Descriptions

Conrad uses a lot of personification and to describe things in Heart of Darkness. He also uses a lot of contrast between black (dark) and white (light) in his descriptions. Using personification, Conrad gives more importance to what he is personifying. It also allows him to describe things more vividly because it involves action. Using the contrast between black and white, Conrad creates a representation of good and evil in things he describes.

When he describes a man he says “his hair in falling seemed to have stuck to his chin, and had prospered in the new locality, for his beard hung down to his waist” (51). Here, Conrad focuses on the man’s beard not the man himself. This way he indicates that the beard plays a big part in characterizing the man.

He uses the contrast between the darkness and light when he explains his feeling about going up the river. He uses the contrast between “the brilliance of sunshine” (60) and “the gloom of overshadowed distances” (60) to intensify the stillness and gloominess of the place. The word overshadowed has a negative connotation that also adds to the image

As seen in these two quotes, Conrad has his own way of making the reader pay attention to certain things in his descriptions. Through these techniques, Conrad is able to turn the reader's attention to the things he wants the readers to notice.