Essay on journeyhod Journey Motif in Heart of Darkness...

Journey Motif in Heart of Darkness and Jasmine In Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness and Bharati Mukherjees Jasmine, the physical journey represents the setting for the psychological journey that both main characters undergo. Each stage of the journey is correlated to an emotional insight, and the implications are great enough to incur a change in the protagonists lives. Through the discovery of distant lands and foreign ideas, Marlow and Jasmine are prompted to look internally to find the answers to their questions. Their struggles are personal, and they are driven by different guiding forces, yet both experience a greater sense of self-awareness by the end of their journey. Initially, Marlow and Jasmine embark on†¦show more content†¦Once inland, his physical journey upriver brings forth a greater understanding, both of the environment and his perception of it. He is inspired to reexamine the European notion of colonialism and the African people that it is affecting. For Jasmine, her westward journey becomes the catalyst for many new transformations. Correspondingly, she leaves behind more and more of her Indian culture. After surviving her experience with Half-Face, Jasmine comes under the protection of Lillian Gordon. It is Lillians kindness and generosity that encourage Jasmine to carry on toward her dream of Vijh and Wife (Mukherjee 81), to search for the life that she and her husband had envisioned. Lillian reinforces what Prakash and Masterji had already discovered - that Jasmine is destined for greater things. Spiritually renewed by the support of her friend and the memory of her husband, she resumes her journey to seek a new life in New York. Marlow is also transformed as he travels into the heart of the jungle. As he follows the river upstream in search of Kurtz, he feels unsettled, yet enlightened, by the events that are unfolding around him, and is forced to reconsider his impression of the Africans. He acknowledges that they are indeed very much human, contrary to what most Europeans assert. But what thrilled you, Marlow says, was just the thought of their humanity - like yours - the thought of your remote kinship with those