Heart of Darkness Themes

Madness:
In Conrads Heart of Darkness, many characters (including the narrator) are
described as slowly descending into madness. The wildness of the Congo jungle, the
constant danger present, and the sheer barbarism of being in such an uncharted
place, drives many settlers insane. Marlow reasons that he was able to resist falling
into madness once he found a clear goal: find Kurtz. So many people in the jungle
lose sight of the original goal and let the jungle overtake them until they are
completely unhinged.

The River:
In the beginning of the novel, Marlow and his nameless crew are anchored against
the current in an unnamed river by England. Throughout the entire novel, Marlow is
traveling up the river (once again, against the current!) towards Kurtz. The current
of the river symbolizes change, progress, and most importantly, movement in the
story. At the beginning, as Marlow sits to tell his tale, the boat is anchored to stop
the current from returning them to civilization, the civilization Marlow (and by
extension Conrad) has become disillusioned with. Likewise, the Congo River is
flowing against the boat, almost a symbol that Marlow needs to stop his pursuit of
Kurtz. The river is trying to push him back towards the jungle, back towards the
madness that has consumed so many others, but Marlow is able to fight it because of
his focus on a goal.


Ignorance and Stupidity:
A possibly less-noticed theme in Heart of Darkness is the absurdity at which people
tackle the jungle. Just by observing some of Marlows experiences do you see how
unprepared people are in this unknown, uncontrolled world. When one of the huts
burns down, a man fetches water with a bucket with a hole in it. The only natives
Marlow attributes human qualities to are cannibals! He sees natives using dynamite
to blast away at basically nothing. The paranoia of Kurtz rises to a crescendo as
people believe he is all seeing, or has his influence everywhere. It truly shows how
people react in such a disorganized situation, unsure of what to do with themselves.