SHORT ANSWERS - HEART OF DARKNESS BY JOSEPH CONRAD

HEART OF DARKNESS BY CONRAD

(i) What elements in 'Heart of Darkness' appear to be drawn from Conrad's own life?
Ans. "Heart of Darkness" is a record of Conrad's own experiences in the course of his visit to Congo in 1890. Marlow's experiences and feelings are very much the same as Conrad's own had been. Marlow appears as a pessimist in the novel; and Conrad himself was a pessimist too.  Both in external and in terms of the inward mental life, Marlow meets the same fate which Conrad had met.
(ii) What are the unspeakable rites in 'Heart of Darkness'?
Ans. The unspeakable rites in "Heart of Darkness" concern human sacrifices and Kurtz's consuming a portion of the sacrificial victims. These sacrifices were established in the interest of perpetuating Kurtz's position as a man-god.
(iii) What does the Congo river symbolize in 'Heart of Darkness'?
Ans. The Congo River resembles a snake, and the snake symbolizes the idea of temptation and evil. The river leads Marlow and other Europeans into the heart of the continent where the temptations prove to be too much for many of them. Marlow's journey on the river represents a journey into one's inner spirit. As Marlow progresses further up the river in his search of Kurtz, he begins to learn more and more about himself.
(iv) How does Conrad complicate the idea of colonization being 'good'? What kind of negative effects does it have on both white and the black men of Africa?
Ans. Conrad complicates the idea of colonization being "good" by stating that the goal of European colonization of Africa is to civilize and educate the savages. The white men see the Africans as savages, and the Africans see the white men as unwelcome intruders. No party is happy in this situation.
(v) What does darkness represent in 'Heart of Darkness'?
Ans. Darkness is the inability to see: this may sound simple, but as a description of the human condition it has profound implications. Failing to see another human being means failing to understand the individual and failing to establish any sort of sympathetic communion with him or her. It also represents the inherent evil in humanity.
(vi) Trace the role of Russian in 'Heart of Darkness'.
Ans. The Russian is a devoted follower of Kurtz. The main purpose of the Russian is that he is the fool of the novel. He acts as a conduit of  information about Kurtz that neither Marlow nor the reader knew before.
(vii) What is the overall impression of the natives that Conrad produces?
Ans. When the narrator identifies natives as a sea of waving disembodied arms, it seems that Conrad produces a racist perspective on African natives. However, the narrator views the natives in groups rather than as individuals, and they seem to have very similar or identical intentions, but there is not necessarily any racist aspect of that interpretation.
(viii) How does Conrad depict Africans as different from Europeans?
Ans. Conrad depicts the Africans as dark savages and brutes, cannibals; dehumanizing them to mere animals. Kurtz repeatedly says, "Exterminate the brutes". In contrast the Europeans are portrayed as almost an Aryan race. Conrad depicts them as very proper and well groomed which is completely opposite of his description of the "savages".
(ix) Which literary devices in 'Heart of Darkness' are proto-Modernist?
Ans. Conrad uses an unreliable narrator, a hallmark of proto-Modernist writing. The narrator is not by his nature a liar but rather put under great pressure by his environment. As we learn at the beginning of the novel, Africa has driven mad a great many men. Themes of alienation, confrontation of the other, and disjointing of man from the natural world are also proto-Modernist.
(x) Who attacks the steamboat as it reaches the Inner Station?
Ans. As Marlow's steamship reaches the Inner Station in a heavy fog, arrows begin to fly out from the jungle. Marlow blows the steam whistle on the ship and scares off the attackers. Later, the Harlequin explains that the Africans attacked the ship because they were afraid the ship was coming to take Kurtz away from them.
(xi) Who is the Intended in "Heart of Darkness"?
Ans. The Intended is Kurtz's naive and long-suffering fiancee, whom Marlow goes to visit after Kurtz's death. Her unshakable certainty about Kurtz's love for her reinforces Marlow's belief that women live in a dream world, well insulated from reality.
(xii) What is the major conflict in 'Heart of Darkness'?
Ans. Both Marlow and Kurtz confront a conflict between their images of themselves as "civilized" Europeans and the temptation to abandon morality completely once they leave the context of European society.
(xiii) How are women characterized in 'Heart of Darkness'?
Ans. Conrad is a misogynist and all about the gentlemen. All the women within "Heart of Darkness" reflect the values of their society and are viewed as nothing more than trophies for men. They hardly appear to be rounded out characters. They appear one-dimensional. They live in a separate world.
(xiv) What is the message of 'Heart of Darkness'?
Ans. The message of "Heart of Darkness" is that every man must make certain to repress the heart of darkness within -- the uncivilized man. For if this is not done, chaos reigns. It also gives us the message that the result of imperialism is madness.
(xv) Besides Marlow and Kurtz, other character are not given personal names. Why? 
Ans. The reason behind leaving so many characters without names is to show the dehumanization of men in the wilderness of the Congo. Most of the people involved in the trade of the Congo have simply lost their humanity, that is why they do not have human names; they are reduced to description similar to the way we refer to inanimate objects.

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar