Question: Discuss the symbolic significance of the setting in Heart of Darkness.
Ans. Like the characters, the setting in Heart of Darkness carries symbolic meaning. The wilderness of Central Africa—its primeval forests, oppressive heat, and vast, untamed landscape—symbolizes the irrational, the evil, and the instinctive forces in the human heart.
Africa itself, with its forests, heat, and mysteries, represents the larger darkness that exists within man. Heart of Darkness leads us into the dark regions of the human heart, particularly in those who have surrendered to base passions such as greed and lust for wealth. The dark forests of Central Africa also symbolize primitive savagery, lust, and greed—the darkness of ancient barbarism.
The degeneration of the whitemen under the corroding influence of these tropical regions symbolizes the decay, corruption, and loss of values in contemporary civilization. This decay and disorder are further represented by the rusting boilers, upturned engines, railway lines, and the decaying machinery Marlow encounters at the first Company’s station.
The Inner Station, where Kurtz resides, symbolizes the subconscious, while the fog that envelops the ship represents the difficult and obscure process through which one must navigate to reach the subconscious.
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন