Heart of Darkness (116-142)

            Joseph Conrad deliberately links Marlow’s eventual “enlightenment” through Kurtz’s encounter to the Myth of the Cave by symbolizing Marlow’s emotions within the novella. Marlow relates to how he “had turned to the wilderness really, not to Mr. Kurtz” (Conrad 108), which ultimately contradicts his statement where he was originally desperate to contact Kurtz. Marlow further states that “for a moment it seemed to [him] as if [he] also were buried in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets” (108), thus forcing Marlow to realize that his perception of the Company is deteriorating through the events that led up to his encounter with Kurtz. This is representative of Myth of the Cave because of the overall meaning it offers: an individual will adhere to enlightenment once he or she is aware of the placebo-like reality compared to the physical reality. In this circumstance, Marlow is aware of his original reality being a sailor who is journeying through the heart of the Congo to contact Kurtz, but his true reality is when he realizes Kurtz’s secret and realizes Kurtz’s “unspeakable secrets”. Ultimately, Marlow is forced to be aware of Kurtz’s position as he figuratively puts his feet in Kurtz’s shoes, thus creating an concoction of realities between Kurtz and Marlow.