The Heart of Darkness

A detailed Summary of The Heart of Darkness

The three stations in Conrad's novella, The Heart of Darkness, serve as steps in a descent. When Marlow's journey down the Congo is examined, it can be viewed as if it were a descent into the pool that is Africa. The stations themselves are attempts at oases within the harsh jungle, but, through exposure, have become corrupted by the darkness of the land. With each station, Marlow comes closer and closer to his final goal, the inner station where Kurtz waits for him. This final station represents a total and complete immersion into the "darkness," and could thus be thought of as "the heart." At each station Marlow is exposed to more and more of the savagery and chaos that is the essence of the darkness. The steps, or evolution, to this darkness can be seen through the characters and experiences that Marlow encounters at the stations.

At the Outer Station, the first stepping-stone into the pool, Marlow encounters the Chief Accountant. The duality of this character becomes apparent to Marlow after he meets the Accountant's assistant. The Accountant's personal dress is what one would expect from a person in England, "I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the f

At the second stepping-stone, the Central station, Marlow meets the General Manager. This encounter takes place following Marlow's discovery of the that the boat that he had planned to continue on down the Congo in had been unaccountably sunk, lending further to the sense of chaos and savagery that is intensifying during the trip down the river. The General Manager is a perfect representative for the Central Station. He appears to be an average, normal man, but upon closer examination, Marlow finds that there is something wrong with him, something inside. Though Marlow hasn't come to understand it yet, what is wrong with the Manager is that he is infected by the darkness. "He was a common trader, from his youth up, employed in these parts-nothing more. He was obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect. He inspired uneasiness. Not a definite mistrust-just uneasiness-nothing more" (25). Everyone who goes to Africa eventually is infected by the darkness.

The three stations along the trip down the Congo, the three steps down to the pool, are all represented by the managers of the stations. The Accountant seams to be a civilized man by nature, but has begun to become corrupted by the darkness in that he has taken on one of the native women as his slave and prostitute. The General Manager appears to be an average fellow, but upon inspection, has an obvious darker side to him. Kurtz, managing the Inner

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Approximate Word count = 970
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English