The Darkness of Mans Heart: Exploring the Depths of Depravity in PDF

AU CŒUR DES TENEBRES

Joseph Conrad né Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski en 1857 en Pologne. Au cœur des ténèbres (Heart of Darkness -1902)) est un roman décrivant l'aventure.

The Darkness of Mans Heart: Exploring the Depths of Depravity in

DOCUMENT RESUME. ED 045 623 response while Conrad elicits an intellectual response; Golding's ... Joseph Conrad HEART OF DARKNESS AND THE SE-.

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Heart Darkness

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THE CONCEPT OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IN JOSEPH CONRADS

Résumé. Cet article vise à examiner la conception de l'identité culturelle dans THE CONCEPT OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IN JOSEPH CONRAD'S HEART OF DARKNESS.

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The Fifth International Joseph Conrad Conference: Conrad's Polish Footprints: "Redemption through Triangulation: A Triangular Reading of Heart of Darkness"

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idge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Nbriner'' (179~) and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkneu (1 '99) dr:unatizc the revolution in science philosophy

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TITLEThe Darkness of Man's Heart: Exploring the Depths ofDepravity in Golding and Conrad.

PUB DATESep 66

NOTE !5p.JOURNAL CITTeachers Guide to Media and Methods; v3 n1 p20-22,45-46 Sep 1966

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DESCRIPTORS*Comparative Analysis, *Fiction, InstructionalInnovation, Literary Analysis, *Literary Criticism,Literature Appreciation, Secondary Education,Symbolism, *Thematic ApproachIDENTIFIERSHeart of Darkness, Lord of the Flies

ABSTRACT

A study of the fictional treatment of the same

theme- -man's depravity--in "Lord of the Flies" and "Heart ofDarkness" provides an approach tc literary study which sharpensstudents' analytical skills through a comparison of the books and anexploration cf the uniqueness of each. Although there are differencesevident between the books (e.g., Golding provokes an emotionalresponse while Conrad elicits an intellectual response; Golding'smannesr is direct while Conrad's style is indirect), the similaritiesin plot, in symbolic representation of evil, and in presentation cfthe theme offer stimulating areas for discussion. (Suggested topicsfor discussion and papers are given.)(JMC)

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3, No. 1, September 1966.

The Darkness cog

tikfian's Heart

Exploring the depths of depravity

in Golding and Conrad. by Elaine Camerota there it was, black, dried, sunken, with

closed eyelidsa head that seemedto sleep atthe top of that pole, and with theshrunken dryUps showing a narrow white lineof teeth, wassmiling, too, smiling continuouslyat someendless and jocose dream ofthat eternalslumber."'

Where have you seen these lines

before? itlooks like a description of thepig's head fromLord of the Flies, but it isnot. The passage from

Heart of Darkness is Marlow's impressionof oneof a collection of heads whichMr. Kurtz, atrader in African ivory, used todecorate the fenceoutside his cabin. Like the childrenin Golding'snovel, Kurtz "lacked restraint inthe gratifica-tion of his various lusts" andthe wildernesswhich he found "irresistiblyfascinating" had"found him out early and hadtaken on him aterrible vengeance.

..."Ibid. This is onlyone of many similarities between Lordof theFlies and Heart of Darkness, butit is strikingenough to suggest that Englishinstructors takea closer look at these two novels tosee whetheranything can be made of theirlikeness.Golding and Conrad havemuch in common.As careful stylists who favorlong, descriptivesentences, they stand apart from thetwentiethcentury penchant for laconic writing.Despite itssometimes turgid style, Lord of theFlies is usu-ally read enthusiastically andunderstood readilyby high school students frombright freshmen toslow seniors. Heart of Darknessis harder anddoes not teach itself. It is difficultreading evenfor a sophisticated, literateadult.Why? Conrad and Goldingare symbolists,

Elaine Camerota instituted

a highly successfuldrama program at Monmouth RegionalHigh School,N. 1. She has written seam! "HaveYou Dis-covered?" pieces for SPJ; this is her first full-lengtharticle.

Copyright 1966,

Media andMethods Institute,Inc.moralists, and vivid imagists. In the novels they deal with essentially the same theme. Even the structural framework of the stories is somewhat parallel. The answer, I think, is that Golding appeals primarily to an emotional while Conrad elicitsan intellectual response in the reader.

Even to the sophisticated senior, weanedon

James 13ond brutality, the murder of Simon and

the closing in on 4alph at the end of LordoftheFlies, produces a visceral reaction. Con- versely, the confrontation between Kurtz andMarlow in Heart of Darkness is vividly butmore austerely presented', causing the readerto hementally stimulated but relativelyuntouchedemotionally.

