhilarating.
ReplyDeleteI also had similar views on this prompt. I believed that the title was a representation of the jungle because it was so dark and dense. I also said that it represented the heart of Africa which could also be the jungle. I did not think about the people who were the dark ones and they act as if everything is okay around them. I also brought up the idea of ethnocentrism because everyone was so blinded by the darkness that they believed that every society was wrong if they had different views and goals than they did.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy and agree with most the views on this title. I believe that the title has more than one symbolic meaning but the main one being the natives in the jungle because the novel was so dark and uncaring. I also agree when you say that the title symbolizes the evil of life. I believe the speaker meant for his readers to dwell on the thought of a dark evil life.
ReplyDelete