This paper takes the approach, used by Clifford Geertz in "Islam Observed", of understanding culture through
metaphor. The
paper points out that Geertz used man as a
metaphor for society and the
contradictions within man as a metaphor for the greater contradictions within society. It then goes on to analyze Joseph Conrad's book, "Heart of Darkness", by analyzing the characters in the novel as though they were a metaphor for the different aspects of European society of that period.