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Taylor Svete

British Literature

Mrs. Smith

12/3/09

The Different Perspectives of Light vs. Dark in Heart of Darkness

The themes of light and dark in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad are not too obvious

in which group represents which side. From The main character, Marlow‟s point of view, the

black natives represent savagery and ignorance while the whites represent enlightenment,

knowledge, and civilization. From Conrad‟s point of view, the black‟s are the victims who

represent the Noble Savage Theory while the whites are more savage in the way they treat the

natives.

The black natives are seen as completely uncivilized and wild while the Europeans are, in

Marlow‟s point of view, the civilized, intelligent ones. He refers to them as “niggers” and looks

down upon them, portraying them as animalistic. “‟Catch „im,‟ he snapped, with a bloodshot

widening of his eyes and a flash of sharp teeth” (p. 69). This line demonstrates how Marlow sees

the savages as animals because of the way he describes this one cannibal‟s facial expressions. He

and the other whites look down upon the natives and they try to reform them with their own

customs and colonization. Marlow‟s point of view refutes the Noble Savage Theory, showing

that the closer to nature one gets, the more savage and wild they become, much like how he sees

the natives.
However, Conrad, the author of this story, does not hold the same point as view as his

character Marlow. Conrad makes it obvious to the reader that the whites are the ones being

savage with the way they treat the natives. He shows the blacks as being the victims of the story,

abused by the whites. He reiterates the Noble Savage theory showing that the closer to nature

one is, like the blacks in this story, the more integrity they have. The whites on the other hand,

who are more civilized, have less integrity and more greed. “Save me? Save the Ivory you

mean.” (61) says Kurtz, demonstrating how even he knows the men are only after his position

and money, not really looking to save his life.

In Marlow‟s point of view, the black natives are savage and ignorant and the Europeans

are intelligent and civilized. In the author‟s point of view, the whites are more savage than the

blacks because of the way they treat the blacks, even though they consider themselves to be

superior. Conrad sees the blacks as victims of the whites, not uncivilized savages.

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