Title: Heart of Darkness

Author: Joseph Conrad

Date of Publication: 1902

Genre: Modern novella

Biographical information about the author:

Joseph Conrad was born in 1857 in Poland as Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski. His father was active in a revolutionary movement to bring Polish independence, and as a result, the Russian government kept Conrad’s family from settling for long in one place. His mother died when he was seven of tuberculosis. His father died of the same illness when he was only eleven. His mother’s brother took him into custody. Five years later, he moved to France to learn to sail. In 1878, he traveled to England and spent the next twenty years sailing on British ships. In 1889, Conrad began writing his first novel Almayer’s Folly; it was published in 1895. In 1890, Conrad was shocked by what he saw when he traveled in the Belgian Congo, on a trip in which gave him a severe illness and disillusioned him towards imperialism. The exploitation he observed there served as an inspiration for Heart of Darkness. Conrad married Jessie George in 1896, and he was ; he was sixteen years older than her. Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness in 1898 and 1899. Conrad continued to write until he died of a heart attack in 1924.

Historical background:

Heart of Darkness was written in 1898 and 1899. Europe was undergoing great social changes in this period, is an example of “twentieth century” literature, marked by a questioning of traditions and imperialism. Twentieth century literature actually began in the late nineteenth century. This period is largely marked by the weakening of stable traditions, dominant during the Victorian age, epitomized in the bohemian movement in France. Pessimism was common in the literature of the “twentieth century.” Idealism about imperialism, prevalent in the mid-1800s, was beginning to fall in Britain and Europe as the public became aware of the injustices and exploitations. The Boer War, a brutal and costly struggle between the native South Africans and the British imperialists broke out as Conrad wrote this novella. At the same time, Sigmund Freud was beginning his work on the id, the ego, and the super-ego.

Characteristics of the Genre:

The modern novella often illuminates individual experience, conveys inner consciousness, and focuses on the mystery of the universe, its lack of order and purpose

Plot summary:

         Heart of Darkness begins on the Thames river and told by an unknown narrator. He and several other men are on the deck of a ship when Marlow, a captain, begins to speak. Marlow had always wanted to travel to Africa and up the snakelike Congo River. With the help of his aunt in Brussels, Marlow gets a job as a boat captain on the river with a Dutch trading company that deals in ivory. After getting his assignment at the office in Brussels, he travels to the mouth of the Congo River in a French steamer, which drops off soldiers and clerks at many stations along the African coast. The site of a French man-of-war firing at nothing puzzles Marlow. When Marlow arrives at the mouth of the Congo, a Swedish captain takes him to the company’s Inner Station on a smaller boat. Outside of the station he sees Africans chained and working hard at worthless projects, with others nearby dying slowly. Marlow is impressed with the competence and dress of the accountant who works at this station. It is here that he firsts learns of Kurtz, an exceptional trader who is destined for great things. Marlow then travels to the company’s Central Station, walking two hundred miles inland with a sick, overweight white man who had to be carried by Africans, until they tired of it and abandoned him. Once at the station, Marlow meets the General Manager, a hollow man who got his job not by virtue of his merit but simply by remaining alive. His only talent is making people feel uneasy. The boat Marlow was supposed to captain had been torn up in an accident just before he arrived, so Marlow spends months at the station making repairs and waiting for rivets. During this time, Marlow watches many of the white men do no work and walk aimlessly. One day a building caught fire and they decided to punish an African for it. Marlow then meets another hollow man, the brick maker, who has no materials to build bricks. The brick maker questions Marlow about his connections in Europe, and Marlow learns more about Kurtz, who is besides being an excellent trader, an artist and in Africa for the purpose of bringing light to the natives. Marlow determines that the brick maker is a spy for the manager and that neither likes Kurtz. The mysterious Kurtz increasingly intrigues Marlow. He overhears the manager and the manager’s corrupt uncle express their hatred and jealousy towards Kurtz, who is rumored to be ill. With the repairs complete, Marlow captained the boat upriver, manager on board, towards Kurtz’s station. He employed the help of a group of cannibals, who refrained from eating anyone in his presence. Just before arriving at Kurtz’s station, a tribe of Africans attacked the ship, and his African helmsman was killed, having lost his self-control.  At this point Marlow worries that he may never meet Kurtz, but they find Kurtz’s station upriver. Greeted by a young Russian, Marlow finds out that Kurtz is very ill. He also finds out that Kurtz convinced a tribe he was a deity to use them to get more ivory. Kurtz goes crazy and runs for the woods, devoid of all restraint. Marlow finds him and helps him back to his bed. Kurtz gives Marlow some papers to give to people in Europe. Kurtz eventually dies, saying “The horror, the horror.” Marlow returns to Europe, delivers the papers, and eventually talks to Kurtz’s fiancé. She is still very idealistic and he cannot tell her about Kurtz’s last words, saying instead Kurtz uttered her name before dying.

