The Style, Technique, and Structure of Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay

The Style, Technique, and Structure of subject matter of fantasm The novella Heart of fantasm by Joseph Conrad is proof that a novel does not have to be long to have literary merit. Heart of Darkness is quite short, yet intriguing, due to the content of the novel. Much like Shakespeares Hamlet, Heart of Darkness overwhelms the reader by the power of the story so that one will never feel quite satisfied with their attempts to intellectualize the experience (Adelman 8). Heart of Darkness was written during the time of British imperialism and extreme exploitation of Africans in the Congo. The British were exploiting the Africans in an effort to extract ivory from the primitive jungle. Throughout the novel, Conrad expresses his dislike with the civilized whiteness people exploiting the savage black Africans. Conrad also uses several literary devices in his writing to portray and express several messages. The writing style, techniques, structure and themes in Heart of Darkness all combine to create one of the most renowned, respected and mysterious novels of all time. Conrad wrote an ultimate enigma for readers to interpret and critically analyze for years to come. Conrads righteousness in style is very controversial some believe that he is a literary genius (Adelman 16), while others criticize him for being limited, pretentious and dark ((Adelman 16). Throughout the novel, Conrad uses ample amounts of descriptive language, vivid imagery, and powerful symbolism. The vague part is that he leaves it up to the reader to interpret his mysterious and unspeakable enigmas. Conrads descriptive language in Heart of Darkness is present from the beginning to the end. With the opening paragraphs d... ...xperience (Adelman 8). Overall, readers must interpret for themselves which meanings Conrad intended or if he intended all the meanings. This deep novel by Joseph Conrad is not easy to read but is valuable knowledge once it is read. Works Cited Adelman, Gary. Hear t of Darkness Search for the Unconscious. Boston Twayne Publishers, 1987. Conrad, Joseph. The Heart of Darkness. Ed. Cedric Watts. London Everyman, 1995. Fothergill, Anthony. open air Guides to Literature Heart of Darkness. Philadelphia Open University Press, 1989. Glassman, Peter J. Language and Being Joseph Conrad and the Literature of the Personality. New York and London Columbia University Press, 1976. Tindall, W.Y. The Duty of Marlow. In Conrads Heart of Darkness and the Critics. Ed. Bruce Harkness. Belmont, calcium Wadsworth Publishing Company Inc., 1968.