NRJ #1: Exploration

One o f the themes that stood out to me in Heart of Darkness was exploration. I believe that the author is trying to say that exploration has many meanings and levels. Marlow for example is characterized by exploration because of his curiosity for Africa and good versus evil (pertaining to the human psyche). This theme has two different avenues for exploration, but they are both classified under exploration. Marlow’s passion for exploration is realized when the author uses imagery and Marlow states, “Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you-smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering ‘come and find out.’” (1.13) The author also uses imagery when making a point about good versus evil. “But Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be excepted), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine.” (1.5) The author is trying to say that metaphorically, we would not recognize light (goodness) without darkness (evil). Clearly there are different meanings of exploration. One can explore land and seas like Marlow did or one can explore the nature of good and evil. Weather one is exploring the good or bad parts of a country/civilization or the good and evil natures of mankind, we could not tell the difference unless we had both.