lighthod Barriers in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Barriers in Heart of Darkness    Heart of Darkness is a book that explores many different ideas and philosophies regarding kind life. How people see for each one other and connect with each other is one of the larger aspects of human life covered in this tale. During his journeying, Marlowe meets many different types of people that he is able to decipher from the good and bad personal characteristics. These people any contribute to Marlowes growth as a person as he breaks down barriers inside himself that deal with race, loyalty, and the way people have-to doe with with each other. The inaugural site that Marlowe sees on his expedition puts an instant assort into his head. The sight is one of skinny, black laborers at the Outer Station. Marlowe sees a teenaged boy who is hungry and feeds him a biscuit. Marlowe sees these images of people and how theyre living, and consciously or unconsciously, makes a note in his mind that this is the way Africans are. This ini tial purpose of the Africans had formed a barrier that Marlowe would change within himself by the goal of the story. Immediately after his encounter with the laborers, Marlowe meets the restrainer at the station who provides Marlowe with his first real distinction between the races. The accountant presented himself in a dainty manner. He was Caucasian, wore fancy clothes, had oiled hair, sported varnished boots, and he had a starched fresh collar. This all made the man look oddly out of get into given that he was in the middle of the jungle and surrounded by filthy laborers. Marlowe wasnt sure about what to think of this man at first, but when a sick man was brought into the accountants office, the accountant gripes about the inconvenience to himself. The groans of a sick person distract my attention, and without that it is extremely difficult to guard against clerical errors in this climate (Conrad 22). This cruel and tatty side of the typical European ivory trader shows thr ough very clearly to Marlowe. This was his first, but not only experience on the journey with a greedy white male. The white manager on the gravy boat is another character that speaks to Marlowes intellect by way of his actions. Marlowe gains approximately of his most significant self-growth in the story through his encounters and his analyzing of the manager. Marlowe is constantly interview about ways that the manager and his crew are trying to reach over the ivory ring and how they are trying to stop Kurtz from inveterate his dominance in this trade.