Student Essay on The Theme of Pessimism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

The Theme of Pessimism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

Summary:   Discusses the theme of pessimism in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Analyzes the character Marlow and discusses his attitudes toward life and civilisation.

In the novel "The Heart of Darkness" Marlow, the main character, becomes very pessimistic about life and creates a very nihilistic ideals. Nihilism means that the world is seen without meaning or purpose, it is usually understood as being extremely pessimistic about life. Marlow is a riverboat captain that has taken a job with a trading company stationed in the Congo. Ever since Marlow was young he has dreamed about exploring the empty and unknown areas of the world. When Marlow arrives in the Congo he does not encounter an unexplored region but instead one destroyed by the greed of western civilised man. The natives of Congo have been captured and used as slaves in the interests of the trading company who are exploiting any wealth the country may possess. During the novel Marlow encounters many situations that depict the pointlessness and suffering in life. At the end of the novel when Kurtz, the ivory trader at the inner station, dies Marlow comes to the conclusion about the meaningless, futile existence of life and civilisation.

Marlow's journey as captain of a riverboat up the Congo River is filled with many adventures that change his whole perspective on life. These experiences changed Marlow from the eager, moral, civilised man keen for adventure into a person that discovers how meaningless and pointless life is. By encountering the images in the Congo Marlow is able to discover the futility of life. "Droll thing life is - that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose" (Conrad. 1995, p 70). When Marlow finds Kurtz, who is dying at the inner station, he discovers that the personal journey that he has just taken through the Congo that has filled him with nihilistic ideals is exactly the same journey that Kurtz had taken.

As soon as Marlow arrives at the central station he starts to encounter the meaninglessness of life. He even discovers the pointless quarrel that arose over hens in which the captain was killed. "It was only months and months afterwards, when I made the attempt to recover what was left of the body, that I heard the original quarrel arose from a misunderstanding about some hens" (Conrad. 1995, p 8). At the station he discovers one of the most disturbing environments that plays a major role in developing Marlow's pessimism towards life. "They were dying slowly -- it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now -- nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom" (Conrad. 1995, p 16). Marlow finds that the pointless senseless suffering that is occurring near the station is being ignored while the less important tasks of the station continue.

Even Marlow's crew in the novel show restraint that supports the nihilistic views. The native people, also referred to as the cannibals, on Marlow's boat retrain themselves from killing and eating the crew even though they outnumber them six to one. As a salary the natives receive three pieces of wire each but Marlow sees the restraint by the cannibals as pointless because how would three pieces of wire be of any possible benefit. "So, unless they swallowed the wire itself, or made loops of it to snare the fishes with, I don't see what good their extravagant salary could be to them" (Conrad. 1995, p 41).

When Marlow finally finds Kurtz he discovers that he is the ultimate nihilist and has totally abandoned any civilised morals or ideals that the western world offers. The isolation and disturbing events in the Congo had firmly planted nihilistic ideals within Kurtz. Kurtz along with Marlow to a certain extent seemed to have lost all sense of the structure that the modern civilised man is all about when they started to view the world in a different perspective. When Kurtz dies Marlow begins to develop strong nihilistic ideals and becomes very pessimistic towards life and civilisation. Marlow believed that you face death as you face life, alone. "It takes place in an impalpable greyness, with nothing underfoot, with nothing around, without spectators, without clamour, without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great fear of defeat" (Conrad. 1995, p 70). Marlow believed the Kurtz was a remarkable man and was able to sum life up into two words "The horror!" (Conrad. 1995, p 70). For both Marlow and Kurtz life had become meaningless and pointless just a horrible experience filled with absurd and futile happenings. The horrific reality that is life surrounds us till the day we die. Marlow admits that Kurtz had made the last stride into total nihilism and had totally abandoned all morals of decency while he is able to keep his sanity. "True, he had made that last stride, he had stepped over the edge, while I had been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot" (Conrad. 1995, p 70).

During Marlow's experiences in the Congo he underwent two separate journeys. He went on a physical journey where he travelled up the Congo in search for a man named Kurtz on his way experiencing several obstacles. He also went on a much more complicated physiological journey where he fought his own personal beliefs. Marlow went into the Congo with the common morals and thoughts associated with modern civilised man but along the way lost these morals and became pessimistic about life. In my opinion, Marlow's experiences are what I would consider in the category journeys and quests. Although the intended purpose of the quest was sometimes not known, even to Marlow it was still a journey of self-discovery.

Marlow had to struggle through his own beliefs and conscience of what is considered right and wrong in order to seek the truth, that life is meaningless and pointless. Even though the events that are experienced by Marlow in the novel create disturbing images for the reader Marlow still goes on a journey of discovery. A parallel example that has a slightly more positive outcome was the journey taken by Pi, a sixteen year old Indian in the novel "The Life of Pi." Pi had to overcome his own fears and doubts about death after the cargo ship he had been travelling on sank killing his whole family. He was stranded in a lifeboat for 227 days with a Royal Bengal tiger. During this time he struggled with the constant reminders of how close death was to him while trying to possess enough will power to keep himself from giving up hope. This personal journey Pi had produced a more positive outcome then the personal journey Marlow had.

Everyone encounters obstacles and struggles during our own personal journey in life. Marlow's journey was prematurely cut short after life ceased to have meaning. The meaning of life is what we make it and how we approach it. By looking at all the negative and depressing areas of life like Marlow did in the Congo the world starts to seem meaningless and the journey of life will be filled with despair. If someone has been brought up knowing only the positive elements of life then they would naturally see life as a wonderful and treasured gift. It can be seen in the world today. A person growing up in upper-middle class America who has all the opportunities to make something of themselves will obviously see more meaning in life then a person growing up in the Ivory Coast in the middle of a civil war who sees staying alive as a journey in itself.