Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Jung's Shadow.
Jung considered that an archetype that embodies the most archaic and obscure part of the human psychism and which represents the lowest part of the personality is the Shadow. The Shadow is everything that is primitive, savage and violent in the human nature.
It is also present in the every-day life where the desire for domination, for enslaving and the urge for power are the expression of the primitivism inside an unevolved nature, the Shadow, which we all carry deep inside our selves. It is the part within that has to be changed and that forces us to escape our own ignorance and allows us to evolve through conscience. The Shadow is the dark side of the ego that stores all the evil we are capable of. Every individual has deep inside a dark part heart of darkness. Some keep it hidden and never show its presence, but for others it is a way of life. .
Conrad presented it in Heart of Darkness, in Mr. Kurtz. Opposite to him is Marlow, maybe a representation of another archetype, the Self. .
He is seen as an "emissary of light" travelling into "the dark continent". Marlow's voyage is a voyage into the dark heart of man. Almost from the beginning of the book Kurtz is present near Marlow because he gets more and more intrigued by this character and it seems like the only goal of his voyage through the jungle has become to talk to this man. .
Mr. Kurtz was a very clever and successful man considered a genius and also envyed by some because his station was the most productive ivory station in the Congo. But once he reached the wild life in Africa he turned into a real savage finding the most inhumane and violent ways of assuring the production. He is the unique victim of colonization, the wilderness around makes him forget about every boundary that was part of his previous life. I say previous life because there are two different lives for sure. His transformation into the absolute evil, his decay into the evil within himself killed him.
When reading The Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad the opinions of Conrad's racism always surface. ... (Conrad 20) Conrad also gives us this quotation which I feel disagrees with any thoughts that a true racist would ever have. ... Achebe even agrees that Conrad's writing is to be praised. "I do not doubt Conrad's great talents. ... The main point is we cannot judge Conrad. ...
Achebe sees the humor in Conrad's description of the African fireman and notes Conrad's amazement at an African performing a needed task (8). ... (Conrad 8) Conrad describes the jungles attempt to lure mankind back to his primeval roots. Chinua Achebe sees Conrad's negative tone towards Africa, but fails to recognize Conrad's harsh outlook towards Europe. ... Achebe accuses Conrad of being a "purveyor of comforting myths", but Conrad describes the world as he saw it on his voyage up the Congo (2). ... Conrad reflects negatively on man in general and not just upon the...
Berger plays a significant role in Conrad's self-development. ... Berger weekly, Conrad's self-image improves gradually. Calvin, Conrad's father, notices a positive change in his son's behavior. ... By quitting swimming, Conrad distances himself from his old friends. ... Conrad soon builds up the courage to ask Jeannine on a date. ...
However, Conrad's use of irony is flexible, as it also allows him to draw the reader closer to the characters. ... In light of an understanding of Conrad's use of irony we can began to look for a vision of Conrad's morality. ... Conrad tells us that although the other characters are "shams" he had not intended to make the Professor "despicable" (Conrad: p19), and that he wanted to give the Professor "a note of perfect sincerity" (Conrad: p20). ... However, despite the powerful personality given to the Professor Conrad constantly describes him as "that obviously miserable organis...
Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness has long been considered a classic. ... Not all of the sentiments that Conrad expresses are negative, necessarily. ... Achebe despises this condescending attitude of Marlow/Conrad. ... Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers." ... He does, however, blame Conrad for perpetuating the myth. ...
Also, Conrad is not racist, he is just inexperienced. Conrad is not racist, and his book should not be regarded as so. ... But, Conrad is simply telling it how he sees and hears it. ... Joseph Conrad is not racist. ... Conrad's book is not racist, and neither is he. ...
The word "accident" and the fact that Conrad suggests there is no strength, only more weakness are used by Conrad to convey a sense of pity for the "others" who are weak. ... Greed seems to play a large part in Conrad's description of the imperialism in Africa. Conrad describes the colonialists as "hunters for gold or pursuers of fame..." ... Conrad sees them as quite similar, if not the same on different scales. ... This view seems to fall right in line with Conrad using Kurtz as a small scale Imperialistic ruler. ...
The discovery of new lands and the claims to such lands was in at its peak at the time of Josef Conrad writing this novella. ... Conrad after all never identifies the location of "the river" and refers to Belgium as the "Sepulchral city". However, Conrad, through the construction of his character, Marlow openly expresses the negative aspects of colonialism. ... A reading taken from the novella by a reader of Conrad's time will be entirely different to one of modern times. ... In the novella Conrad tries to conceal his true message. ...
Conrad's family, especially his mother, Beth, didn't help or ease the pain Conrad was feeling during this tragic time. ... I also believe that Buck was an excellent swimmer who also swam with Conrad and maybe every time Conrad jumped in the water, the reminder of the ocean and his brother reminded Conrad dirtying his mind. 6. ... Jeannine and Conrad were both in choir together and I believe Conrad took a liking towards her immediately. She made Conrad happy, relaxed and she made Conrad focus on taking care of somebody else instead of himself. ... In Marx's theory Conrad was...
This event is important because it has Conrad making decisions on his own and it shows that Conrad wants to try and get better. ... A big event that helps Conrad release anger as well is when Beth and Conrad get in a big argument. ... This shows that Conrad has all of Calvin's support and that Calvin only wants Conrad to get better, unlike Beth who doesn't care if Conrad gets better or not. ... Finally, the last contribution to Conrad's recovery is when Calvin and Conrad communicate fully to one another at the end of the book. ... There are many instances where Conrad feels trap...
