(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Setting Analysis for Heart of Darkness

            In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, Marlow encounters many different settings and places that influence his thoughts and add to one of the themes of the book. The story is set at the turn of the 19th century as Marlow begins his personal story on a boat on the Thames river in England. In his story he goes to Belgium to sign up and work for a Belgian trading company moving ivory down the Congo River to a seaport for export from Africa. The settings in Africa are rich with symbolism relating to the common theme that civilized people will become savage and uncivilized if they have to live with people they consider to have those traits. One area the setting ties in with this theme is when Marlow sees a train of black slaves starving and chained together and only then begins to realize the horrors of imperialism. Another area that supports this theme is shown when Marlow's boat first pulls into the area where Kurtz lives and he begins to notice that Kurtz is not all he is expected to be. Kurtz has become and uncivilized monster. .
             Conrad makes a detailed portrayal of the changing from civilized to savage when Marlow sits down in the shade of the forest to escape the heat and realizes he is surrounded by starving native - "They were dying slowly.not enemies.not criminals.nothing earthly" "(Conrad 83). Marlow offers one of them a biscuit and the native man does not see it as food. Marlow realizes that these people have suffered under European rule. They are not being enlightened" to the efficient European ways. Marlow sees that the Europeans presence is not making the Africans more civilized, it is turning the Europeans into the savages that they despise. This epiphany is the beginning of Marlow's understanding that he has not taken a job with opportunity and money; his job is filled with, inefficient European people who have forgotten the reasons for colonizing Africa. They are people that now take their insanity out on the natives they came to teach and civilize, but ultimately have begun to emulate.


Essays Related to Setting Analysis for Heart of Darkness

1. Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now The two texts have very different settings and when viewing Apocalypse Now with the knowledge that it was based on Heart of Darkness, the viewer is in a very pre- determined mind frame. ... Heart of Darkness, and the nature of the novel form, makes it easier to describe Marlow's situation. ... This image is almost a match with the cover of Penguin's edition of Heart of Darkness. ... This is very useful when studying Heart of Darkness as the novel tells of such occurrences in past tense and little detail. ... In this aspect, the appropriation of the film is vital...

  • Word Count: 926
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Four Novels--Common Theme

Through the analysis of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Shelley's Frankenstein, Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, Beckett's Waiting for Godot, and Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, it is not difficult to draw the common thread between the five literary pieces: the setting of each propagates an emotional conflict that guides the protagonist' actions and thoughts. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is built on two completely contrasting settings. The Congo, or "dark place,"" represents a "black space- (180) on a map, a jungle that leaves the protagonist o...

  • Word Count: 1129
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Movie Analysis - The Black Stallion

The movie The Black Stallion demonstrates a deep, dark, and sad mood through music, dialogue, and setting. ... The music started to beat faster and faster, which as a viewer of the movie, made my heart beat faster as well. ... The setting affects the deep and dark mood in a few different ways. ... Both places represent a dark setting. ... Throughout this movie, I recognized a sad, deep, and dark mood through music, dialogue, and setting....

  • Word Count: 535
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Wild Swans at Coole

Symbolism is ever present, and can be seen in the swans and the setting of the poem. ... Autumn, October, and twilight may be more closely related to a coming darkness, or and end, so to speak. ... When those things leave us, or "fly away," we can be left cold-hearted, or even alone. As I stated earlier, the setting itself can be symbolic. ... He is tired and sore hearted, and sees that nothing can possibly ever be the same. ...

  • Word Count: 689
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Analysis of Young Goodman Brown

The setting is mostly located in a dark, gloomy forest. Hawthorne is able to create a dark gloomy setting through little description. The encounter of Goodman Brown with the villagers and his wife is the time when the setting is greatly explained with words such as "shadow", "dark", "blazing" "candles" etc. Related to these words, the atmosphere is very gloomy and dark as well as frightening. ... The Setting is always explained specifically also. ...

  • Word Count: 1235
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Robert Frost

The argument that the poem is actually about death can be tied in with the poems setting in the woods on a dark, cold, snowy evening. ... The narrator in the poem "hears the insistent whisper of death at the heart of life", the "heart of life" obviously meaning the woods. ... This is another poem that setting influences the story. Though the setting is not completely clear at first glance, deeper inspection will find the setting to play an important role in the poem. ... "The Road Not Taken" takes place in the woods and therefore undergoes the same analysis of many of Frost&#...

  • Word Count: 1026
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

7. A Midsummer Night's Dream Character Analysis

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Character Analysis There are many characters presented in the play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and all of them play crucial roles in the play's development. Besides the main characters, there are many smaller roles that contribute enormous amounts to the plot and setting of this comedy. ... Throughout the play, Oberon is fighting with Titania, and it seems as the whole setting is completely unbalanced. ... She plans to win back Demetrious's heart by telling him of Hermia and Lysander and their plan for escaping into the forest and eloping. ...

  • Word Count: 1160
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question