In Conrads short novel, Heart of Darkness he uses a lot of imagery and elaborate details to portray a certain tone. The setting of this novella takes place in the sea of the Thames, where A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness.(65) Which starts out by giving the novella a sort of eerie feeling, saying that there was a lot of fog, which can be a symbol that Marlow doesnt know where he is going or what is going to happen next. Conrad also uses the Whited Sepulchre as a symbol that helps to establish the tone. Conrad uses the Whited Sepulchre as a symbol for where the companys headquarters is located. In the biblical book of Matthew, the whited sepulcher is described as something beautiful on the outside but containing horrors within.
The details that Conrad uses in the way that he describes things also establishes the tone. Conrad writes, Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced with the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair.(83) The style of Conrads writing portrays the evil and eeriness to the story. Conrad also compares the Congo River to a snake, and many people believe that a snake portrays evil and sin. One final example of how Conrad uses details and imagery to portray the tone is towards the end of the story when Kurtz dies. Conrad writes, One evening coming in with a candle I was startled to hear him say a little tremulously, I am lying here in the dark waiting for death.(153) I think that that quote contrasts Conrads initial tone. I think that the lit candle maybe symbolized hope that Kurtz was going to be all right, then a page later where it says, I blew the candle out and left the cabin.(154) That goes back to the whole eerie/darkness tone of the story.
By using imagery, complex details, and many symbols, Conrad establishes a consistent tone throughout the novella.
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