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What matters to someone may be meaningless to others, or a view a person has may be totally different from another person. What does this mean? Views, although on the same subject, may differ. This reasoning is evident in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness. Different views of the wilderness are one of the apparent themes in the story. The different views of the wilderness serve two purposes.
The first is to familiarize the reader with the popular beliefs and opinions of the time the piece was written. The second purpose was to allow the reader to realize that the wilderness symbolized something deeper. The first of the three views of the wilderness was that of civilized Europeans. The Europeans, like Marlow's aunt, thought of people that lived in the jungle as uncivilized and savage. As being the white, superior, civilized race, they believed that it was their duty and decree from God to civilize unfortunate peoples. For example, Marlow narrates, It appeared, however, I was also one of the Workers, with a capital- you know.
Something like a lower sort of apostle. There had been a lot of such rot let loose in print and talk just about that time, and the excellent woman, living right in the rush of all that humbug, got carried off her feet. She talked about weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways, till, upon my word, she make me quite uncomfortable. I ventured to hint that the Company was run for profit. Because Marlow's aunt listened to the popular views of the time, she thought that the reason Marlow was going on his excursion was to be a philanthropist. The second view deals with economy.
Africa had beneficial prospects. Not only did it have free slave labor, but also it had ivory. To many in the novel, like the Belgians in the outer station, Africa was seen as a cheap place to make money. Marlow describes the enormous waste and cruelty to the natives, admonishing to the fact that these resources were abundant. A slight clinking behind me made me turn my head. Six black men advanced in a file, toiling up the path.
They walked erect and slow, balancing small baskets full of earth on their heads, and the clink kept time with their footsteps. Black rags were wound round their loins, and the short ends behind waggled to and fro like tails. I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking. Lastly, the third view of wilderness was one of adventure and self-discovery.
The environment of the wilderness was in stark contrast to the European society Marlow was familiar with. The jungle had no restraints on the persons behavior anything went. The wilderness tested ones ability to remain sane without the structure of civilization. In this sense it was a venture of self-discovery.
The wilderness reveals the inner person; it brings out all their hidden desires. Kurtz hidden desires manifested itself in the wilderness because of the lack of order and structure. Desires and principles that Kurtz had learned from European society were peeled from him and the passions and greed of his true nature was shown. Through the influence of the wilderness, basics human natures are revealed.
Conrad wrote about the themes to accomplish two matters. The first was to portray the views of the time the novella was written. The second was one of the reasons for writing the book, self-discovery and adventure. The wilderness shows the truth about himself...
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