1、1Exploration into the Symbolic Meaning of “Heart”in Heart of Darkness【Abstract】HeartofDarkness is one of Conrads most important and greatest novels. The thesis stresses on the writing style of the work. Firstly， it analyzesthe symbolic meaning of the “heart“ in Heart of Darkness. Secondly， it analys
2、es the distinctive style of narration. From the analysis， this thesis try to pointout that if individuals cant avoid the avariceand greediness in their heart， theythemselves would be swallowed by their greediness.【Key Words】Joseph Conrad heart of darkness symbolic meaning avarice greedinessTo some c
3、ritics， Heart of Darkness could be viewed as Joseph Conrads masterpiece， which brought him an enduring reputation as a major writer. Heart of Darkness is a jungle story about a young man named Charles Marlow， who traveled up the Congo River into Inner Station of the Trade Company of Ivory， always ch
4、erishing the glorious dream of finding out the “blank“ spot on the map that he had noticed since his childhood. But he was also accompanied with another aim， that is， to save a sick agent named Kurtz who was known for his eloquence as well as his capacity of collecting ivory. But what he saw 2and he
5、ard on the way and in his destination made his journey a nightmare that brought him nothing but the moral disillusionment. Through the analysis， this thesis finds that the significance of the story lies in that its a journey through which Marlow witnessed the “darkness“ of “heart“ and failed to find
6、 out his true self at the end. This thesis focus on the symbolic meaning of “heart“ that generated the “darkness“ but also been ultimately swallowed by the “darkness“. Heart of Darkness is a story closes toConradsown experience， and we do admit that Marlow was Conrads mouthpiece， and Marlow made us
7、see the greediness and brutality of the white colonizers that he witnessed， and feel his suffering of the nightmare-like Congo Journey. We dont think that Kurtz turnedwild simply because he was attempted by the wilderness. On the contrary， his tragedy revealsthat “avarice is usually the root of evil
8、s“， which explainsthe reasons of the inevitability of individual tragedies under the control of the civilized but depraved social system.In my eyes， Conrad showed the readers the most important messages in Heart of Darkness by means of many images.Form studying the story， we agree that “heart“ is th
9、e most important image in the story. Only by analyzing the “heart“ ， can we understand the themes of this 3story and its apocalypse in our times. 1The geo-political meaning of “heart“Africa is a desolate but alluring land. In Marlows eyes， his journey toAfrica made him feel its darkness-the natives
10、foolishness of not knowing what ivory and wealth meant to them and their native land， and their ignorance of not knowing what civilization was， andthe value of science and technology to human beings progress. It seemed that the attraction of Africa lied in two factors： one was its backwardness， as M
11、arlow stated ：“Going up the river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world， when vegetation rioted on the earth the big tress were kings.“ The other was the inferiority of the natives by born， which reflected in their deep-rooted bad habits like that of eating each other held
12、by the cannibals， and their foolishness by accepting what was said by the whites. All of the above made it clear how these would arouse the great ambition of the whites to bring civilization to it.But the signs of civilization that they claimed to bring for the Africa and the natives were seldom fou
13、nd in the story. Infact， they brought terror to enslave the native people. The enslavement was first confirmedat the moment Marlow arrived at the Company s Station ， where he saw the natives were viewed as enemies andcriminals 4by the whites， and some were made completely deathlike savages. Through
14、the enslavement， the whites tried， tested and finally fitted the effective means to fulfill their task of profit making， and civilization was just an excuse for themto be there.They need this noble excuse to conceal their true ambitious.The true attraction of the dark Africa isthe abundant ivory tha
15、t would bring endlesswealth for the whites. By telling us that “collecting“ ivory actually meant depriving the natives of what belonging to themnaturally， Conrad made us know his ideas about conquest：“ The conquest of the earth ， which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different
16、complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves.“Therefore， Marlows journey along the Congo into the heart of dark Africa is actually a journey into the heart of mans darkness. It was by these ways that the whites made the “foolish“ natives more foolish and ridiculous before them， so that they c
