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The Significance Of Marlow's Physical Journey In Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad

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In Heart of Darkness , Joseph Conrad uses Marlow’s physical journey through the Congo to show his psychological journey. Before his journey even begins, the doctor examining Marlow foreshadows this journey by taking precise measurements of Marlow’s head and saying that what happens to men in the congo is “psychologically interesting.” From this point forward, when the reader has glimpses into Marlow's mind, there are black to white transformations in his opinions, feelings, and subconscious. Marlow’s physical journey into the darkening jungle illustrates how he is changing psychologically.
At the start of his journey, Marlow is mentally sound, emotionally sensitive, and personally humble. By his diction and actions, the reader can see that his mind is clear and that he is prepared for his journey. In his first testing moment, Marlow steps into the shade and is appalled when he sees overworked and abused natives lying moribund on the ground. This scene shows that Marlow feels for humanity and that he is starting to realize the hypocrisy of the company here and questioning his own morals in following them. Additionally, because Marlow knows it is essentially by chance that he received the job, he is humble in his …show more content…
This is clearly revealed in the incident with the brickmaker in which although Marlow “hate and detests” a lie, he allows the brickmaker to believe a lie, because it benefits him. The jungle is thicker, the people are more deceitful, and Marlow takes his first step to be like the people he considered evil. In this second stop in his journey, Marlow learns more of Kurtz and his curiosity grows. As his information of Kurtz grows, the darkness surrounding Kurtz is additionally fed. Now the journey is not only through the jungle, but also to Kurtz. The closer they get to the Kurtz’s heart of darkness the darker Marlow’s heart

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