I didn't really enjoy reading this book - at times it felt like I didn't even know what the hell was going on - but the setting and imagery shown in this still makes this book a classic when examining race in society. This book is often seen quoted in books commenting on the idea of colonialism and racism - following on from the theorist Edward Said. That said I did enjoy picking apart the different elements of this story - even though it was one hell of a book to read.
The use of setting in the novel A Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is important in representing the differences and similarities in ethnicity in society. Setting in this novel helps to show the reader how different races and cultures are more the same than different – and that there isn’t really much difference between any races when money or power is in question. Marlow, the main character of the story travels down the Congo to the ‘heart of darkness’ that is Kurtz – a greed driven, power hungry European, who has attempted to exploit and take all the wealth away from Africa to himself and Europe. During his journey, the setting plays an important part in showing how all people have the capability to do what Kurtz did and that all people – and not just the Africans were capable of acting uncivilized and savage. This rejects Conrad’s society’s values and beliefs of his time – which was that the Europeans were civilized, sophisticated and way ahead the Africans, who are contrasted in this novel to the Europeans along the Congo. Setting is a crucial part of this novel which helps to represent the differences and similarities in different races and cultures and how all people are capable of acting how they don’t think they are able to – something which Marlow recognizes by the end of the story.
A Heart of Darkness begins along the Thames River, where Marlow begins telling his story of his journey to the Congo. His journey to Brussels to join the crew to Africa already foreshadows the darkness and ominous gloom hanging over his journey – the setting is described as “a dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones…immense double doors standing ponderously ajar…” This creates the feeling of dread and darkness and shows the reader how Marlow’s journey to the Congo would be dangerous and evil. The silence of the place emphasizes the danger and how not many people strayed outside the boundaries of society, but there was the capability to do so in the European world. The Congo River is represented as “fascinating – deadly – like a snake” – which represents the temptation to travel there for power and money. This is metaphoric, as Marlow’s journey can be seen as a representation of a human’s inner self – he is traveling to the heart of his inner desires without the restraints of society, and is being drawn into temptation. The feeling of gloom at the start shows that all people “traveling” to their inner selves means danger and evil, as they are not restrained by society and thus were capable of doing anything they wanted to. The image of the women at the front of the office knitting with black wool also represents the “gate to hell” and how traveling to the Congo meant he was traveling to a place of evil. The setting at the start of Marlow’s journey is important, as it foreshadows the impending evil of his journey, as well as framing the temptation of power and money of all men; namely Europeans which Marlow represents.
Marlow’s journey to the Congo is at first surrounded by civilization among the African jungle. The Outer Station on the Congo represents the African jungle being overtaken by the Europeans and the Africans being subjected to slavery and hardship. “They were building a railway…this objectless blasting was all the work going on…” emphasizes the Europeans invasion of the African environment, and questions their position and motive to colonize that place. Marlow’s critical view of the Europeans place in Africa through his description of the setting helps to show that the real motivation of most Europeans was to gain wealth and power and they were actually invading the country, using the Africans as slaves. The setting is important in showing how wealth drove the Europeans to take over Africa, and although it seems as if they are bringing civilization and sophistication to the Africans, they are actually seen as just gaining for themselves while not caring about the place or the people. This questions their idea of being above other foreign cultures, and draws similarities to the savage and untamed which they seem to think the Africans are. “I avoided the vast artificial hole somebody had been digging on a slope…it was just a hole…connected with the philanthropic desire of giving the criminals something to do” is a quote which shows how the Europeans were actually just using the Africans and blinding them from their true motivation of their purpose there, which questions their morality and civility. This also contradicts the European belief that they were the superior race to all others in the world as it makes them seem uncivilized and acting out of instinct, something which is looked down upon by their own society. The Outer Station’s setting could also be read as being the outer state of mind in a human, and Marlow was metaphorically journeying into a person’s subconscious mind. The outer station represents a person’s emerging inner desires and their actions without restraint from society, which is shown through the Europeans purpose at the station and their actions to tame the place. The wild jungle also shows the emerging depths of the human mind and that it can never be tamed, and that there will always be hidden desires of all humans that stray from society’s boundaries: “…in the forest, the creek...-seemed to beckon before the sunlit face of the land a treacherous appeal to the lurking death, to the hidden evil, to the profound darkness of its heart.” This is metaphoric in showing how all people have evil desires behind their apparent “good” appearance which is represented by the ‘sunlit face’, and depending on how far they went into their mind could act as savage and uncivilized as the Europeans thought the Africans were.
