Nature influences the world through its effects on civilization and the way it is perceived by society. Ecocriticism is the theory that nature is an important aspect of a literary work that affects the interpretation of the story. Ecocritics view history through a lens that observes the depiction of nature in history and extends the use of ecocentric concepts to aspects other than nature such as energy, balance, and imbalance. Peter Barry writes about how ecocritics view nature in Beginning Theory: "For ecocriticism, nature actually exists, beyond ourselves, needing no ironization as a concept in l 'enclosed in conscious quotation marks, but in reality present as an entity that affects us. , and which we can affect, perhaps fatally, if we mistreat it” (Barry 243) The Heart of Darkness contains a large amount of situations that depict nature as dark, mysterious and untamed. Fear of the jungle, relations between the natives and the company and Kurtz's conversion are three aspects affected by the power of nature. The mysteries of the jungle give Marlow a dark impression when he says: "The edge of a colossal jungle, so dark green almost black, bordered by white waves, ran straight, like a ruled line, far away, far away, along of a blue sea whose brightness was blurred by a creeping mist” (Conrad 10). The immensity of the jungle is intimidating, according to Marlow's description: “To travel up this river was like traveling to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation ran wild on the earth and the great trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was hot, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brightness of the sun” (Conrad 30). He adds to this description by saying, “It’s… middle of paper… that’s it” (Barry 243). Kurtz also harmed nature with his oppression of the natives and his hatred of savages. He even wrote: “Exterminate all the brutes” in a report (Conrad 46). His distorted thinking is proof of nature's influence on him. Conrad uses many ecocritical elements in Heart of Darkness. The mysterious nature shrouds the book's characters in a fog of confusion and danger, all while falling prey to its power. Nature is everywhere in this story, allowing it to influence almost every aspect of this story. Marlow, Kurtz and all the other characters react differently to nature. Some prosper and some perish. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover Publications, 1990. Print. Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009. Print.