Hearts of Darkness

While discussing Joseph Conrad's work of fiction, Heart of Darkness, our discussions have focused on what the Heart of Darkness truly is and how it impacts us today. When we kept talking about what could be the Heart of Darkness in the world today, we came up with many different ideas. The idea of a heart of darkness is relative to a scope. As people living in the greater Chicago area, we look at certain areas of the city as a heart of darkness. The recent violence and crime has been a dark shadow for the whole area. As people living in Oak Park, we primarily get our information from the news, and we usually don't have a actual experience in those neighborhoods that have the higher levels of violence and crime.
If we look at the idea of a heart of darkness as people of the world, we can look at many places that fit the idea created by Conrad. The Middle East can be seen as a heart of darkness for the more recent global issues that have occurred. Africa can still be seen as a heart of darkness with its levels of underdevelopment and violence. There are many ideas of what a or the heart of darkness truly is in the world, but can we really give these places that title? In each of the places I named, there are regular people doing regular things. There are parties, people go to school, parents raise children, and overall, families deal with the same issues that ours do. If we look at all the negative aspects of a place, then of course it is seen as dark and scary. We don't highlight the good or even just the regular activity of these places. That is a travesty.