Heart of Darkness Part 2 Journal

Describe the major conflicts introduced in Parts 1 and 2 (think man vs. man, man vs. nature, etc).

Man vs. nature plays a large part in the conflicts of parts 1 and 2. As we discussed in class, even the river could be viewed as an antagonist simply because it gets in the way of of the protagonist's objectives. Marlow needs to travel upstream, and the river is making this task difficult for him. Another conflict that would fall under the category of man vs. nature is that of the men and the jungle. The jungle is, from my viewpoint, quite relative to its inhabitants. It represents the unknown and the frightening, which the natives are certainly perceived to be like. Man vs. man has its place as well, with the hatred the manager has for Kurtz and just the general tension in the book between Europeans and the native Africans.


Explore Conrad's use of either light and darkness, African people and European people, or the Thames River and the Congo River (the one Marlow is traveling down in Africa). What is Conrad doing with these themes/symbols? What message do you think that he is trying to get across to his audience? Please provide examples with page numbers from the book.

Conrad uses the Congo river in a couple of different ways, but there is one main way that I saw. First off, the river is a direct link to the center of Africa for the Europeans. They don't have to make direct contact with the Africans, which they would have to do if they went by land. If they were to make their way by land and were forced to cooperate with the Africans, they would have a harder time coming to an agreement at the beginning but it would be worth their while in the long run, as they might've even been able to tolerate each other's differences. Traveling the river is a way for the Europeans to stay distant and disconnected, but is much easier at the beginning given the ease of entry; but in the long run, as conflicts with the Africans impede their progression, it is a more difficult path.
To me, the river is a symbol of cultural incongruence between the Europeans and Africans, and a general aversion from direct contact.This cultural incongruence is shown through Marlow's comments on the Africans as he journeys upriver. Though he does not doubt that they are human, his comments are far from acceptance and are more of disgust: "They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity-like yours- the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly (49-50)."