Heart Of Darkness Themes

Joseph Conrad's 'Heart Of Darkness' As A Spacebound Sci-Fi Flick?

A sci-fi version of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness ? One of the most controversial tales over the last century+, telling the story of Marlow , the cargo boat captain in Africa at the end of the 19th century, on assignment to return Kurtz , an ivory trader with a reputation, who encounters the “darkness” of the Congo wilderness, and the “darkness” that resides within human beings, after witnessing the brutalization of Africans by white European traders. Read on from Variety :

Radar Pictures is taking the plunge into “ Heart of Darkness ,” tapping Peter Cornwell (” The Haunting in Connecticut ”) to direct an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novel as a spacebound sci-fi pic. Titled “ Into Darkness ,”... the project is loosely based on Conrad’s 1902 tale of ferryboat captain Charles Marlow’s quest to return shadowy ivory trader Kurtz to civilization.

As most of you likely already know, Apocalypse Now , Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 work, was based on Conrad’s novel, with the key difference being that the story was moved from the Congo to Vietnam and Cambodia, during the Vietnam War. So, really, anything is possible here. Just don’t expect to find any of the original story here, other than its themes.

Heart of Darkness: themes- Hero's Journey « eng for you

Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ depicts the hero’s journey where Marlow, the protagonist as an archetypal hero. The first step in the hero’s journey is the call to adventure which in ‘Heart of Darkness’ is when Marlow leaves on his journey/quest on the Congo River. Supernatural aid in this case was his aunt; although she isn’t supernatural, the fact that he had to ask a woman is looked upon as a different approach to obtain an employment. The crossing of the threshold (the 4th step) is when Marlow actually leaves for his journey and enters the jungle on the Nellie with his shipmates. The belly of the whale (the 5th step) can be seen when he says at the beginning of book I (pg 5) where he retells his steamboat exhibition to his crewmates and then states that ‘It seemed somehow to throw a kind of light on everything about me—and into my thoughts.’ As I’ve not finished reading/analyzing the book, these were the only steps I was able to come across at this moment.

After reading the Heart of Darkness, I can see some parallels that exist between Marlow’s journey and the classic Hero’s Journey. We see Marlow, the hero get his call to adventure from the river as a young boy. The river in the novella is constantly characterized as being a snake seen from this quote, “it fascinated me as a snake would a bird.” (Book 1) The fact that book says that the river ‘fascinated’ him suggests that the river presents mystery for Marlow and a chance for him to obtain knowledge. This temptation can clearly parallel to “the call to adventure,” in the hero’s journey. The supernatural aid stage of the Hero’s quest can also parallel his aunt’s aid in getting him his job at the Company. Although his aunt is not considered supernatural, Marlow mentions that the women in the novel are considered to be “otherworldy” suggesting that they are not a part of Marlow’s reality. The knitters of black wool in the novel present the third stage of the hero’s quest which is the crossing of the threshold. In the novella, they are seen as the women that “guard the door to darkness,” and in a sense, provide Marlow with the permission for him to start his journey.

Marlow experiences his “roads of trials” after he has gotten his job at the Company. He then experiences different trials such as trying to receive rickets to rebuild is sunken steamer. In the classic hero’s journey, the hero tends to fail these trials which can relate to how Marlow fails to receive his rickets to build back his steamer. Apotheosis can be seen also in Marlow’s change in character before landing in the heart of darkness. Marlow experiences a rebirth of his self, shedding some of physical abilities such as sight and hearing in order to be able to look into his own soul. This can be seen from this quote, “It was not sleep—it seemed unnatural, like a state of trance. Not the faintest sound of any kind could be heard. You looked on amazed, and began to suspect yourself of being deaf—then the night came suddenly, and struck you blind as well.

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