Symbolism of black and white/ light and dark
Black/dark- death, evil, ignorance,
mystery, savagery, uncivilized
White/light- life, goodness,
enlightenment, civilized, religion.
This symbolism is not new, these connotations
have been present in
society for centuries. We refer to the Middle
Ages, when science
and knowledge was suppressed, as the Dark
Ages. According to
Christianity, in the beginning of time all
was dark and God
created light. According to Heart of Darkness,
before the Romans
came, England was dark. In the same way, Africa
was considered to
be in the "dark stage".
Yet, when it is looked into deeper, the usual
pattern is reverse
and "darkness means truth, whiteness means
falsehood" This
reversal tells a political truth about races
in the Congo, a
psychological truth about Marlow and all of
us (the truth within,
therefore dark and obscure), and any number
of moral truths (the
trade in ivory is dark and dirty).