Postcolonial Literature \"Heart of Darkness,\"

Postcolonial Literature

"Heart of Darkness," a story by Joseph Conrad, is a hellish story told by a man named Marlow as he sits on the deck of the Nellie, a ship on the Thames River. Marlow is compelled to tell his story about his time spent on the dark continent and the things that he witnessed. Though no one seems to have much interest in Marlow's story, he still tells the story about his exploration into uncharted territories in the middle of Africa. Marlow goes to Africa after getting work as a captain of a steamboat with the Company, an ivory trading company. While there, Marlow discovers that the black people are being treated very badly by the white people, forcing them to do the most abhorrent work for the Company. He hears of a man named Mr. Kurtz almost immediately after arriving in Africa and Kurtz becomes sort of a mysterious figure for Marlow, arousing in him much curiosity. Marlow is finally able to discover who Kurtz is after Kurtz is freed from the clutches of the native people. However, once freed, it becomes clear that Kurtz has gone mad. He is also plagued with disease and he finally dies because of it. Kurtz is a representation of all the white colonizers who went into an area and abused the native people. Kurtz had once been an admirable man, perhaps like Marlow himself, but what becomes clear is that there was a bit of darkness in Kurtz's heart that took over. Marlow sees the possibility for that to happen to any man and he is forced to look inside himself to see his own darkness and come to terms with it.

What is so compelling about "Hearts of Darkness" as a story is the journey of Marlow's character as he comes to realize what exactly is going on in the far off region of the world, far away from his own civilization. Marlow was so excited to travel to Africa, but once he gets there, he slowly begins to see the atrocities taking place at the hands of his white brothers. He begins to see how imperialism happens and how genocide isn't far behind it. When there is money at stake like there was in the Congo in the form of ivory, men can grow greedy and will stop at nothing to make it theirs.

1. What were your feelings after reading the opening chapter of the book and why? After reading the opening chapter of the book, I was immediately intrigued. Conrad does an amazing job of setting up an atmosphere of mystery and impending doom. After the first chapter I could tell that something terrible was going to take place because of the way that Conrad describes the jungle as being such a powerful place. The reader gets the idea that things happen in the jungle to a man and their control is relinquished. The idea that the Company is bringing civilization to this "dark continent" and Marlow's Aunt's ideas about the native people set the scene for horrible acts to take place.

2. After reading half the book? Why? After reading half the book I was further intrigued by Marlow's view of Africa and the native people. Marlow begins to see the people there as being primitive and his words grow increasingly scared. He tries to maintain his own sense of civility, but he claims that it is very hard to do, which further evidences the power of the jungle over a man (even a man of the most European descent).

3. After finishing the book? Why? After finishing the book I am not sure whether Conrad was saying that Marlow is going to become exactly the same as Kurtz or if he is wise enough now to know that he could become like Kurtz if he isn't careful in the jungle. However, at the end of the story Conrad says something about the men looking out over the Thames into an immense darkness, which makes me think that Conrad is implying that this kind of horror can take place anywhere because it is the darkness that is in all men and not in just an "uncivilized" place. Conrad seems to be saying that the uncivilized place resides inside of men and though their outwardly appearance may be well-kempt (like the accountant at the beginning of the story), this is just a nice facade for what is truly going on. However, it has to be noted that Kurtz grows more and more ugly and thin as he gets greedier and greedier. He is almost a bit like Dorian Gray in Wilde's story "The Portrait of Dorian Gray." The more hateful he becomes, the more grotesque his image in the portrait appears.

4. Did the book make you laugh? Cry? Cringe? Smile? Cheer? Explain your reaction. The book did not make me laugh or cry. It made me cringe more than anything else. Conrad is very good about creating a mysterious atmosphere for the story and kept me wanting to read, but I also knew that what was going to occur at the end was not what any of the readers would expect.

5. What connections are there between the book and your life? Explain. There are not direct connections between the book and my life, but I think that there are more cultural connections. We need only to look at the history of this country and its history of slavery and the legacy that has been made because of it. And it goes back further than slavery; it goes back to when Europeans were first coming to this country and they were killing the native American people, calling them uncivilized. This history has penetrated into our culture and it is something that will take hundreds and hundreds of years to heal.