Ruminations on Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

         Brooding, dark, intense, and moody are all exceptional words to associate with Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. At first glance, Heart of Darkness is a straightforward adventure tale, as we follow our protagonist Charlie Marlow as he leads a steamboat deeper and deeper into the African continent, to the presumed heart of the darkness. At the heart, is a man named Kurtz, who soon dominates most aspects of the narrative, and the second half of the story is based around revealing the nature of this man. The story of Marlow is imperative for Conrad’s work, as it leads to this wild man Kurtz, who is seen as an outcast by most, as he had once been a true renaissance man while living in Europe, but the jungle had changed him, returning him to a barbaric state. The conclusion to Kurtz story is the solution sought by completing the novel, while the conclusion to the protagonist’s story is somewhat left milling around. Looming over the story though, are far deeper and more complex meanings and themes, as the text is layered with the horrors of imperialism, the juxtaposition of opposites, the not-so-civilized manner of society, and an examination of the darkness that is in us all. Throughout the novel, Conrad’s expertise is in form: characters, albeit limited, are fleshed out, the prose keeps up with the remarkably symbolic and even poetic language, and suspense and atmosphere are established, giving the reader a full sense of immersion into the dark and impenetrable African wilderness. Anyone interested in reading this story must know that this book isn’t written to just “tell a story”, but instead delve into deep philosophical realms involving the nature of humans, opposites, and more. This “tale within a tale” is usually the reason why most would read this novel, and those interested in reading this novel would be: those fascinated in philosophic ideology pertaining to the nature of opposites, those interested in learning more of the effects of colonialism and imperialism in a fictional yet persuasive account, and even those who have seen Francis Ford Coppolas Vietnam Epic appropriately named Apocalypse Now and wanted to know more about the inspiration of that film, which is Heart of Darkness.