Describe the author’s style:

The complexity of Conrad’s language is often characterized by balanced phrases and parallel structures. He interprets his narrative with long, poetic descriptions of natural scenes. Although sometimes criticized for his verbosity, his word choice, phrasing, and length of sentence, these characteristics tend to elevate his prose to the level of eloquence.

An example that demonstrates the style:

“The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway. In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint, and in the luminous space that tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked, with gleams of varnished sprits. A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness. The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and greatest, town on earth.” (Page 1)

Memorable Quotes

Quote

Significance

-“The work was going on. The work! And this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die.” (Page 14)

-“ I noticed there was a hole in the bottom of his pail.” (Page 20)

-“The horror! The horror!” (Page 64)

-“What saves us is efficiency – the devotion to efficiency” (Page 4).

-This quote clearly illustrates the theme that the European presence in Africa was futile and cruel. The Europeans at the outer station were working the Africans to death on projects designed for no apparent purpose. The senselessness of the situation is used by Conrad to show that the Europeans were not going to accomplish anything in Africa.

- In this passage a shed full of native African crafts catches on fire. “A stout man with mustaches” tries to put the fire out but is doomed for failure because of a hole in his pail. European imperialism is represented water pail and the fire represents the vivacious culture that the Europeans are trying to suppress. The water pail cannot possibly put out the fire because all the water leaks out. Conrad uses this the hole in the bucket to show that the European attempt to “civilize” the Africans is futile.

-Kurtz’s last words have a remarkable reflection on a theme from the novel that “A journey is more fulfilling than its end.” When Kurtz realizes that he has reached the end of his journey, his life, he can remember the many experiences and accomplishments he has made during the journey of his life. However, Kurtz also realizes that the path he had chosen for his journey brought about his demise, the end of his journey. This theme is also reflected through Marlow who gains much experience through his journey in Africa but when he returns to Europe he cannot bring closure to his journey. The horror of ending a journey overshadows the experiences that occurred along that journey.

-This quote most clearly supports the theme of the novel that “Without restraint civilization tends toward savagery.” Marlow comments that conquerors like the Romans can remain sane by efficiently doing their work and not deeply involving themselves with the natives.  The focus on efficiency restrains people from answering to only their primal instincts. Marlow is able to remain civil by occupying himself with the responsibilities of being a riverboat captain; however, Kurtz ignores the guidelines of his work and is pulled into the savage culture of the natives.

Characters

Name

Role in the story

Significance

Adjectives

Marlow

He is a European sailor who narrates the story. He goes to Africa to pilot a riverboat for a Belgian ivory trading company. It becomes Marlow’s duty to seek out Kurtz, another riverboat captain, and bring him back to the trading companies central.