NARRATIVE STYLE COMPARED

Another difference lies in their narrative meth-

ods. Both authors are more interested inthemethan plot, but their narrative approachesdiffergreatly. Lord of the Flies is presented in straight

chronological order with little ambiguity about the events of the story. The significance ofthoseevents is another matter. Golding's manner is direct; as omniscient author, he makes a point at the end of each Chapter which is hard to miss.

Conrad's style in the three long chapters ofHeartof Darkness is indirect. He. akes his pointsim-plicitly, thus imnNiate comprehension isdiffi-cult. Bending Heart, gf Darkness is like struggling

to open a box on1\ to find another box locked

inside. Marlow r0 des Kurtz'sstory; anothernarrator tells us Niirlow's story. The firstnar-rator says Marlow 'tells "inconclusive tales" and

explains "to him the meviing of an episode was not

1. Joseph Conrad, HEART OF DARKNESS AND THE

SE-CRET SHARER. New 'York: New American Library.SignetClassic. 15th printing (500). 1950, p. 135. All subsequentnovelreferences are from this test.

2. William Golding. Loan OF THE FLIES. New

York:G. T. Putnam's Sons, Capricorn Rooks (51.251,1959, pp.186.7. All subsequent novel referencesare from this text.

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Lord of the Flies

W. Mom Golding&RI UCH? SHARER

I110111 ;111013

101)Kli \ ttai

,s- inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glowbrings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty haloes that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moon- shine." (p. 68)

This is an accurate description of Conrad's own

style.

With such marked

ctrasts, how are these novels alike? First, there are plot similarities. In

both hooks English citizens, traditionally the bul-warks of civilization, are thrust into a junglewhere, severed from the rules and tabus of

western society, their deepest values are tested.

Marlow, the complete Victorian gentleman of

lleart of Darkness,with perfect faith in the pro- tective covering of civilization, is pitted against the primeval and learns that his own heart has a dark side. In

Lord of the Fliesboth Ralph and

Piggy parallel Marlow. Piggy, who also puts his

trust in civilization,is like Marlow before hesees in Kurtz "the fascination of the abomina-tion." (p. 69) Despite his common sense, he

has no insight into human nature; he could never perceive Simon's revelation about the beast, and he refuses to admit the truth about Simon's mur- der. Therefore he does not survive. Ralph. the

Everyman of the British public school set, like

Marlow, suffers the ordeal of confrontation with

his hidden self. He exulted in killing the pig; he actively participated in the ritualistic murder ofSimon, and at the end of the story, he "wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart...."2But he and Marlow will survive.

They illustrate William

Blake'sbelief that only

after losing innocence can one truly acquire it.Both books are symbolic. Golding makes it clear that the island on which the boys act outtheir savage rites is not so different from their native Britain. They are rescued from their prim-itive little war by officers who will take them aboarda "trim cruiser"(p.187) returning themto a more advanced but no less savage war.

Marlow begins his tale by quietly reminding his

audience that Britain was not always the epitome of civilization. "'And this also [England],' laidMarlow suddenly, 'has been one of the dark places of the earth.' " (p. 67) He was referring ostensibly to antiquity when the Romans invaded this primitive island. At the story's close we look toward land, London; with Marlow and see that "the offing was barred by a black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway leading to the utter- most ends of the earth flowed somber under anovercast skyseemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness." (pp. 157-8) We realize that Marlow means England is "one of the dark

places of the earth." Neither Conrad nor Gold-ing was attacking England; they were simplyusing it as a metaphor for the world and for

mankind.

SIMILARITIES IN THEME

Although Golding lists Euripides and the au-

thor of the Anglo-Saxon poem, "The Battle of

Maldon," as literary influences, he and Conrad

have written similar novels. Their theme, man's inescapable connection with evil, is the same, but what of that? Isn't that what everybody has been writing about since

Genesis?Their simi-

larity lies instead in their attitude towards and their presentation of this theme.