The Central and Inner Stations along the Congo also emphasize this idea as Marlow travels to the heart of darkness. The jungle gets thicker and wilder as he travels along, as well as being described as dark, gloomy and overwhelming. Marlow describes the setting as “prehistoric”, where the “big trees were kings” and they were as small as “beetles crawling on the floor of a lofty portico.” The jungle’s power over the Europeans at this part of the river represents the subconscious human self – that it was wild, untamed by social expectations and hardly ventured in. The journey is described as dark and dangerous – the Europeans do seem vulnerable in the foreign and unknown place, where they could easily be overwhelmed by the environment and their desire for ivory. “The word ivory would ring in the air for a while…and on we went again into silence,” shows the Europeans inner desire for wealth and emphasizes their greed to get the ivory. The word seems to haunt them as they travel further along the river, and the silence between them all reinforces the ominous gloom and evil overshadowing them. The setting of the Central and Inner stations help to show the reader how all humans had a savage and uncivilized side to themselves, and in reality civilization was actually a state of mind. Although the Europeans make the Africans out to be savage and uncivilized (“the prehistoric man was shouting at us…”) the setting helps to show that the two races were actually more the same than different and the Europeans were now acting on instinct and desire rather than restraint. This is particularly seen through the quote: “the illuminating, the most exalted and the most contemptible, the pulsating stream of light, or the deceitful flow from the heart of an impenetrable darkness.” While the light represents the outer human self, which is good and complies with the social norm, it was hiding darkness, which was part of every human. This puts all the humans in the novel on the same level, where everyone has dark desires inside of them with the Europeans acting out of instinct and desire. This was seen as something which is uncivil; contrasting with their belief about the Africans who at times seem much more restrained and composed than the pilgrims.
Marlow’s meeting with Kurtz makes him recognize how every human being has dark desires and everyone could become as savage and immoral as he had become. The setting of the Inner Station where Kurtz was living frames this idea, where the brutality is emphasized by the severed heads on sticks around his house. “These round knobs were not ornamental but symbolic; they were expressive and puzzling, striking and disturbing…” shows his realization of the myth of civilization and that the Europeans were acting just like how they thought the Africans did – acting without morals or restraint. “All of Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz…” also shows this realization and that if people strayed outside society’s boundaries they were capable of doing anything they desired deep in their hearts. For Kurtz it was ivory and wealth – without the thought or care of the Africans or the environment he exploited. The surrounding jungle and overwhelming silence and gloom emphasizes the evil of temptation and greed, and also shows that every human has a dark side to them – which usually goes unnoticed. The setting shows the reader that all humans are the same and have a dark side to them, and that the Europeans are not always the most trustworthy or superior race. The end of the novel shows Marlow on the boat on the Thames river, where the “tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost end of the earth flowed…under an overcast sky – seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” This reinforces the author’s use of setting to show that all human beings are more the same and have an instinctive, savage side that is hidden beneath society’s constructs. It also places darkness and evil above England itself, emphasizing the fact that civilization is really just a state of mind. At times, the Europeans seem much more savage than the Africans especially as they near the Inner Station, which contradict their belief that they were the superior culture and that the Africans were just insignificant, uncultured people.
Overall in this novel, setting plays an important part in the representation of the similarities between all human beings, regardless of ethnicity and race. The setting of the different stages of the Congo River and the overwhelming gloom overshadowing the Europeans throughout Marlow’s journey shows that all humans have a dark side to them that is hidden in the unconscious state of mind. It also shows the reader that civilization is really just a word that hides these desires that are considered evil and savage. Kurtz’s realization at the Inner Station of the things he had done to exploit Africa and it’s ivory shows that people can act out of instinct and desire when taken out of society, and act in a way that is totally opposite to traditional European beliefs and values. The use of setting to show the brutality and cruelty existing in Africa also shows that all humans contain a side to them that acts instinctively without restraint, which rejects the European belief that they were the superior culture to the supposedly uncivilized, savage Africans. Setting is used to represent ethnicity in this story with equality to show the reader people from different races have the same dark side to them that was hidden by society and its boundaries.