If there were no darkness would it be possible to still have light? If there were no light
would it be possible to have darkness? How can you have something that exists if you have
nothing to compare it to or have an opposite to contradict it? In order to have an essence you
must have something co-existing with it to not only contradict it at times but for something to
compare it to. When darkness represents depression, despair, sadness and other negative
emotions and feelings while the counter parts of those feelings are represented by light, one cannot feel only one or the other without being subjected to both. An example of this is looking the well-known “Hero”. Every hero known to man has never just become a hero, there was always some problem, difficulty or “darkness” that they would have to overcome first. A hero is never born a hero, he first has to be subdued by both the good and evil, light and dark before they can show whether the good inside them is strong enough to be able to spread and used to help.
It is not possible for a hero to help or even attempt to help individuals going through uncertainties and troublesome times if the hero himself has not undergone these times. It is unquestionable that someone being “saved” or helped out by someone who does not know what the problem is or feels like could never actually happen in society. Therefore proving that you there are no hero’s that is born a hero, they must first experience both negatives and positives, both dark and light to be able to emerge from the situations willing and capable to actually prevail in the rescue of the individuals in their time of need. A hero cannot exist if they do not know what there purpose is, they cannot exist if they don’t know what they want to do, they cannot exist if they have not experienced “the darkness”.
At the begging of the novel, Marlow shows signs of disbelief and doubt. It is noticeable when Marlow is about to set sail on the French steamer which is going to take him to Africa. Instead of being excited or ambitious Marlow experiences something different. He has a strange feeling about the trip where he feels that he is setting sail of the center of the Earth. This feeling can be looked at as doubt in Marlow’s case. Marlow is doubting himself in this case and his ability to succeed, which gives him the feeling that he is going towards the “center” of all these problems. This shows the reader with Marlow’s strange feelings that he is ambitious yet or hasn’t “grown” as a hero. Although Marlow is not a hero yet or subdued by good or the light the reader is able to see that Marlow can tell good from bad at the beginning from his reaction to certain people like in the quote "I couldn't help asking him once what he meant by coming here at all. 'To make money, of course. What do you think?' he said scornfully." (Conrad, 23).
Towards the begging of the novel the author chooses to portrait Marlow in a certain way. He does not choose to make himself this lovable, unstoppable hero that is the kind of character that everyone just loves to read about, but the author makes the reader see that Marlow is more then that. Marlow shows by the end of the novel with sayings like; "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much." (Conrad, 52) that he finally knows light from dark distinctly which shows the reader his true transformation as a hero. What the author does in this case is give Marlow a layer of complexity with different attributes and features. He carries the true characteristics of a hero by being honest, tough and capable but also he gives the reader the image that there is more to him and that he’s “damaged”. The features of a hero like his natural toughness gives the aspects of light in this case and the images of him being broken tells the reader that he also has aspects of darkness. In this case this allows the reader to have a little insight or allow them to foreshadow to a certain extent in the case of Marlow being taken over or subdued by either light darkness. Meaning that Marlow would not be in the middle after experiencing both light and dark and that he would be drawn to one side or another.
One cannot be a hero without experiencing both good and bad for the same reason one cannot become a villain without experiencing both good and bad. You cannot be one without experiencing the other because of the fact there is no one that is just evil, and there is no one that is just good. "They had behind them, to my mind, the terrific suggestiveness of words heard in dreams, of phrases spoken in nightmares." (Conrad, 67) this quote shows that Marlow is both surprised and appalled about at the conversation showing that he does not believe in the evilness being spoken about. Everyone has some good in them and some evil which is enviable because everyone from the moment they were born has the potential to do good with there life as equally as they have the potential to do bad with there life. This ensures that no one can be good without being evil, or be evil without being good. Which refers back to the first point, there cannot be darkness without light and there cannot be light without darkness. Therefore that shows that you cannot just experience one end or another because from the instant you’re born you have the both sides in you. "When one has got to make correct entries, one comes to hate those savages--hate them to the death." (Conrad, 78) when Marlow states this it allows the reader to observe that he has experienced the darkness and he knows when people (the savages) have been overcome by the evil inside of them. This leaves the experiences in your life to determine which side will subdue you and which side you will lean towards.
There is a point in everyone’s life time where after being subdued to both good and bad that you have to overcome a “test” which the outcome determines where you lye on the border of good and evil. The outcome of this event is dependant on how much the light or darkness influenced the individual. By the time Marlow experienced this test he knew enough of both sides of good and evil that he did much more then just pass the test, he learned from it too. By keeping his darkness within and allowing the light to shine out Marlow succeeded in many ways where the natives did not. Unlike Marlow the natives did not learn nor pass the test, which you can see from their savagery behaviours. This acts as a great example showing two different sides, both experience light and darkness or good and evil but on one side a hero arises and on the complete opposite side savages arise. "And this also... has been one of the dark places of the earth." (Conrad, 64) when Marlow states this it shows the reader that he has been to certain dark places and he is now able to recognize it and be able to realize when there is evil or darkness around. This further more proves that Marlow has known evil and has not let it take over him, allowing the light to take over appose to the darkness.
Everyone has both good and evil in them and no one will ever be able to fight or change that, it’s the instances in your life where you are introduced to the good and evil that is inside of you is what makes you who you are. This is what gives people chances to become who they are; this allows you to have an influence on who you want to be and who you can be. No one is born purely good or evil, you have to experience both in your life to become either or. This is what guaranties that no hero is ever born a hero, they must first be challenged by the darkness within their heart to be able to overcome it and show light and spread the light. This case is proven from Marlow in the Heart Of Darkness. Marlow shows from experiencing both good and bad that it’s the occurrences that influence you throughout your life which make up where you stand in life. Without having being influenced by both sides of good and evil you cannot reach full potential, this is what keeps people from being true heroes and this allows people to look on there life and see what has influenced them more, good or evil.




References:(Conrad, Joseph. Heat Of Darkness. Norton Critical Edition. London: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc., 1899.)