What does heads on sticks symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
The heads on sticks appear at the end of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and symbolise Kurtz, the ivory trader’s, excessive brutality.
What were Kurtz last words?
What do Kurtz’s last words mean? Kurtz’s last words—“The horror! The horror!”—can be interpreted in various ways. Firstly, and most simply, they could be a response to a fever dream as Kurtz’s body and mind disintegrate.
What things about Kurtz had the wilderness whispered?
What “things” about Kurtz had the wilderness whispered to him that he did not know? On page 61 Marlow claims that the spell of the wilderness awoke the “forgotten and brutal instincts, by the memory of gratified and monstrous passions”.
What is not ornamental symbolic?
These round knobs were not ornamental but symbolic; they were expressive and puzzling, striking and disturbing—food for thought and also for vultures if there had been any looking down from the sky; but at all events for such ants as were industrious enough to ascend the pole.
What does the forest symbolize in the Heart of Darkness?
In Heart of Darkness, the forest symbolizes the dangerous primordial nature at the core of all humans and the untamed Earth of the past.
Is Heart of Darkness a real story?
Conrad’s famous novella is based on a real journey the author took up the Congo in 1890, during King Leopold II of Belgium’s horrific rule.
What does the Congo River symbolize in the heart of darkness?
The Congo River also represents the increasing darkness as the characters move towards the Inner Station. Darkness is a prevalent theme in the novel, and several aspects of the river help represent this. The first is the vegetation on the sides. It’s too dense to see into, and therefore very dark.
Is Heart of Darkness sexist?
Conrad’s depiction of women is silent and sexist. He refers to women as having no voice and disdained by the paternalistic narrator – Marlow, who admits to not understanding the world that women live in. This has bothered many readers of this novella, and in particular, Sandy Andersson.
What does the Thames River symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
The lights from the city reflected the Thames River because London is described as being light, the light symbolizes Conrad’s view of civilization. According to Conrad civilization is where evil is present but ignored. The light is the knowledge that is gained through exploring.