The Metaphors of Heart of Darkness Within the text of Heart of Darkness, the reader is presented with many metaphors. Those that recur, and are most surprising and notable, are light and darkness, nature, Kurtz and Marlow. The repeated use of light and dark images represents civilization and primitiveness and, of course, the eternal meaning of good and evil. However, the deeper the reader delves, the more complex the discussion becomes. The meanings behind the nature metaphors included in the text are also complex. It represents a challenge for the colonists, often also means decay and degeneration. Finally Kurtz and Marlow represent imperialism and the colonists. All these metaphors come together and contribute not only to the effect for the reader, but also to the overall meaning. From the very moment Marlow speaks, the reader is presented with light and dark images. It should be noted, however, that darkness seems to dominate. Light and darkness, being binary oppositions, come to represent other binary oppositions, such as civilized and uncivilized, and of course good and evil. Primitive "savages" are depicted as dark, both literally in skin tone, but also in attitude and inwardly. Marlow calls the natives of the first station “black shadows of disease and starvation” (Conrad 20). A little later in the text, Marlow is horrified by what he sees, by the darkness that presents itself to him and the reader. These are both great examples of the negativity towards Native people throughout the book. Thus, the darkness of the natives is a metaphor for their supposed incivility, wickedness and primitiveness. However, if the reader looks a little deeper, he can see that this darkness is also... in the center of the paper......ss: In search of the unconscious. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987. Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 1997 Csicseri, Coreen. "Themes and Structure of Heart of Darkness." Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad December 6, 1998.Available: (May 2, 2001). Dunson, David. "The symbol of the wild in Heart of Darkness." November 3, 1999. Available (May 2, 2001). Harkness, Bruce. Conrad's Heart of Darkness and the Critics. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1965.Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness, A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism, ed. Ross C. Murfin. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.Rosmarin, Adena. “Darkening the Reader: Criticism and the Heart of Darkness.” and. Ross C. Murfin. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.