Niels'+Themes

Niels Themes

Darkness: The whole book can be considered to cloaked in darkness. As even at the beginning when he is in England he still feel's a certain drakness. Therefore we can say the Marlow does not go from dark to light (usual story) but from dark to even further in darkness as he discoverers the darkness of man soul: torture, brutal,imperialism... Another interesting aspect is the idea that all human that are considered as intelligent, great and respectable, like Kurtz, will become mad if they are raised in imperialism, Kurtz is seen as the result of the society he comes from.But can we blame Kurtz?

Hypocrisy Of imperialism: Marlow's ant talks about " civilization of the natives" = torture and dehumanization of natives "trade"= exploitation.

Madness: In the book we fell that madness is a result of imperialism but it is also seen that it is Africa that causes mental disintegration. Kurtz madness is relative within the context of the company.

Absurdity of evil (This theme is very related to madness) Ridiculous situations are often encountered by Marlow. This contextualize the novel: -Man with bucket with hole. -Blasting the hole for no reason.

Observation and ears-dropping: Marlow watches and listrens to the world around him (africa) and tries to understand it. This clearly shows the impossibility or lack of direct communication.

Interior and exterior: Marlow's attempt to penetrate the inner station which symbolizes his attempt to reach into the "HEART OF DARKNESS"