In the story, Marlow saw what he thought to be civilized British settlers, but in reality, they were savages willing to do whatever it takes to make a profit. That is why Conrad describes their mother country as “one of the dark places of the Earth”(3). To sum up the harshness and cruelties of imperialism, Conrad explains that, “The conquest of the Earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing”(4).
Also, Conrad uses imagery to depict the journey up the Congo and through the darkness of the African Safari. There are two reasons why he described, in extensive detail, Marlow’s trip. The first reason was to show the effects of wilderness on the human heart. Guerard, an acclaimed critic, describes the significance of the actual journey. “Marlow’s slow journey up the Congo into the heart of darkest Africa is a journey into heart of Man’s Darkness”(103). The dark jungle has an evil effect on man’s mentality and therefore, turns the settlers into savages. Conrad says about Kurtz, the man Marlow looks for the majority of the story, as having “the wilderness taken control of him”(10).
Kurtz is not the only one being effected by the environment. Marlow, the protagonist of the story, also feels different when he is in the Congo. Collins, another noted critic, describes the effect the wilderness has on Marlow. “Marlow feels the mysterious stillness of the Congo’s ‘inner truth’ watching him”(104). The second reason for the extensive detail of Marlow’s journey is to have the reader feel as if he is alongside Marlow on the journey. Leavis, an important critic of his time, summed it up perfectly when he explained that “The details and circumstances to and up the Congo are present to us if we are making the journey ourselves and they carry specific emotions and suggestions with them”(102).
In addition to the environment, Conrad also uses evocative images to describe the black and white races. Ironically, he was not prejudice towards the Africans, but showed the whites as savages. The Blacks were more civilized and admirable than the British were. Collins notes that Marlow’s crewmen were described as cannibals; which means they were man-eaters with whom Marlow could respect (104). Marlow describes them as “fine fellows-cannibals…men one could work with.” On the flip side, Collins goes on to explain how the whites were described by Conrad. “Most of the white men Marlow meets do not merit the compliment of the Cannibals”(104). There is no real admirable white worker that is compared to the Blacks that work with Marlow as crewmen. This is true because as Collins goes on, “The Brick maker at the central station makes no bricks…The manager has ‘no genius for organizing, for initiative, for order even’ and Kurtz ‘the prodigy’ is the emissary of pity and science and devil knows what else”(105). A lack of work ethic and morals brings Marlow to trust on his black crewmen more than the white British settlers.
Another important aspect of the story that Conrad describes is Kurtz as a character. Kurtz is a trading agent at one of the British companies located in Africa. He turned from civilized to savagery once he landed in Africa and acted as a tyrant to the natives. He is depicted in a very unique way because the author seems to have described him through imagery. For example, “Marlow saw Kurtz open his mouth wide…as though he wanted to swallow the air, all the Earth, and all the men before him”(105). This shows that Kurtz had cruel and greedy intentions by acting as a god-like authority figure to the natives just to make a profit. That trait was acquired just by looking at the way Kurtz breathes. This is part of the reason why Guerard stated that, “(Kurtz) is one of the greatest portraits in all fiction…”(103). Marlow describes Kurtz as belonging to the “powers of darkness” which is depicted as Satan’s soldiers (11). Another way Conrad portrayed Kurtz as the devil was when Marlow first saw him. “(Kurtz) took a high seat amongst the devils of the land”(15). Kurtz deterioration was also expressed through imagery. “He cried in a whisper of some image, at some vision- he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath: ‘The Horror! The Horror!’”(13-14). This was when Kurtz was on the verge of dying and realized the horrors of death and the afterlife.
Lastly, Conrad’s philosophies on man were also displayed through Imagery. These principals involved the capability of the mind, the significance of work, and the distaste in lies. Conrad stated that, “The mind of a man is capable of everything-because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future (14). Through this passage, he believes that the mind is a very strong muscle and it powers are almost limitless. Marlow is portrayed as someone who has a strong mind and looks to the past to find himself. Therefore, he does not convert to savagery when he enders the darkness of Africa. On the subject of work, Collins outlines Conrad’s outlook towards its significance. “He is not interested in work, but what work has to offer to discover oneself…chance to find yourself, you own reality-for yourself, not for others-what no other man can ever know. This passage is complimented by the work ethic of the crewmen who banded as brothers in their goal of sailing through the Congo as compared to the description Conrad gave the whites as being insignificant due to their lack of work ethic. Conrad always believed in the truth no matter how bad or unbearable it is. Guerard states that, “Marlow, had a passion for truth…including the dark truth of human nature...”(104). Conrad’s distaste in lies is evident when Marlow has to break the news to Kurtz’s fiancée about his death. Marlow ends up lying and says that she was the last thing Kurtz was thinking about before he passed away. After that incident, he feels guilty saying, “I laid the ghost of his gifts at last with a lie…there is a taint of death…a flavor of mortality in lies”(15). To clarify, Marlow is very upset with himself by lying but thought that it was necessary. Also, Conrad stresses of how bad lying really is with its relation to death.
Conrad’s usage of imagery in the “Heart of Darkness” portrays the different aspects of life around his time as well as the human mentality. He uses this literary tool to give the reader a historical perception of British imperialism in Africa. Also, he describes the effects of a dark environment on the human heart. Surprisingly, he paints a better picture of the black race than he does with the white race at a time where there was bigotry with the Africans. He also uses imagery to characterize Kurtz which is not often found in the literary world. His philosophies of man is also evident in this story concerning the capability of the mind, significance of work, and the strong belief in the truth no matter how harsh it is. Garnett, an acclaimed critic, summarizes Conrad’s usage of imagery by stating that, “the quality of Mr. Conrad’s art is seen in his faculty of making us perceive men’s lives in their natural relation to the seen universe around them”(8).
