A Comparison Between Conrad’s and Joyce’s Imagery
To children, night lights give a sense of security and leave
the imagination to rest. The comfort of light is helpful for
children who often conjure up monsters that lurk under the bed
and ominous shadows from tree branches. Dark scenes are often
depicted as the foreboding unknown and things one may not rather
learn more about. However, when Jake comes to a divine revelation
to reunite the band in the movie, “The Blues Brothers,” he
hollers, “I see the light!” Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness
and James Joyce in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man both
play off of the motif of light and darkness. Darkness reveals
startling truths, and one may choose to accept them or not.
Whether these truths are denied will decide if that character
will come into the “light.”
In Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, knowledge is received at
life’s darkest hour. White, which is usually representative of
purity, is a symbol of blindness and loss of innocence in this
novel. In the beginning, the ship, Nellie, is already in a gloomy
mood, setting up the scene for learning the dark past of Marlow.
It is ironic that Marlow says that his time with Kurtz “seemed to
throw a kind of light,” since this journey only expands his mind
The Essay on Heart Of Darkness-the Contrast Between Light And Dark
... contrast is between light and dark images. Dark representing evil and light representing good. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the author uses ... Marlow asks himself hasÂ…”Powers of darkness claimed him for their own”? (Conrad p84) To the reader this is ... a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light” (Conrad p16), further introduces the civilized Thames to be bright, ...
and soul when drawing deeper into the darkness (10).
The women
knitting the black pall are compared to the Fates, representing
the threatening knowledge of the future. They have already seen
men go time and time through “the door of Darkness,” and knows
the esoteric circumstances that lay ahead for these ignorant,
blind men (16).
The most ignorant, the accountant, with
immaculate white collars and cuffs, is a complete contrast of the
“acute angles” of dying blacks. He has absolutely no
comprehension of the misery and chaos down the river, asininely
telling Marlow “the groans of this sick person…distract my
attention” (29).
Black symbolizes physical death from starvation
and cruelty; white indicates spiritual and moral death through
selfishness. Ivory, a shade of white, is the cause of all men’s
good judgement to be overcome by greed. While onboard, the
“savage” cannibals exhibit self-control by not eating the white
men, but the white men itch to get out their guns. During these
times of imperialism, it is the “white man’s burden” to show the
example of being “civilized,” but Conrad comes to the dark,
unfortunate truth that the white men represent unhealthy
darkness, hopeless stupidity, senseless cruelty, zealous greed,
and ambition. Frequent references to “fierce sunlight” develop
this theme. The dark truth that Marlow must come to face is his
own wild and savage potential. Marlow must make the decision
whether to tell Kurtz’s widow, dressed in black, the truth of
“the horror” when one reaches the point of all encompassing
darkness. He chooses to keep her “blind” from reality, keeping
her safe, like a night light (118).
All images of light and dark are necessary in the
development of an artist, including Stephen Daedalus in A
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. His development entails
The Term Paper on Darkness And Light
Throughout his narrative in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Thomas Marlow characterizes events, ideas, and locations that he encounters in terms of light or darkness. Embedded in Marlow's parlance is an ongoing metaphor equating light with knowledge and civility and darkness with mystery and savagery. When he begins his narrative, Marlow equates light and, therefore, civility, with reality, ...
revelation, but also the vilest and most base thoughts. An artist
has experienced all the “light” and “dark” in life to take a
viewpoint that is universal. All images help Stephen to grow:
hope and art in light and fear or despair in darkness. In Chapter
One, Stephen is naive and scared, as all children are, of the
dark and the unknown. This starkly contrasts with his nights in
Dublin when filth, sin, and a “cold lucid indifference” ooze from
his troubled adolescent soul (110).
Another critical passage in
Chapter One are the “waves” of fire Stephen sees that flicker on
the wall (25).
The description is lyrical and metaphorical like
an artist’s. Stephen’s sensory perceptions have started coming
into play, which are depicted in light. Later, he takes common
clouds and discovers the beauty and a “spectrum” of angles toward
understanding life. Stephen’s flights of imagination with The
Count of Monte Cristo is one to be noted. In the romantic story,
Marseilles is bright and sunny, and the house is whitewashed;
within is the Platonic vision of Mercedes (65).
Joyce is setting
up for the contradictory whore house and Stephen’s new lusty
appetite at the end of the chapter. When “the parlour fire would
not draw that evening,” this is a dark and brooding moment where
Stephen realizes he will have to separate from his father who is
holding him back from progress (68).
During his journey through
sin, nothing appears with the ardent spark or flame of life; his
vices quench the stars of hope and “the cold darkness (fill)
chaos” (110).
Chapter Three is a very pivotal and introspective stage.
Stephen keeps above his bed an “illuminated scroll” of the Virgin
Mary, yet he uses the same lips of lechery to speak praise upon
her (111).
He also finds an “arid pleasure” that his first
offence is reflected upon all ten commandments. It is puzzling
that Stephen is completely aware of his faults, yet feels no
guilt. The darkness within him recognizes his selfish desires but
The Term Paper on Light And Dark Marlow Darkness Kurtz
The Visions of Light Vs Darkness When Joseph Conrad composed Heart of Darkness he created a literary masterpiece which embodied the essence of light contrasting with darkness. Throughout the novel Conrad constantly utilizes the images of light and dark and uses them to mold a vision, which the reader is then able to use to decipher the literal and metaphorical meanings of the novel. As Conrad ...
not the consequences. But a painfully dramatic homily fills him
with remorse, guilt, and self-hatred. Damnation is Stephen’s
greatest fear, and Judgement Day is mentioned while the sun sets
(136).
It is not until the light in the chapel appears when
Stephen can come to terms with himself. Darkness reveals
Stephen’s separation from three major hindrances: family,
religion, and politics. Meanwhile, light and fiery images
represents an “enlightenment” and overcoming the obstacles of his
childhood. When Stephen sees the “angel of mortal youth and
beauty” wading in the water, he is able to look at her “soft
white down” and not chastise himself (186).
Described as a dove,
the girl parallels the Holy Spirit, filling Stephen’s spirit with
illumination. It is a great revelation for Stephen that this
transition into adulthood is normal and it makes him human!
For both novels, darkness is seen as a time of separation
from what was once comforting and reliable. In Heart of Darkness,
Marlow is changed by realizing the follies of the white man and
the madness caused by the “jungle” of greed and ambition. He can
longer go back to the savagery of his old society playing the
role of a lemming. In Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,
Stephen tears away from his childhood faith, a painful process
for an insecure adolescent. Yet, the symbolism for white or
brightness between the two works is quite distinct. Conrad
prefers to attack white images as the ignorance from not
fathoming the depths of the dark. Joyce sees light much more
positively, especially as the epiphany, where Stephen is able to
accept his changing environment. Both writers allude to the fact
that times of darkness are necessary, for they help us to grow
and without them, there would be no light in the world to compare
it with.
