Probably the dampest book I've ever read--humidity drips off the end of each line like a light mist in a heavy fog. More is left unsaid than is written on the page, and this is truly a classic even though there is too much left unsaid for me to rate it at the very top.

Favorite line: As Marlow cautiously pilots the steamboat up the river toward the inland station and its mysterious keeper Kurtz, his manager says "I authorize you to take all the risks." Marlow curtly snaps back "I refuse to take any."

On page 3, the narrator (not Marlow) tells us that "Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be excepted), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine."
This story is not typical. Its meaning isn't inside the text; rather, the text requires its meaning to be explicated outside in the world of symbols and signs. I recently used this text in a expository writing class focused mainly on teaching what, and not how to write (what to write when confronted with your own lack of desire to write). Conrad's text needs to be fitted into 19th century philosophy and especially epistemology. For a great essay see: Decentering "Heart of Darkness" by Perry Meisel. If you're not reading this text for a class (with a teacher versed in 19th century philosophy) or with the intent to look into the historical "narrative" that brings out the meaning of the text like a "glow brings out a haze", then don't bother.
I read this book quicky in about six hours, then spent the next 7 days going through 10 pages a day. That method seemed to work but those 10 pages took nearly 2 hours to read carefully. The result is a story so filled with symbolism that even reading it as a denounciation of colonialism or mperialism seems shallow! Highly recommended for disciplined reading!

Like most people, I was familiar with Heart of Darkness, both as an acclaimed work of literature and as the inspiration for the remarkable movie Apocolypse Now. For some reason, I recently decided to make an attempt at reading it, despite my concern that it was written at a level beyond my capacity to understand.

Upon receipt of the volume from Amazon, I was initially under the impression that I had mistakenly ordered the Cliff's Notes version of the work. I had no idea that the book was essentially a short story, easily readable in 2-3 hours.

Even more surprising, was the ease with which I was able to follow and understand the story, though admittedly written in a slightly dense prose. Perhaps this was due to having seen Apocolypse Now and being familiar with the broad outline of the story and having read other works of history on the Belgian Congo.

In any event, it was a decent story, filled with some beautifully descriptive language and imagery. I must say, however, that I was not bowled over. Steamship Captain pilots a ragged boat up the Congo, accompanied by colonial agents and support staff (cannibals and other natives) in an attempt to relieve a long stranded station agent (Kurtz) who has "gone native" and become the insane source of worship for the local natives. If you've seen Apocolypse Now, you know the story, just replace the Mekong with the Congo.

I go back to my first paragraph in which I related a concern over my ability to understand what is considered a classic work of literature. I fully understood it, but was perhaps not qualified to fully appreciate it.

This book is beautifully disturbing at how well it describes the fall of man to his primal state.

I read this book for a graduate Humanities course. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 is a seminal work about the ills of colonialism, as well as a postmodern look at the subject of mankind. Conrad's book had a crucial influence on five important works of the twentieth century: J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough. Jessie L. Weston's book From Ritual to Romance, T. S. Elliott's poem the Waste Land, Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, and Francis Ford Coppolla's movie Apocalypse Now, screenplay by John Milius, was based on Conrad's book. Another interesting fact is that this work was read by Orson Welle's Mercury Theater Players on the radio and was to be his first movie. After doing some work on it he abandoned the project to do Citizen Kane! I would have loved to of seen what Welles could have done with this story. Conrad's story is so riveting in part, because he himself served as a riverboat captain. High school teachers and college professors who have discussed this book in thousands of classrooms over the years tend to do so in terms of Freud, Jung, and Nietzsche; of classical myth, Victorian innocence, and original sin; of postmodernism, postcolonialism, and poststructuralism.

Just a taste of the plot reels you in! Marlow, the narrator of Heart of Darkness and Conrad's alter ego, is hired by an ivory-trading company to sail a steamboat up an unnamed river whose shape on the map resembles "an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country and its tail lost in the depths of the land" (8). His destination is a post where the company's brilliant, ambitious star agent, Mr. Kurtz, is stationed. Kurtz has collected legendary quantities of ivory, but, Marlow learns along the way, is also rumored to have sunk into unspecified savagery. Marlow's steamer survives an attack by blacks and picks up a load of ivory and the ill Kurtz; Kurtz, talking of his grandiose plans, dies on board as they travel, downstream.

Sketched with only a few bold strokes, Kurtz's image has nonetheless remained in the memories of millions of readers: the lone white agent far up the great river, with his dreams of grandeur,his great store of precious ivory, and his fiefdom carved out of the African jungle. Perhaps more than anything, we remember Marlow, on the steamboat, looking through binoculars at what he thinks are ornamental knobs atop the fence posts in front of Kurtz's house and then finding that each is "black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids-a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and with the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth" (57).

