Conrad's character, Marlow, describes Europe and the Europeans using white and light; depicting their civility. ... When Marlow first arrives to Brussels, he says "In a very few hours I arrived in a city that always makes me think of whited sepulcher."(Conrad 7) The phrase "whited sepulcher" comes from the biblical Book of Matthew, and it implies death and confinement. ... The map that Marlow sees in the company offices shows the continent with "blotches of color, a lot of blue, a little green, smears of orange, a purple patch, to show where the jolly pioneers of...

• Word Count: 1049
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

For many novels an author's choice of title has an impact on the reader's understanding or reaction to the story because it ties in with key events, characters or places in the novel. A title can also help to convey a certain theme or motif and Heart of Darkness is no exception. In this no...

• Word Count: 937
• Approx Pages: 4

The city of Brussels itself reminds Marlow of a "whited sepulchre-(p 14) which in the Bible, in Matthew's Gospel, is described as a pure and white fazade hiding death and decay. ... Pop, would go one of the six-inch guns; a small flame would dart and vanish, a little white smoke would disappear, a tiny projectile would give a feeble screech - and nothing happened. ... He appears to be the only white person who is affected by the scene of men and women dying in the streets and in the grove of death. ... Initially Marlow was impressed by the African coast and its seductive hold over him, bu...

• Word Count: 4081
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School

The native workers are horribly treated while the white characters suffer from disease, biting insects, and staggering heat. ... With that insight, Marlow's disgust and uneasiness with his white colleagues grows as does in interest in meeting Kurtz. ... He realizes that Africans are human and that white men must admit the common bond that links everyone. ... In fact, the Russian is the only white man in the jungle who is there to experience and learn rather than exploit and plunder. ... The white men aboard the ship fire blindly into the crowd as they leave. ...

• Word Count: 4309
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School