The Myth Structure of Heart of Darkness

The structure of Heart of Darkness is myth-pure. It is a journey from the safety of the known into the unknown world of danger/death and back out again. The classic religous myth: Odin in the domain of the dead, Jesus Christ to Hell and back. This particular odyssey's protagonists are not godlike heroes, but a confused observer (Marlowe), a dying enigma (Kurtz) and a sideshow of iconlike characters and locales - a mythic assemblage. Certainly, if Orpheus' crossing the River Styx into Hades is of mythic proportions, so, too, is Marlowe's journey up the (Congo) River into the jungled center of equatorial Africa. The n

. . .
d us both. ... "He is dead," murmured the fellow, immensely impressed. "No doubt about it," said I ... "And by the way, I suppose Mr. Kurtz is dead as well by this time. For the moment that was the dominant thought. There was a sense of extreme disappointment, as though I had found out I had been striving after something altogether without a substance. (82-83) Conrad's account of Marlowe's religious experience now takes on the issue of Faith. "Striving after something altogether without a substance" - this is the believer's challenge. Death has now taken on an "impressive" face, however; the rescue attempt presses on. This is a religious crusade. If death cannot be defeated, it is now to be confronted differently, at the least. The helmsman's deathmask was "lustrous." There would be a long contemplation of Kurtz' final expressions. Before finding Kurtz, Marlowe and the pilgrims of the rescue party come upon another apparition: a babbling, manic-depressive white man attending to the feverish Kurtz, who looks like a harlequin ... patches all over, with bright patches, blue, red, and yellow, - patches on the back, patches on the front, patches on elbows, on knees; coloured binding round his jacket, scarlet edging
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Night's Dream, Peter Marlowe, Rescue Annointed, Council Europe, Heart Darkness, Africa Kurtz, Kurtz Christlike, Joseph Conrad's, Arrows Jove, Kurtz Marlowe, heart darkness, religious experience, heart darkness joseph, kurtz marlowe, darkness joseph conrad, native attack, conrad specific, religious message, rescue party, striving altogether, altogether substance, character heart darkness, striving altogether substance, theological religion,
Approximate Word count = 3271
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)