Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a reflection on the depths of the human psyche. Like Freud Heart of Darkness deals with appearance vs. reality and also the idea that all humans have subconscious actions that they cannot control but there mind and body understand. In Heart of Darkness the journey to the ID is exemplified through Kurtz who began his life as a refined and respected man in Europe; however, soon after arriving in the heart of Africa, Kurtz is enveloped with his deep desire for power and soon turns rouge. Marlow also begins to develop ideas about his sub conscious and his beliefs; however, Marlow tends to view himself as a spectator then one of the pieces on the board and so he is able to control his dark desires. While the Heart of Darkness is able to masterfully skew the readers perceptions by switching common motifs like black and white to mean the opposite of what they should represent; the true genius in Heart of Darkness is Conrad’s ability to analyze the psyche and portray how human beings do not actually have free will but are simply controlled by their most primal and least developed instincts of lust and power.
Good start!
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