Being Human

Insanity is ever present in society and often viewed as a taboo, not many people attempt to question it much less redefine it. In the Heart of Darkness Conrad explores insanity in the heart of British conquerors in Africa, and although Conrad’s novel takes place in a very different setting, the understanding of insanity can be related to that of Ken Kesey in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. For these author’s madness is not defined as impulsive and strange behavior it’s needs to be redefined to meet the modern world.

The redefining of insanity in Heart of Darkness is created through the protagonist’s thoughts on his life as colonists. Marlow’s experience offers an insight into what behaviors were considered normal. Soon after he has begun his story, Marlow claims that some of the colonialist mentality seams a little crazy, and as McMurphy, he is soon marked off as peculiar or perhaps a crazy individual. Although in both of these novels, the main characters are marked as crazy the authors hope to drive our attention towards the protagonist’s companions. In the Heart of Darkness, the European conquistadors that accompany Marlow don’t seam to question the orders they are given. They commit horrible crimes like genocide and they are still considered as reasonable men. Kesey also uses this plot structure to emphasize the difference between these two groups. Although they both use this method Conrad’s structure works the opposite way for he writes ironically. By pointing out that the rebellious character as a crazy Conrad uses irony to point he means the complete opposite. The lack of questioning suggests the colonists might have become insane.

The new definition for insanity created by Conrad and Kesey is: the lack of a rebellious character. Perhaps the meaning behind both of these novels is that in order to be a human one must be responsive and argumentative not just a robot following orders.