Heart of Darkness Three

Throughout Heart of Darkness, the effect that isolation has on Marlow is revealed when he describes the torment, exasperation, and vulnerability caused by starvation.

"No fear can stand up to hunger, no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger is; and as to superstition, beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less than chaff in a breeze. Don't you know the devilry of lingering starvation, its exasperating torment, its black thoughts, its sombre and brooding ferocity? Well, I do. It takes a man all his inborn strength to fight hunger properly. It's really easier to face bereavement, dishonour, and the perdition of one's soul---than this kind of prolonged hunger" (113).

Marlow explains that despite how strong an individual may perceive themselves to be, their real strength is tested and proven by their ability, or inability, to survive the longing hunger that comes with isolation. A person's true self is evidenced by the realization that a desperate hunger is sometimes much more powerful than the willpower that exists inside of them. Marlow discovers that bravery, patience, supersition, beliefs, and principles are insufficient weapons against hunger's power to overcome the human body and mind. He refers to the effects of "lingering starvation" as "devilry," and says that it causes "black thoughts;" this implies that the hunger caused by isolation is evil as well as forceful: a deadly combination. In addition, he mentions that "disgust" is nonexistent when one is experiencing such a deep hunger. This demonstrates his realization that one's standards and expectations are reduced to the point of complete eradication when suffering from starvation while in isolation. Marlow also defines the brooding results of isolated hunger by comparing it to other concepts with particularly negative connotations. He claims that it is easier to "face bereavement, dishonour, and the perdition of one's soul" than to endure the effects of starvation. In Marlow's mind, death, loss, dishonor, and the damnation of one's soul to hell are preferable to having to undergo the torture of feeling hunger impossible to satisfy.