Heart of Darkness

A detailed Summary of Heart of Darkness

No summary, no dissecting out of a "subject", is adequate to express the intention and significance of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". The theme is not schematic; it is embodied in the metaphors, in the structural pattern, and the step-by-step flow of the narration. However, Conrad does have one identifiable chief concern. As he himself stated in a letter to F. N. Doubleday on June 2, 1924: "I think that an author who tries to 'explain' is exposing himself to a very great risk-the risk of confessing himself a failure. For a work of art should speak for itself. Yet much could be said on the other side; for it is also clear that a work of art is not a logical demonstration carrying its intention on the face of it."

"Heart of Darkness" has it significant public side, as a heated document on illogical and brutal exploitation. It may be read merely to shock, yet it is evidence of things seen and done.

To attempt to understand the purpose of the story, it is important to first closely evaluate Marlow's character. One would think that Marlow is merely the obvious medium through which we examine the exploitation of the Congo natives and the degradation of Mr. Kurtz, the 'hollow man'. However, "Heart of Darkness" is above

This leads to the conclusion and an attempt to uncover meaning in both "Heart of Darkness" and Marlow as a character. In Marlow's eyes, the most one could desire for out of life is self understanding or self- realization, and that perhaps the most absolute knowledge comes just at the flash of death, as seems to have happened with Kurtz by his last words. Ultimately, it becomes evident that his real journey has been to the center of the human soul.

d grayness that Marlow fears. Conrad plays with these themes at length, sometimes using imagery in traditional ways and also creating shock and significant reversals.

all concerned with the influence of the country and of Kurtz on Marlow. One could conclude this from Marlow's own words. "It was the farthest point of navigation and the culminating point of my experience. It seemed somehow to throw a kind of light on everything about me-and into my thoughts. It was somber enough too-and pitiful-not extraordinary in any way-not very clear either. No, not very clear. And yet it seemed to

In any event, it is important to recognize that the story is not primarily about Kurtz or about the cruelty of Belgian officials but about Marlow its narrator. It concerns Marlow and his journey toward and through certain aspects or potentialities of self. As a narrator, he provides a precise and concretely realized point of view. But Marlow repeats frequently enough that he is recounting a spiritual voyage of self-discovery. He remarks nonchalantly but importantly that he did not know himself before setting out, and that he likes work for the chance it presents to find himself...what no other man can know. The Inner Station was the farthest point of his experience. At a material and rather surface level, the journey is through the temptation of a tangled web. It is a record of distant relationship with the wild and passionate chaos, of a trace of a response to it, of an ultimate refusal of the fascination of abomination.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Marlow Civilization, Inner Station, Kurtz Marlow, Kurtz Marlow's, Kurtz's Intended, Heart Darkness, Darkness Marlow, Doubleday June, , light dark, heart darkness, Conrad Marlow, kurtz words, light light, dark light, marlow character, looking marlow, light darkness, kurtz marlow,

Approximate Word count = 1336
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English