Marlow plays a significant role in the themes of the novel. During Marlow’s journey up the river Marlow witnesses the futility of the European imperialism, seeing incidents of meaningless abuse and . Upon reaching Kurtz, a brilliant man Marlow had eagerly anticipated meeting, he finds a sick, savage man lost with no restraint. He learned more in his journey from his observations on restraint and the treatment of the Africans than he did when he finally arrived at his goal, which was to speak to Kurtz.

ascetic

honest

Kurtz

He is the most successful agent for the Dutch trading company. Kurtz becomes so entwined in his trade that he breaks the rules of his company and employs savage techniques to get ivory. He becomes very ill and before his death, he tries to escape civilization and go into the jungle.

Kurtz is critical to the meaning of the novel. His initial goals disappeared as he rose to be the top agent in the Belgian Congo. His change from an idealistic imperialist to an ivory-obsessed agent is used to show that the Europeans could not “civilize” Africa. Africa made Europeans un-“civilized.” After being isolated for too long, he had become a beast, with the heads of Africans on poles at his station. Kurtz, a good man in Europe, had lost all restraint, even ignoring the rules of his own company. Conrad illustrates that without restraint, people tend towards savagery through Kurtz’s attempted escape into the jungle.

talented

conflicted

Accountant

He lives at the Outer Station and is the company’s main accountant. He greets Marlow and tells him about Kurtz.

Conrad uses the accountant to show that with restraint, a person is sensible and level-headed, even in difficult conditions, in contrast with the helmsman and Kurtz that Marlow will encounter later. The accountant is restrained by his commitment to his appearance and his work.

well-dressed

hard-working

Cannibals

They work on the boat with Marlow as the boat moves towards the inner station.

The cannibals exemplify the power of restraint. Marlow wonders why these men do not eat him, because they have not eaten anything but rotting hippo meat in months. Marlow sees how complicated the savages are, as he cannot find a single reason why these uncivilized African cannibals are not eating the pilgrims. Some restraint is keeping them from bestiality.

restrained

hungry

Marlow’s Aunt

She is in the top social circle in Brussels, and she helps Marlow get the job in Brussels.

Marlow’s Aunt believes in imperialism. She plays the role of showing the idealistic European view of imperialism, blind to its exploitation, cruelty, and ultimate futility. While no “progress” is being made on the African cultures, she is enthusiastic about the idea.

enthusiastic

idealistic

Kurtz’s mistress

She is Kurtz’s lover at the inner station; she belongs to the tribe which Kurtz controls.

Kurtz’s mistress provides more basis for the theme that the imperialism is futile. Kurtz went to Africa to civilize “savages” like her but instead he became like her. She is mysterious and the pilgrims did not understand what she was saying or doing.

wild

gorgeous

General Manager

He runs the company and is not particularly talented. He makes people uneasy.

The general manager shows how restraint keeps people from becoming savage. He outlasts Kurtz and everyone else in Africa by being patient and following all of the rules.

hollow

repugnant

General Manager’s Uncle

He is in charge of the corrupt Eldorado Expedition, which Marlow hears came to a bad fate in the wilderness.

The manager’s uncle and his expedition represent the cruelty in the European occupation. They are “sordid buccaneers… reckless without hardihood, greed without audacity, and cruel without courage” (27).

corrupt

conspiring

Harlequin Russian

He is Kurtz’s assistant and devoted follower at the inner station.

The Russian’s actions may also depict the theme that restraint keeps people from wild savagery. He is busy talking to and taking care of Kurtz, but in the end, when Kurtz is dying, he is content to walk out into the jungle with practically nothing.

young

foolish

Kurtz’s intended

She is Kurtz’s fiancée back in Europe, whom Marlow visits months after Kurtz’s death.

She represents the idealism behind imperialism, much like Marlow’s aunt. She believes Kurtz died doing good things for the world, when in fact, he died doing no good

naïve

mature

The helmsman

He was an African who helped Marlow navigate. When the boat comes under attack, he goes crazy on the deck and is killed by an arrow.

The helmsman shows how the loss of restraint causes a person to become savage. During the attack on the ship, the helmsman lost all restraint and began acting on primal instinct, ultimately leading to his death.

wild

foolish