“Heart of Darkness” is a complex narrative constructed from dichotomies between light and darkness, a core of faith and belief against the void, civilization against wild nature. Conrad, while deliberately introducing these contrasting binaries, ultimately dismantles them, sparking parallels between the civilized and the primordial, bringing to the fore the duplicities of colonial rhetoric. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe biblical allusion to a “whitened sepulchre” in the first passage acts as an allegory for the colonial enterprise. On the outside, civilization gives the appearance of “real work [in] progress”; the decadent and extravagant nature of the "frock coat" is symbolic of the rhetoric of imperialism and colonialism: it offers noble and splendid ideas of being "a beacon on the road to better things" and a "harbinger of change ". However, inside the “sepulchre”, behind the duplicities of colonial rhetoric, hides a “dead silence”. The juxtaposition between exterior and interior evokes a feeling of emptiness within the colonial enterprise; the deceptive appearance of running an "overseas empire" is made palpable when Marlow reveals the motive behind the enlightening and civilizing mission as "making money"; colonial discourse, as an apparatus of power, denies its own motivations. Indeed, the light of the “whitened sepulchre” is filled with “narrow and deserted alleys in deep shadow”. By incorporating darkness into light, Conrad alludes to the shortcomings of colonial rhetoric, subtly exposing the ingrained greed and baser instincts that lie beneath its facade. The most salient irony of “Heart of Darkness” revolves around the figure of Kurtz. Kurtz, “a man that all of Europe helped to create,” embodies colonial rhetoric with promises of “eloquence,” intelligence, and charm. However, Kurtz's metamorphosis only reveals a critical and inescapable relationship between imperial decadence and savagery. Its “pulsing stream of light” is accompanied by “impenetrable darkness”; this dichotomy of light and dark is once again incorporated into one another, ironically hinting at an interconnectivity between the civilized and the primordial. Thus, Conrad illustrates the barbarity of colonialism, describing Belgian exploitation of the Congolese as man's inhumanity towards other men, rather than towards "criminals" or "savages". Aside from his “speech,” Kurtz reveals himself to be little more than a “voice” offering ideas about enlightenment and progress. Nevertheless, Kurtz's "ability to speak" exerts an inescapable and seductive influence on Marlow, symbolic of the influence of colonial rhetoric on the rest of Europe. This feeling of blind faith, this willingness to listen and follow without question, is summed up in the description of the woman in the Company office as a "sleepwalker" as she sits outside, guarding essentially the gateway to colonial rhetoric. Similarly, for Marlow, although he is confronted with images of wanton destruction and suffrage resulting directly from the colonial process ("slaves left to die alone"), he still remains fascinated by the promises of a "conversation with Kurtz ". ", although once placed outside the limits of civilization, the domain of European cognition, Kurtz, and by extension colonial rhetoric, loses all power, affirmed by the repetition of the low in "it is very low, very low ". The Eurocentric vision, made palpable by.