17、ould do everything they liked. Darwins theory of “the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life“ was viewed as further support for their contention that “the survival of the fittest“ was a principle which operated through out the universe. It is natural and true for the white to believe
18、 so. No wander Marlow found the similarities in humanity 5between the ignorant natives and the civilized whites， since “the mind of man is capable of anything-because everything is in it， all the past as well as all the future.“ The only thing was that “you want a deliberate belief.“ What is more， h
19、e felt the similar fearstowards death between the two dying man-Kurtz and the helmsman. It was theAfrica that made Marlow curious since his childhood， afraid on his way to Kurtz， and morally collapsed after meeting Kurtz who soon became a dead body with nothing left except a lie for his intended. An
20、d now， by the time the story was told， Marlow still “follow the sea“ and could say for sure that he could never make a journey into “the heart of an immense darkness.“2 The psychological meaning of “heart“Duringhis journey towards the Station-the utmost part of the world， Marlow witnessed the greedi
21、ness and the brutality of the whites in the way they treated the natives and he was shocked by the hypocrisy and selfishness of the whites he met on the way towards Kurtz. All these aroused Marlows struggle in the mind， and what Marlow tried to find out was “the distinction between truth and lies， b
22、etween man and woman； between civilization and savagery，and， most of all， between self and other.“At the end of Marlows journey， Conrad letall the thingscollapsed， includingKurtzs dream of glory 6and wealth under the temptation of impenetrable “darkness“ that generated from the “heart“ there， and he
23、 successfully told the readers the inevitability of Kurtzs tragedy. Because might didnt mean power as the whites had thought when they first arrived at the dark Africa-the heart of “darkness“.Kurtzs heart is the heart of darkness. He was sent to the Inner Station as “an emissary of pity， and science
24、， and progress“. But what Marlow saw in the Inner Station confirmed that Kurtzs heart was “an impenetrable darkness“， it was the greediness that made Kurtz so heavy on Marlows shoulders when he carried him down that hill.“ my legs shook under me as though I had carried half a ton on my back down tha
25、t hill.“ Apart from hisunscrupulousmeans of collecting ivory， Marlow was shocked by Kurtzs great ambitions expressing his heart- the heart of darkness. For example， he claimed to exterminate all the brutes in his fairly long report entitled Suppression of Savage Customs， and he claimed that “everyth
26、ing belongsto him“.It was the uncultivated land along the Congo River that made him so powerful in comparison with the innocent natives. So it was not a surprise that he would do everything tocollect ivory and keep the order of the jungle. No wander that Kurtz threatened to shoot the Russian if he d
27、idnt hand out the ivory because 7“theres nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly pleased.“Kurtz was the one who created all the darkness in his heart， and at last， he himself was swallowed by this darkness. 3 ConclusionConrads writing techniques make the theme of his novel prominent. P
28、eople in our era is facing with various kinds of temptation. The obvious feature of the temptation is the money-oriented thought. That is to say， many individuals almost lost their direction and their life goals are governed by hedonism under the impact of many negative propaganda and guidance. And
29、the traditional merits like industry， honesty and dedication are disappearing gradually. People are growing greedier and more hypocrisy then before. People are almost swallowed by their boundless avarice. Under these circumstances， only when we realize the necessity of upholding the common moral pri
30、nciples of the whole world and the significance of traditional merits can the world of today and in the future be a peaceful and positive one for us and our successors to live in. And only by then， can the terrible realities as well as greediness， avarice and the darkness in the heart be evaded in t
31、he new era. References： 81Ian Watt. Essays on Conrad. Cambridge University Press， 2000. 2Jordan Elaine， ed. Joseph Conrad. London： Macmillan.， 1996. 3高继海.马洛的寻觅与柯兹的“恐怖”.河南大学报，1992，33（2）. 4高伟利，殷企平.论黑暗的心的叙事结构及审美价值.杭州师范学院学报，1997. 5隋刚，杜芳译.康拉德短篇小说选（英汉对照）.北京：外文出版社，2000. 6冶军，张亚铃.黑暗的心复型叙事艺术.兰州大学报，2002. 7石俊杰.黑暗的心的象征艺术.四川外语学院学报，2002.
