Every individual in this world has a heart of darkness. Some keep it tucked away, never to be seen, while others use it as a model for living. Joseph Conrad uses this philosophy to show how man struggles to find the balance between good and evil everyday. Conrad conveys his message through his character, Marlow, a simple man who is proud of his work and is only trying to survive. .
The heart of darkness is something that all of the characters introduced throughout this story struggle with. Learning to fight their way to the top and overcome the obstacles that are constantly thrown in the way is what this account is all about. In the very beginning this can be seen when Marlow seeks help in finding work from his aunt. This is a great insult to a man of this time, to ask a woman for help but his desire to move up forces him to take seemingly drastic measures.
The heart of Africa is used as a metaphor for life. This becomes very evident early in the story. "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much ( Conrad 21)."" When one looks into this quote, one can see that through gaining in life others will suffer. As the British Empire expanded many suffered due to one thing, and one thing alone, greed. As the British spread all over the world in desire for more wealth, those who were at one time happy living in their own world became an obstacle that had to be overcome, and as they were overtaken then simply became prisoners of their own land. This can be related to everyday life in many ways, which shows that everyone has a heart of darkness.
Conrad weaves his story around Marlow, a man who wanted to succeed. Through his strong will he slowly began to realize that in order to thrive others must perish. This theory becomes visible when Marlow reaches the mouth of the big river and begins his trek up the big hill, "They were called criminals, and the outraged law, like the bursting shells, had come from the sea.