Talk:Heart of Darkness (literary device)

Obviously the struggle of moral forces, light and dark etc is widespread in all the arts, before and after Conrad, so that if this is the subject per se, it should be dealt with separately to Conrad. However, if one is using the term 'Heart of Darkness' in connection with it, that term is so strongly linked with Conrad, it makes sense to merge it with the Conrad article. There are two separate issues here, which need two separate articles 1)moral struggle in general in literature/arts(which might mention or link to Conrad and 'Heart of Darkness', but should not be called 'Heart of Darkness' as that is only Conrad's name for it, and not a name in more widespread use  2)Heart of Darkness, which is a Conrad item. --Tyrenius

This has no need to be merged. Perhaps if it was a device only used in Conrad's novel, but in reality all Conrad did was use it prominently. In literature, whether authors call it Heart of Darkness or not, there has always been the concept of the struggle between good versus evil. Machinima is a filmmaking concept made popular by the internet web series Red Versus Blue, however, the Wikipedia article on Machinima is not merged with Red Versus Blue, or vice versa. --Tykell 19:32, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

A fair comparison, but I don't think such a term has come into widespread use. For example, you do not hear critics mentioning the "Heart of Darkness" present in the Star Wars films. The struggle of good versus evil is a prominent theme in many works, but I do not think that Conrad's use of the device alone constitutes its worth as an independent article. If you'd like to, we can put this before Votes for Deletion and get a wider opinion on the article, and I'll put my vote behind a merge. Mr Bound 19:36, May 19, 2005 (UTC)

Normally I would agree with you that it's not common enough, but I searched and could not find an article that relates to this. If such an article existed, Heart of Darkness would work as an alternate term. You do see the "Struggle between Good and Evil" mentioned when people look at Star Wars, however, an article regarding this does not exist. HoD is a very early piece of literature that handled the conflict of Good and Evil quite well. If there is no current device out there that covers this, I don't see why it cannot start here. If you can find an article about the conflict, however, I'd support a deletion. --Tykell 19:39, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

I will agree that there should probably be at least some page discussing the concept of good versus evil as a Theme (literature). But at the moment, there is none. If such a page were to be created (and I encourage you to be bold in creating it), I think it would be best if this page were then merged there, with a link in the regular Heart of Darkness article. I think people will travel to an article on said theme from Heart of Darkness, but will be far more likely to search for "Good versus Evil" than what we have at the moment. Mr Bound 19:47, May 19, 2005 (UTC)

Fair enough. --Tykell 19:54, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

If you write or would like assistance it writing this, I'd love to help. Oh, and welcome to Wikipedia. Mr Bound 19:58, May 19, 2005 (UTC)