Heart of Darkness - Q 5

In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow refers to the offices of his employers as a "whited sepulchre." Here, the immediate image that comes to mind is that of a tomb as that is another word for sepulchre. Because he characterizes the office of his employer as a tomb, this evokes an image of death. Additionally, the adjective used to describe this sepulchre is "whited." Furthermore, Conrad plays with color symbolism in this passage since the color white usually symbolizes innocence or wisdom; however, here, the color white symbolizes death. The description of the street leading up to the office develops this metaphor because the town is described as deserted and therefore lacks life, just as a tomb which is what he refers to the office as.