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Allegory
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Key Examples in Heart of Darkness
Part 1
Explanation and Analysis—Drake and Franklin:
At the beginning of the novella, before Marlow even begins telling his story, the novella’s narrator describes the sun setting over the Thames, plunging London into darkness. Looking out at the river, he reflects on its place in England’s history and imperial power by alluding to two of England’s most famous explorers:
“[The Thames] had known and served all the men of whom the nation is proud, from Sir Francis Drake to Sir John Franklin, knights all, titled and untitled—the great knights-errant of the sea. It had borne all the ships whose names are like jewels flashing in the night of time, from the Golden Hind returning with her rotund flanks full of treasure, to be visited by the Queen’s Highness and thus pass out of the gigantic tale, to the Erebus and Terror, bound on other conquests—and that never returned.”
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Romans:
Marlow begins his story by noting that London was once “one of the dark places of the earth”—until the Romans conquered and civilized it. He imagines that the Romans felt the same way about the Thames as he felt about the Congo when he first arrived:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago—the other day .... [...] Imagine him [a Roman commander] here—the very end of the world, a sea the colour of lead, a sky the colour of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina—and going up this river with stores, or orders, or what you like. Sand-banks, marshes, forests, savages—precious little to eat fit for a civilized man, nothing but Thames water to drink.”
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Explanation and Analysis—Mephistopheles:
When Marlow reaches the Central Station, he meets the General Manager and his spy, a man who calls himself the Brickmaker but never actually makes any bricks. Reflecting on their conversation, Marlow remarks to his fellow sailors:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“I let him run on, this papier-mâché Mephistopheles, and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my forefinger through him, and would find nothing inside but a little loose dirt, maybe.”
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Explanation and Analysis—Eldorado:
While he waits for steamboat repairs at the Central Station, Marlow meets a group of foolish men (led by the General Manager’s uncle) who call themselves the Eldorado Exploring Expedition. Their name alludes to Spanish conquistadores’ decades-long search for El Dorado, a storied golden city that never actually existed. Conrad’s implication is clear: the Eldorado Exploring Expedition’s search for treasure is also foolish and futile. Indeed, if the word “Eldorado” doesn’t set off alarm bells, the absurd, redundant term “Exploring Expedition'' should. (All colonial expeditions are for exploring, after all) It’s no surprise that the Eldorado men embody the worst traits that Marlow sees among his fellow European colonizers in Africa. In Part 1, he observes:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Their talk [...] was the talk of sordid buccaneers: it was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage; there was not an atom of foresight or of serious intention in the whole batch of them, and they did not seem aware these things are wanted for the work of the world. To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe.
Related Themes:
Part 2
Explanation and Analysis—Eldorado:
While he waits for steamboat repairs at the Central Station, Marlow meets a group of foolish men (led by the General Manager’s uncle) who call themselves the Eldorado Exploring Expedition. Their name alludes to Spanish conquistadores’ decades-long search for El Dorado, a storied golden city that never actually existed. Conrad’s implication is clear: the Eldorado Exploring Expedition’s search for treasure is also foolish and futile. Indeed, if the word “Eldorado” doesn’t set off alarm bells, the absurd, redundant term “Exploring Expedition'' should. (All colonial expeditions are for exploring, after all) It’s no surprise that the Eldorado men embody the worst traits that Marlow sees among his fellow European colonizers in Africa. In Part 1, he observes:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Their talk [...] was the talk of sordid buccaneers: it was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage; there was not an atom of foresight or of serious intention in the whole batch of them, and they did not seem aware these things are wanted for the work of the world. To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe.
Related Themes:
