There were quite a few archetypes in the novel, "Heart of Darkness." One was obviously water. I mean, HELLO! They're on and are surrounded by water throughout the whole novel for crying out loud. Anyways, water stood for many things one of which was spiritual mystery. This is backed up with the lines, "And indeed no thins is easier for a man who has, as the phrase goes, "followed the sea" with reverence and affection, than to evoke the great spirit of the past upon the lower reaches of the Thames." That one's pretty self explanatory. Next one would have to be the river described in colors: "Flames glided in the river, small green flames, red flames, white flames, pursuing, overtaking, joining, crossing each other-then separating slowly or hastily." The colors all symbolizes different things from hope, to sacrifice, to timelessness which ties in with rivers and its transitional phases of the life cycle. There is also mentioning of the sun setting which stands for death-a very big part of the novel. Marlow was to travel to the yellow which stood for enlightenment and wisdom. Both of which he obtained from Kurtz and his accounts of Africa and imperialism.
Alright on to "The Hero's Journey". For departure, there is a call to adventure when Marlow sets off to Africa. I believe that his supernatural aid was his aunt because without her he may not have gotten the job and was never able to venture out in the first place. The crossing of the first threshold appears when he reaches Africa and is exposed to its horrible conditions and treatment of the slaves. The novel does adheres to "The Hero's Journey", but it may not be as detailed for it is missing white a few steps. Overall though they can be considered similar to one another.
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