Conrad & Freud Essay: Intro

-In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Marlow travels not only on a physical journey to discover what lies in the darkness of the African Congo, but also on a mental journey deep into his unconscious mind. Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, created the discipline of psychoanalysis. Freud’s theories on the human mind’s conscious and unconscious in relation to the superego, ego, and id, create a clear idea of what Marlow is experiencing on his emotional journey. The deeper Marlow travels into the darkness, the more light is shred on the “savages” of the Congo. Ironic enough, the deeper Marlow travels into his dark unconscious, the more he begins to see. He soon realizes that these savages are just as much of a human as he is. With the help of Freud’s psychoanalytic theories, Marlow’s dual journey into the darkness is discover himself as well as the wrongs of his European society can be both analyzed and explained. Joseph Conrad’s short novel, not only touches on the notion of how free we really are as humans, but also on the social issues of his time period.

Heart of Darkness Essay

-I would like to explore the concept of Marlow's dual journey. His first journey is to find himself and explore his unconscious mind as he travels into the darkness. His other journey is to find out more about the African people of the congo and attempt to understand that they are indeed human. I will be relating a lot of Freud's ideas to Marlow and his Journey.

Frederick R. Karl

-One idea I found very interesting in Karl's essay is his connection with Freud and Conrad. He states that there are extraordinary parallels between their achievements. Freud studied dreams at around the same time Conrad was creating ideas about the Congo. Freud even wrote his book about his observations of dreams shortly before Conrad's Heart of Darkness was published. This is a very interesting connection that I would love to further explore with my classmates during our discussion next class.

Ross C. Murfin: Heart of Darkness

-An idea I really enjoy in Murfin's article is the notion that most "powers motivating men and women are mainly and normally unconscious. We have been talking a lot about this subject in my Brain and Behavior class. We have looked at many studies with shocking results that leads us to believe that most decisions we make are influenced, unconciously, by outside sources. This is a strange phenomenon is a little scary to think about...not being able to realize that the decisions you make that you believe are your own, are really influenced by outside sources. How free are we?

Heart of Darkness: Analysis

-There is not a specific quote I would like to analyze in tonight's blog; however, I do want to blog about a specific scene. As Marlow begins his trek back from the heart of darkness with the ill Kurtz, the "savages" all stand around the river bank staring at the boat. When Marlow realizes that his fellow Europeans are about to begin to shoot at the savages, strictly for fun, he blows the boat's horn to scare them away. He repeatedly blows the whistle even when his fellow Europeans yell at him, saying he is scaring the savages away. I fully believe that this says a lot about Marlow's character. Although sometimes he is unwilling to admit it, he feels compassion for the Africans, and views them as humans, not savages. Spread throughout the story, the reader notices this trend of Marlow's compassion for the Africans, and this act of kindness proves his empathy towards the Africans of the Congo.

Heart of Darkness - Quote Analysis

-"When the sun rose there was a white fog, very warm and clammy, and more blinding than the night."
-Marlow's vivid imagery clearly paints a mental picture in the reader's head. The reader gets a clear description of a blinding white fog covering the sky. What is interesting about this picture is the fact that usually fog darkens the sky, and a bright sun with no clouds is very blinding. This light closely relates to the perception of whites and blacks. At that time, people believed that whites were good and blacks were "bad." In this case, Marlow flips the circumstances. Marlow has alluded to this notion that the savages of Africa are good people, and his statement, though a metaphor, proves that he believes the Africans can be good, and what the Europeans are doing is bad.

Heart of Darkness - Question #4

-Marlow stops to meet with his aunt before he sets out on his journey to Africa. His aunt believes that he will be "an emissary of light" (para. 28). She believes that Marlow will bring knowledge to Africa, a continent that is believed to be filled with savages having no modern knowledge, just how England was thought of during Roman times. The irony is Marlow's aunts statement is that Marlow is going to Africa strictly for profit. Marlow has no intention to be an emissary of light, rather, he is only going to Africa for personal reasons; to make money.

Heart of Darkness - Question #2

-Marlow begins his tale with an account of Roman England because he is making the point that, what is now the hub of the world, used to be a place for savages. The Romans used England to excile people that were not suitable to live in Rome. Marlow makes this point to show that Africa is now viewed as a place that is not modern or industrial. Africa relates to how England was once viewed by the Romans. This poses the question of whether or not Africa can become a hub of the world, just like London did.