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Many also say that such a stance misses the story's larger point, racist or not. The speaker Marlow's own harsh experience suggests all this, but it comes across most forcefully in the legendary character Kurtz. It has been seen through lenses ranging from historical to psychoanalytic to seemingly everything between them - not least including biographical, as the scariest thing about the story is just how closely it is based on Conrad's experience. Conrad shows that, for all civilization's supposed progress, the bestial instincts underlying humanity are only repressed - and quite weakly at that.
There are many others, not least Conrad's hauntingly beautiful and complex prose. Most simply and obviously, it can be appreciated as a sort of adventure story involving exploration and human endurance pushed to its limit; it has some fine suspense in this sense. Much of his reputation as a stylist comes from this, and it is simply incredible that he was not a native English speaker.These factors among many others made "Heart" a standard of English curricula for decades, and its popularity shows no sign of lessening. The realization of just how bad things are hits Marlow so hard that he cannot bring himself to tell Kurtz's widow the truth, letting her think that his last words were her name, though he was so far gone that he had no time to even think of such things. It takes only an ostensibly primitive setting to bring them out, and when unleashed they can be at least as vicious as any wild animal's and worse in being malicious. Far more importantly, it is an unflinching look into the darkness of humanity's heart - a dramatization of just how low human nature can sink.
It fuses both into a dark masterpiece that works on many levels. One would be very hard-pressed to find a text of such length with so many and various interpretations - nay, a text of any length; Shakespeare and a few other mainstays aside, hardly any other English language text has proven so malleable. That said, for what it is worth, he was no more so than the average writer - much less the average person - of his day. At once vividly realistic and profoundly symbolic, it on the one hand did much to expose the Belgian Congo's atrocities and on the other is a brilliant allegory whose precise meaning is still hotly debated over a century later. As his final comment says, "It would have been too dark--too dark altogether." Much the same may be said of the story itself, so realistically unflattering is its humanity depiction, which is a large part of the reason it is a masterwork.
This is most overt in the depiction of brutal inhumanity toward fellow human beings, but multiple symbolic layers make it all the more disturbing. Many editions include it, but all should seek it out."Heart" is one of the most anthologized works in English, available in many collections of both Conrad and general literature. It is debatable whether his days end in madness or some extreme guilt/shock combination, but his immortal final words - "The horror. "Heart of Darkness" is Joseph Conrad's most famous and arguably best work - not only one of the greatest short works ever but simply one of the greatest period. However, it has been the focus of attention for another reason in the last few decades - racist accusations stemming from African writer Chinua Achebe's famous essay. Conrad was certainly prejudiced and ethnocentric, if not necessarily racist in today's sense, which is reflected in "Heart" and most of his other work. Indeed, his experience as a Polish, initially non-English speaking outsider on ships around the world and in England gave him more empathy for those outside mainstream Western culture than nearly anyone else in it could have had.
One can even argue that it is perverse to pick on "Heart" when racist overtones can be found in nearly every work from the Victorian era - nay, nearly everything right up until the last few decades - since it shows some empathy for Africans, is generally seen as anti-colonialist, and eventually helped lead to reform. It is possible to get it alone or with almost any number of other works by Conrad and others along with widely varying amounts of supplemental material. "Heart" is in many ways the culmination of early Conrad, which featured, among other focuses, a strong sea element and an emphasis on European colonialism in Africa and elsewhere. Cost of course varies along with this. Like many ambitious but unethical Europeans of the era, Kurtz had no problem exploiting those in the Congo for personal gain, but the shocking conditions and enforced brutality eventually wear him down to the point where he snaps. The horror." - sum up the whole story and all it symbolizes. Yet there is much to Achebe's reading, and all serious fans should read it and make their own decision.
Readers must decide what fits their needs, but anyone wanting an inexpensive "Heart" need look no further than this.
This, in essence, is Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.Told through Marlow, an old, British seaman reflecting back upon his earlier years as a steamboat Captain in a time when the ivory boon was high, and the opinion of African natives unpardonable, Conrad's novella is barely 95 pages long, and yet a verbose read. In their few grim days together, Marlow comes to both loath and pity Kurtz--revolted by the man's uncouth methods, yet identifying with the desires which have led him to use them.It is Kurtz's famous (and pathetic) cry of, "The horror. A story of racism, greed, human depravity, vain ambition, and the choices one makes on their own in the darkest regions of the soul. Sunset unfolds along the Thames River, bestowing the day's final gilded caresses upon the bow of an old ship, and the men who sit waiting for the tide. Might his own ideology betray him as well.Joseph Conrad does us the gut-wrenching service of challenging the conscience through graphic visuals and an inquiry into Marlow and Kurtz's personal ethics. A god among the local natives, he wields his position with fear and cruelty.
An individual who, though at one time was very similar to Marlow, has allowed his ambitious ideals and time away from "civilized society" to alter him into a debauched monster.
Our protagonist describes his venture for a trade shipping company as he travels up a river "resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country," to collect both ivory and a fellow by the name of Kurtz.Kurtz's enigmatic reputation precedes him (for the copious amounts of ivory he yields and the god-like influence he possesses over others, as well as his assured position of title within the company), and Marlow finds himself enrapt, nay--becoming obsessed, with the image of this man.
One wonders if his horror is due to the inability to fulfill his ambitions, or the realization that those ambitions have betrayed him.
The luminescent skyline and haze-drenched shores incite the tired memory of one sailor, soon drawing out a bizarre tale set in the heart of the Congo.
The horror." which sums up the palpable flavor of the book.
As the swampy, protracted journey continues, Marlow's absorption expands until, at last, in the afterward of a bloody raid on his ship from local natives, he meets Kurtz face-to-face.
Or what is left of Kurtz.What Marlow discovers in Kurtz is more a ghostly fiend than a man.
And what of Marlow's response.
Considered semi-autobiographical, Conrad's Heart of Darkness takes us readers on a journey into the jungles of our own souls, there to breed reflection and discomfort with the hope that we will somehow find our way back out--alive and perhaps even altered for the better.
It is so difficult to read because his command of grammar and punctuation is so poor. I love how certain types like to claim how grand and magnificent this book is. I have several Polish colleagues and let me assure you it is one of the most complicated and difficult languages. No mystery about why many hate it. Maybe he should have written it in Polish and then had it translated. That being said, Conrad wrote this book in English.
A classic. Conrad's native language was Polish. The reason people are frequently lost and re-reading passages is because he commands the idea of quoting and transitions in narration in such a weak way. He was qouted as having said that their were difficulties and complexities of the English language that had "eluded" him. To that, I say "yeah, we noticed".This book is simply poorly written. I don't think so.
Sorry.
It seems like it was made as a child's book (not a bad thing.if you're a child). I was turned on to this book after reading "Rivers Ran East". I enjoyed it anyway. It was a book about head hunting and traveling down the Amazon. This is an interesting book, but not quite as good. It seems like the author focuses on story telling rather than getting to a greater purpose. I would recommend "Rivers Ran East" before reading this.
This book was purchased for my daughter for her high school class (she is a junior). I had to purchase this online because Barnes and Nobles does not have it on the shelf unless they order it for you. It was recommended by edition from her teacher, for academic review. They recommend this book for school because the other edition is just a Barnes and Nobles Classic. I just order it myself when a store tells me that. Why pay them and wait for them when it can be delivered quite conveniently at my doorstep.
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