In both stories civilization, with its emphasis

upon order, is apparentlygood. If things appear orderly, perhaps they are. At the beginning of

Lord o/ the Flies

the appearance of Jack's choir boys and their rigid attention to discipline, arc impressive tributes to their tightly controlled up- bringing. Golding symbolizes their fall from re- spectable society by having their clothes turn toshreds and by allowing them to grow long hair and to paint their faces. Thus they replace the mask of order with the mask of anarchy. Simi-larly Marlow admires the Company's chief ac-d+ 21
constant. ". .Irespected the fellow.Yes; I re-spected his collars, his vast cuffs, his brushedhair . .. in the great demoralization of the landhe kept up his appearance. That's backbone." (p. 83) Marlow believes that "what saves

usfrom the darkness 'is efficiencythe devotiontoefficiency." (p. 69) The consequence oflack ofefficiency is shown when the boys on the islandallow the fire to go out. Marlow also has faith in

the power of work to keep man's internal order. "I don't like workno man doesbut I like what

is in the work.the chance to find yourself.Yourown realityfor yourself, not for otherswhatno other man can ever know." (p. 97) Marlowwould certainly have been unhappy abouttheabandonment of the shelter buildingprogram inLord of the Flies.This perfectly illustrates hispoint.

CIVILIZATION'S SAVAMES

Both Conrad and Golding make

us see thatexternal rules are meretricious; onlyinternalrules have value. InLord of the Flies itis Jackrather than Ralph or Piggy whosays, "We've gotto have rules and obey them. After all, we'renotsavages. We're English, and the Englishare bestat everything. So we've got to do the rightthings." (p. 38) And when Jackbecomes tribeleader, the rules must be obeyed, onlynow thespear has replaced the conch as the symbol ofauthority. InHeart of DarknessKurtz, the Euro-pean idealist, is a hollow man relying like Jack

on ritual rather than restraint to maintain order.Marlow, who lives Kurtz's tragedy,realizes that"[Man] must meet that truth [heart ofdarkness]with his own stuffwith his inbornstrength.Principles won't do." (p. 106) Paradoxically,therestraint lacking in Kurtz and in theboys on theisland, products of civilization, is foundin thestarving cannibals of Conrad's story whorefuseto eat the white men they work for.Neither Kurtz nor the boyscan resist theanarchy of the jungle, the authors'metaphor forthe subconscious forces of man's mind,Kurtzbecause he is "hollow at the core" (p.133), theboys perhaps because they lackexperience. Inboth novels, their weakness isrevealed whenthey are placed in an isolatedenvironment with-out the supervision of others who share their

ideas about social order. None ofus believes wewould react like Kurtz and the boys.Marlow hasa hard time convincing his complacent listenersof that possibility:

.. how can you imagine what particularregion of the first agesa man's untrammeledfeet may take him byway of solitudeutter

22solitude without a policeman

.. where nowarning voice of a kind neighborcan beheard whisperh.g of public opinion? These

littlethings make allthe great difference.When they are gone you must fall hackuponyour own innate strength, upon your own

capacity for faithfulness." (p, 122)

In isolation the irrational becomes inseparable

from the rational. In Lord of the

Fliesthe boyssense a "heastie." When the assembly votes thatit believes in ghosts, Ralph realizes that"theworld, that understandable and lawful world,wasslipping away." (p. 84) Even Jack, the warrior,fears the jungle:

"If you're hunting sometimes you catch your-self feeling as if.

... There's nothing in it, of'course. Just a feeling. But youcan feel as ifyou're not hunting, butbeing hunted,as ifsomething's behind you all the time in thejungle." (p. 47)Marlow, too,

feelshunted: "The prehistoricman was cursing us, praying to us, welcomingus...." (p 105) He goes on to explain theeffectof this irrational, invisible presence:

"I Manl has to live in the midst of theincom-prehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too, that goes to workuponhim. The fascination of the abomination

...imagine the growing regrets, the longingtoescape, the powerless disgust, the surrender,the hate." (p. 69)

Predictably, Kurtz and the English school boysfinally do surrender to the "fascination oftheabomination."

FIXATION OF !DEPRAVITY

What is

this abomination which fascinatedboth Golding and Conrad? Each author shows dramatically man's conflict with what theology calls evil and what psychology calls the idor theunconscious. The title of each book reveals the metaphor the author has chosen to symbolize thisforce, On one level of meaning, the characters struggle with an external enemy suchas thejungle or the pig's head. On a more complex level, the characters are struggling with them- selves. Conrad reminds us often that Marlow's

journey has more than literal significance. Be-fore leaving for the Congo, Marlow visitsaEuropean doctor who curiously asks tomeasurehis head, solemnly warning the startled Marlowthat "the changes take place inside," (p.75)those who go to Africa. As he travels toward his

destination, Marlow hears constant referencestoKurtz whomhe anxiously and inexplicably wants (continued,on page 45)