Discuss the symbolism of the river as a snake in Heart of Darkness.

Even before Marlow really begins his tale, he reminisces about
the importance of maps to his childhood and how they were a site of intense imagination and
adventure. He remembers in particular Africa and describes a river, the biggest on the map, that
he sees there:

But
there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map,
resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar
over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land. And as I looked at the map of
it in a shop-window, it fascinated me as a snake would a bird--a silly little
bird.

Later on, when he heard about
the possibility of employment going up this river, he remarks, "The snake had charmed me." Note
the way in which Marlow describes himself as a "silly little bird" being "charmed" by a snake
before it is killed. This is clearly foreshadowing something of the tragic events and changes
that Marlow will undergo and witness on his voyage. However, at the same time the river seems to
be used to symbolise temptation and evil. Marlow will witness just how degraded and unscrupulous
humanity can be by going up the river, with its prime example in Kurtz. The snake leads to the
heart of darkness in exposing the true evil to which all men are capable of surrendering or being
tempted by.