I especially became interested in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness from the movie Apocalypse Now. There is a scene in the movie that shows Colonel Kurtz's nightstand in his cave. T. S. Elliott's poem the Waste Land is one of three books on the nightstand. The other two are Jessie L. Weston's book From Ritual to Romance, and J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough. Anyone wanting to understand the movie Apocalypse Now, especially the character of Colonel Kurtz, and what Milius and Copolla are trying to tell their audience need to read these three books as well as Conrad's Heart of Darkness!

As a graduate student reading in philosophy and history I recommend this book for anyone interested in literature, myth, history, philosophy, religion and fans of Apocalypse Now.

This book is not only the Heart of Darkness by title but by influence it is also the "heart of noir." The mood of the book and the language itself is dense and suffocating, creating an bleak atmosphere that would inspire many film noir movies of the 40s and 50s. (This is not even to mention Apocalypse Now many years later which is not-so-loosely based on this novel, but set in a different milieu.) Consider this book the grandaddy of noir if you will. The ending is as bleak as they come, and I don't think rivaled by any of its imitators.

Also I only think it fair to mention *twice* just how dense the writing is in this book. Be prepared!

It's a wonderful experience in a brooding sort of way if you can get through it though and learn to navigate the language like the narrator navigates the jungle.

If you have to read it for class, then my condolences. Under the gun this wouldn't be that fun of a read I don't think.

Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews. This review of the "Heart of Darkness" is very good if I do say so myself.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks.

Don't be put off by the word "masterpiece." The "Heart of Darkness" is a great adventure story, but so much more. You will find yourself plumbing its depths as Conrad describes a voyage up the Congo on an old steamer. Conrad's language is magnificent, and to be savored.

In modern times, Cormac McCarthy (see Blood Meridian) has recast Conrad's powerful style and made it his own. The following comparison reveals a lot about both writers.

"The Heart of Darkness," by Joseph Conrad:


"We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil. But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, , of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy and motionless foliage. The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us--who could tell" we were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were travelling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign--and no memories."

"Blood Meridian," by Cormac McCathy:

"That night they rode through a region electric and wild where strange shapes of soft blue fire ran over the metal of the hoses' trappings and the wagonwheels rolled in hoops of fire and little shapes of pale blue light came to perch in the ears of the horses and in the beards of the men. All night sheetlightning quaked and sourceless to the west beyond the midnight thunderheads, making a bluish day of the distant desert, the mountains on the sudden skyline stark and black and lived like a land of some other order out there whose true geology was not stone but fear. The thunder moved up from the southwest and lightning lit the desert all about them, blue and barren, great clanging reaches ordered out of the absolute night like some demon kingdom summoned up or changeling land that come the day would leave them neither trace nor smoke nor ruin more than any troubling dream."

Don't be put off by the word "masterpiece." The "Heart of Darkness" is a great adventure story, but so much more. You will find yourself plumbing its depths as Conrad describes a voyage up the Congo on an old steamer. Conrad's language is magnificent, and to be savored.

In modern times, Cormac McCarthy (see Blood Meridian) has recast Conrad's powerful style and made it his own. The following comparison reveals a lot about both writers.

"The Heart of Darkness," by Joseph Conrad:


"We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil. But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, , of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy and motionless foliage. The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us--who could tell" we were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were travelling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign--and no memories."

"Blood Meridian," by Cormac McCathy:

"That night they rode through a region electric and wild where strange shapes of soft blue fire ran over the metal of the hoses' trappings and the wagonwheels rolled in hoops of fire and little shapes of pale blue light came to perch in the ears of the horses and in the beards of the men. All night sheetlightning quaked and sourceless to the west beyond the midnight thunderheads, making a bluish day of the distant desert, the mountains on the sudden skyline stark and black and lived like a land of some other order out there whose true geology was not stone but fear. The thunder moved up from the southwest and lightning lit the desert all about them, blue and barren, great clanging reaches ordered out of the absolute night like some demon kingdom summoned up or changeling land that come the day would leave them neither trace nor smoke nor ruin more than any troubling dream."

It should be noted immediately that "Heart of Darkness" is not an action packed morality tale like its cinematic cousin "Apocalypse Now", but an excursion into literary techniques such as symbolism and metaphor. As a result, many high school students and English under-grads are put to task to decode Conrad's frequently splendid, but occasionally arcane, use of English. Even if you are like me, (i.e. not a big fan of heavy symbolism, who prefers more literal writing) you will still enjoy this book with a little work.

Heart of Darkness takes place sometime around the turn of the 19th Century. The story is narrated by a worldly and morally ambiguous seafarer named Marlow. Marlow tells us, in great detail, about a voyage he took up the Congo River and his observations and tribulations thereof.

