I am enjoying Heart of Darkness so far. The point of reading literature is to experience places, events and ideas that you haven't before. Since I didn't have a time machine I thought I couldn't go back to the 1890s to experience the colonization of Africa. At least thought that until I read Heart of Darkness. Joseph Conrad makes exceptional use of descriptive language and imagery , for example-"the edge of the colossal jungle, so dark green" When he described the chain gang I could visualize and hear them walking by. I feel like a witness to the events that unfolded over one hundred years before. The tales of Marlow's adventures keep me reading from page to page. Marlow is an excellent story teller and keeps me engaged like his fellow sailors. I don't have a lot of previous knowledge about the setting, I am eager to read more, and feel like I am exploring the Congo myself for the first time. So far the book seems accurate in portraying the time period. In the late 1800s private European companies were exploiting native populations. I plan on doing some research to learn more about the time period. I am waiting to see what challenges await Marlow on his journey to the Congo.
posted by Jack N.
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Why do you think Conrad uses such descriptive imagery? I often feel that much of the imagery is designed more to evoke a feeling and less to give you an accurate visual picture (whatever that would mean for fiction). What do you think?
ReplyDeleteThe use of powerful, descriptive language paints a vivid picture in a reader’s mind. At the same time, these words often have an even deeper meaning that is felt all over the reader’s body. I think Conrad uses imagery to stir up emotion and to impact the reader’s senses. In Christina’s entry, she wrote that the book causes the reader to feel like a witness. A truly good writer writes not only to get the reader to observe the scene as a witness, but to get the reader to partake of the experience as the actual character. Although I have not read enough of the book to develop an accurate sense of the author’s intended message, I think Conrad wanted the themes and message to be vague. Heart of Darkness is largely centered on the theme of darkness, a topic which is incredibly ambiguous and can be analyzed at different angles. For example, there’s darkness in a so-called ‘barbarian’s’ soul and darkness in carrying out the dehumanizing task of ‘civilizing’ the barbarians. Yet through Conrad’s descriptive imagery, the reader can place himself in the explorers’ position and get some sense of the sailors’ whereabouts throughout the journey. Every reader envisions different pictures in his head while reading a work of fiction. Adept writers understand this, and strive to invoke indistinguishable emotions or to stir up certain feelings.
ReplyDelete-Leslie Pyne
Although I do agree that the point of literature is to explore other places and time periods. don't think I would have ever liked to go back to 1890's maybe this is a big reason for why the book is not appealing to me.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, Living in our present society where colonization is long behind us, its intresting to read a story placed in that time period. I think thats what caught my attention the first couple of pages. I was disgusted by the greedy violent europeans, but somehow a little intrigued.
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