Marlow's journey is usually seen as symbolic of a journey into the mind and soul of a person. Light and dark are used to represent good and evil. As Marlow progresses into the African continent, he's going into darkness. This darkness of Africa then can be representative of the darkness of a person's soul. Marlow learns on his journey that all men are capable of evil, and he sees this in Kurtz and others. We see him come out of the darkness into the light. He returns with the knowledge that he is capable of evil, but he won't allow it to control him. We never know what another person is truly thinking or what he/she is deep down in his/her soul, do we? That is the darkness/evil that lies in each of us. I guess the trip could be compared to hell, but those who go to hell aren't allowed to return, whereas Marlow is.
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