Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Through a Freudian Lens Essay

Without personal access to authors, readers be left to themselves to interpret literature. This can baffle ch in allenging with to a greater extent herculean texts, such as Joseph Conrads novelette knocker of Darkness. Fortunately, literary audiences are not abandoned to flounder in pieces such as this active readers may look through numerous different lenses to see come-at-able meanings in a work. For example, Conrads Heart of Darkness may be deciphered with a post-colonial, feminist, or prototypical mindset, or analyzed with Freudian psycho-analytic theory. The latter deuce would effectively develop the greater roles of Kurtz and Marlow as the id and the ego, respectively, and base on balls the opportunity to draw a inference about the work as a whole.Sigmund Freuds theories on the facial expression of the mind are simple, simply fundamentally changed the field of psychology. He proposed, among another(prenominal) things, that the human mind is cool of three regio ns the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The preconscious consists of information, such as a telephone number, that is get-at-able to consciousness without emotional resistance (Schellenberg 21). In Freuds estimation, the unconscious is the nigh important area of the mind. The information stored at bottom it has very strong resistances to becoming conscious (Freud 32). Residing in the unconscious is the id, which contains everythingthat is deport at birth above all, at that placefore, the instincts which originate from somatic organization (14). From birth, all action is instinctual, from the id. The id recognizes and entertains no desires only if its own and is impatient to have its unavoidably met. This phase lasts until a part of the id changes under the influence of the real impertinent world (14). This changed portion b... ...o, part the novellas archetypal grammatical construction glorifies Marlows domination of Kurtz. These two analyses taken together pr ovide a much fuller and more comprehensive interpretation of the work. Conrad presents the idea that there is some darkness within each person. The darkness is is inherited and instinctual, only when because it is natural does not cast it right. He celebrates and thereby almost advises the mould from instinct. By telling Marlows tale, Joseph Conrad stresses to his audience the importance of self-knowledge and the unnecessity of instinct in civilization.Works CitedConrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. in the buff York Penguin Group, 1997.Freud, Sigmund. An Outline of Psycho-Analysis. Trans. mob Strachey. rising York W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1949.Schellenberg, James A. Masters of Social Psychology. New York Oxford University Press,1978. Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness through and through a Freudian Lens EssayWithout personal access to authors, readers are left to themselves to interpret literature. This can become challenging with more difficult texts, such as Joseph Conrads novella Heart of Darkness. Fortunately, literary audiences are not abandoned to flounder in pieces such as this active readers may look through many different lenses to see possible meanings in a work. For example, Conrads Heart of Darkness may be deciphered with a post-colonial, feminist, or archetypal mindset, or analyzed with Freudian psycho-analytic theory. The latter two would effectively reveal the greater roles of Kurtz and Marlow as the id and the ego, respectively, and offer the opportunity to draw a conclusion about the work as a whole.Sigmund Freuds theories on the construction of the mind are simple, but fundamentally changed the field of psychology. He proposed, among other things, that the human mind is composed of three parts the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The preconscious consists of information, such as a telephone number, that is accessible to consciousness without emotional resistance (Schellenberg 21). In Freuds estimation, the un conscious is the most important area of the mind. The information stored within it has very strong resistances to becoming conscious (Freud 32). Residing in the unconscious is the id, which contains everythingthat is present at birth above all, therefore, the instincts which originate from somatic organization (14). From birth, all action is instinctual, from the id. The id recognizes and entertains no desires but its own and is impatient to have its needs met. This phase lasts until a part of the id changes under the influence of the real external world (14). This changed portion b... ...o, while the novellas archetypal structure glorifies Marlows domination of Kurtz. These two analyses taken together provide a much fuller and more comprehensive interpretation of the work. Conrad presents the idea that there is some darkness within each person. The darkness is is inherited and instinctual, but because it is natural does not make it right. He celebrates and thereby almost advises the turn from instinct. By telling Marlows tale, Joseph Conrad stresses to his audience the importance of self-knowledge and the unnecessity of instinct in civilization.Works CitedConrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York Penguin Group, 1997.Freud, Sigmund. An Outline of Psycho-Analysis. Trans. James Strachey. New York W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1949.Schellenberg, James A. Masters of Social Psychology. New York Oxford University Press,1978.