Essay on Heart of Darkness: Savage Cultures Conrad effectively evokes a dreamlike image of the jungle using language. Use strong words to describe the appearance, characteristics and supposed behavior of the natives. Very common in his descriptions is the use of very strong and erotic words such as "wild" and "intense". For example, the description of a boatload of natives rowing downstream is decidedly primitive. He says "they shouted and sang... their bodies dripped with sweat; they had grotesque masks... but they had bones, muscles, a wild vitality and an intense energy of movement..." (78). In contrast, comparison with the author's description of a white, affluent, suggestively desirable race made them appear artificial, dowdy, and lethargic. This is clearly seen in the following sentence, “flaccid, feigned, weak-eyed devil of rapacious and merciless madness” (81). Another obvious implication of a primitive and savage culture using language, which gives the reader the illusion of wildness, is the author's use of the word cannibals. By using the word cannibal the author implies a savage and uncivilized race, as both the word and the deed are abrasive. Especially in the context of the time period in which this text was written, 1910. In those days, the idea of ​​natives in the jungle was a proven fact, not a rumor or fantasy. Already frightened by this reality, the use of the word made the image of the native more frightening and twisted. Today, however, cannibals do not represent a threat at all since the probability of their existence is purely fictitious. Ironically, Conrad manages to combine the use of this word with a very tender and funny description of his crew: "Good boys - cannibals - in their place. They were men who could be worked with... And, after all, they didn't eat each other before my eyes: they brought with them a supply of hippopotamus meat" (104). A final description of a native is that of Marlow's companion, the "savage who was a fireman" (106). He too was described to imbue the image of a savage as society had assumed he would be a native. Marlow describes his native physical traits, starting with a description of his teeth. He said, "...and he had his teeth filed down too, poor devil, and the wool of his head shaved into strange patterns, and three ornamental scars on each of his cheeks.