Accidental?

Although it may not seem like it when viewed from a distance, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness bears incredible resemblance to the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Even though the books are completely different in both content and meaning, they have several elements in common, which, when seen with a certain perspective, can help readers further understand these texts. Both Conrad and Kesey use fog as a symbol of uncertainty and create a strong main character that ends up having an incredible influence on the narrators of the stories.

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the fog is used as an allusion to the things the Combine is doing to keep the patients blind to their true intentions. It stands for uncertainty, self-doubt, and the confines of social structures. Although its meaning is slightly difference, the fog also makes an appearance in Heart of Darkness. In this case it represents the dangers of the unknown, and it serves as a critique to the "missions" Europeans had when colonizing Africa.

Yet another similarity between these two texts is the fact that they have a strong character, which the narrators soon start to idolize. In Kesey's novel, this character is McMurphy, whose great leadership skills and charisma earn him the respect of the patients until he becomes their symbol of hope. Conrad, on the other hand, presents his strong character in a much more subtle way, and it isn’t until the end of the second chapter that the reader realizes just how important Mr. Kurtz became to Marlow and the influence he has on the area. "He had the power to charm or frighten rudimentary souls into an aggravated witch-dance in his honor…" (pg. 93). Despite his questionable intentions, Mr. Kurtz is undoubtedly a major character in this area of the Congo, and he even had some of the natives rebelling because they wanted him to stay. The "party" the patients had in OFOTCN may help illustrate this point, and further proves the similarities between these two works.

Even though they are extremely different, there are some aspects of Heart of Darkness that remind me of the previous novel we read in class, and I will have to continue reading in order to see if these comparisons are true for the entire book, or if these coincidences are just that, accidental.