Many authors utilize loaded language to try and convey another possible meaning behind the story. However, it is often neglected and the reader never comes to such a realization. But it is quite clear through Joseph Conrad’s choice of words, that there is a suggestion of an allusionary meaning, which is the determination of heaven, hell, and purgatory.
Part one gives a wealth of information to suggest and alternate meaning. The way that I chose to interpret the beginning was that of the story of creation-a new boat, a new voyage, and a new life-just as Adam and Eve had begun. Marlow was starting off sinless and without a fault. Then, Marlow comes across ‘a man who hung himself.
‘; (p. 12) According to Catholicism, suicide is considered a sin,Through the use of loaded language, Conrad assumes a direct relationship between the story of Adam and Eve to the man who hung himself. As Marlow and his companions walked through the countryside, they eventually wound up in a different location, an ‘inhabited devastation’; where there are people, a place where sinners reside. This is a large contrast from where Marlow started out, which was seemingly the Garden of Eden.
Reading the section of the story that I did consider the Garden of Eden, I felt quite empty, as if it was a place where only Marlow and his companions were. Conrad used detail in this section which really made me pick up on this feeling of loneliness. When we finally arrive to the ‘inhabited devastation,’; the feeling that Marlow along with his companions are the only people there, evaporate. Immediately, the mountainous scenery strikes me. The details that Conrad gives of this specific places, gives me a very cold feeling. All around, the reader receives a geometric description of the natives, who are a part of the inhabited devastation.
Just as Adam and Eve are out of place, the reader can assume the same of Marlow and his companions. However, we are not fully aware of one sin that Marlow has come across, the sin of suicide. It has to have played a part in their expulsion. The creation, along with the story of Adam and Eve are only one example of the allusionary meaning to the story. Yet, it is impossible to write a brief paper without using many examples from the book. It is clear that Conrad’s choice of words serves a specific purpose and should be treated as a point of reference to another meaning of the story.
I find it impossible to read Heart of Darkness as just a story about a voyage to Africa.
