What is the significance of the hippo in Heart of Darkness?
The first is an old hippo who leaves the river at night and causes trouble at the Central Station. Although the pilgrims would get together and try to kill the hippo, they never could accomplish their task. This symbolizes the wild reaches of Africa that resist imperial rule in their own way.
What are the major symbols in Heart of Darkness?
Symbol 1: The Sepulchral City. The first major symbol we see is when Marlow goes to France to sign his paperwork for the Company.
What is darkness a symbol of in Heart of Darkness?
Darkness becomes a symbol of hatred, fear and symbol of the power of evil. Marlow begins his story believing that these elements exists within the jungle, then with the natives and finally makes the realization that darkness lives within the heart of each man, even himself.
What does Ivory symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Ivory symbolizes the greed of the Europeans. It is a consuming passion for them, the lure that draws them to Africa. It has become like a religion to them: “The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air,” Marlow says when he is at the Outer Station. It “was whispered, was sighed.
What do the cannibals represent to Marlow?
They work on the boat with Marlow as the boat moves towards the inner station. The cannibals exemplify the power of restraint. Marlow wonders why these men do not eat him, because they have not eaten anything but rotting hippo meat in months.
Are the natives in Heart of Darkness cannibals?
The native population in Heart of Darkness are represented as savages who are criminals and enemies. The natives described as cannibals are poorly treated and only fed hippopotamus meat, refused food by the Europeans.
What does Congo River symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Lesson Summary It symbolizes the characters’ movement away from civilization as well. The thick vegetation on its edges and the fog the characters encounter on the river help illustrate the increasing darkness as they move towards Kurtz. This helps the overall theme of darkness in the novel.
How does Conrad use symbolism?
First, he symbolises the greed and the commercial mentality of the white people of the western countries. Mr. Kurtz’s desire to collect the maximum quantity of ivory shows the exploitation of the backward people by the white colonizers. Second, he symbolizes the white man’s excessive love of power.
Why did Joseph Conrad write Heart of Darkness?
When Conrad began to write the novella, eight years after returning from Africa, he drew inspiration from his travel journals. He described Heart of Darkness as “a wild story” of a journalist who becomes manager of a station in the (African) interior and makes himself worshipped by a tribe of savages.
What does the native woman represent in Heart of Darkness?
Kurtz’s native mistress who represents the savagery of Africa. Kurtz’s Intended, who represents the innocent politeness of European women.
What does the boat symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
The steamboat is Marlow’s means of getting to the Inner Station, and in addition to being part of the setting, it symbolizes (or represents) his movement away from civilization. This starts with Marlow finding the steamer wrecked at Central Station and having to do all the repairs himself with minimal supplies.
How does Marlow see Africa?
Conrad’s protagonist, Marlow, relates his first sight of Africa: “Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you—smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, Come and find out.
What are the symbols in heart of Darkness?
The knitting of dark wool by two women at the Company office in Brussels reinforces the symbol of darkness in the novella. The women are the knitters of funeral shrouds, used in death, the ultimate darkness.
What does Ivory stand for in heart of Darkness?
Ivory, which is white, is the one thing of value that the Europeans in Heart of Darkness find in dark Africa. But ivory is also equated with darkness and corruption.
How are the cannibals restrained in heart of Darkness?
The cannibals, oddly enough, do have restraint, for even when they exhaust their food supply of hippo meat and go hungry for some time, they manage to restrain themselves from eating the people on the boat.
Why did Kurtz die in heart of Darkness?
Kurtz as well lacks restraint. He “had given in to his various lusts,” according to Marlow, and sunk to utter depravity. Both he and the helmsman die, as ms-mcgregor has indicated, because of their actions.