*Some Spoilers Follow*

A main theme to think about is Conrad's repeated thrashing of 19th Century Imperial Colonialism. There are numerous references throughout the book, including the title, of the moral ambiguity, discovery, and tension between "civilized" nations and "primitive" ones and, more importantly, applying this idea allegorically to an individual's internal struggle with his/her own individuality and moral compass.

On the negative side, this book is often over-analyzed to incomprehensibility as eager students and teachers find dubious meanings in admittedly confusing areas. I tend to chalk this up to unfortunate paragraph structure and disappointing anticlimaxes such as Marlow's visits with Kurtz.

Regardless, Conrad wrote a fine tale with historical relevance and personal insight. The trip up the river is especially brilliant. However, do not expect an action packed tale of heroes and villains, but rather think about what the "Heart of Darkness" means.

4/5

It should be noted immediately that "Heart of Darkness" is not an action packed morality tale like its cinematic cousin "Apocalypse Now", but an excursion into literary techniques such as symbolism and metaphor. As a result, many high school students and English under-grads are put to task to decode Conrad's frequently splendid, but occasionally arcane, use of English. Even if you are like me, (i.e. not a big fan of heavy symbolism, who prefers more literal writing) you will still enjoy this book with a little work.



Heart of Darkness takes place sometime around the turn of the 19th Century. The story is narrated by a worldly and morally ambiguous seafarer named Marlow. Marlow tells us, in great detail, about a voyage he took up the Congo River and his observations and tribulations thereof.



*Some Spoilers Follow*



A main theme to think about is Conrad's repeated thrashing of 19th Century Imperial Colonialism. There are numerous references throughout the book, including the title, of the moral ambiguity, discovery, and tension between "civilized" nations and "primitive" ones and, more importantly, applying this idea allegorically to an individual's internal struggle with his/her own individuality and moral compass.



On the negative side, this book is often over-analyzed to incomprehensibility as eager students and teachers find dubious meanings in admittedly confusing areas. I tend to chalk this up to unfortunate paragraph structure and disappointing anticlimaxes such as Marlow's visits with Kurtz.



Regardless, Conrad wrote a fine tale with historical relevance and personal insight. The trip up the river is especially brilliant. However, do not expect an action packed tale of heroes and villains, but rather think about what the "Heart of Darkness" means.



4/5

It should be noted immediately that "Heart of Darkness" is not an action packed morality tale like its cinematic cousin "Apocalypse Now", but an excursion into literary techniques such as symbolism and metaphor. As a result, many high school students and English under-grads are put to task to decode Conrad's frequently splendid, but occasionally arcane, use of English. Even if you are like me, (i.e. not a big fan of heavy symbolism, who prefers more literal writing) you will still enjoy this book with a little work.

Heart of Darkness takes place sometime around the turn of the 19th Century. The story is narrated by a worldly and morally ambiguous seafarer named Marlow. Marlow tells us, in great detail, about a voyage he took up the Congo River and his observations and tribulations thereof.

*Some Spoilers Follow*

A main theme to think about is Conrad's repeated thrashing of 19th Century Imperial Colonialism. There are numerous references throughout the book, including the title, of the moral ambiguity, discovery, and tension between "civilized" nations and "primitive" ones and, more importantly, applying this idea allegorically to an individual's internal struggle with his/her own individuality and moral compass.

On the negative side, this book is often over-analyzed to incomprehensibility as eager students and teachers find dubious meanings in admittedly confusing areas. I tend to chalk this up to unfortunate paragraph structure and disappointing anticlimaxes such as Marlow's visits with Kurtz.

Regardless, Conrad wrote a fine tale with historical relevance and personal insight. The trip up the river is especially brilliant. However, do not expect an action packed tale of heroes and villains, but rather think about what the "Heart of Darkness" means.

4/5

This novel is a testament to the fact that Joseph Conrad's first language was not english. Easy to comprehend and inordinately difficult to read. It's emphasis on visual clarity means that you spend so much time imaging dark gloomy and oppresive that the story (what little there is) is quickly subsumed by the over descrpitive nature of Conrad's descent into the darkness of the human soul.

The price on the book says 1.50... The text is too small and it may be better to pay a little more so you don't need a magnifying glass. Rip Off

Upon re-reading this book here, now, some fifty years into the future, I found it stunningly written and overwhelmingly informed of human darkness and mystic wonder. I've read your negative reviews of this masterwork, and, quite frankly, I'm rather peeved. I have no respect for "modern" schools and education, or so-called "sensitivity" or "sensibilities," so, to save time here---because that's the name of the game at my age---I'll just say that it's not your fault if you didn't "get" this book (duh, dude, yo.) To read and visualize the poetry of something the way it's meant to be, such as Heart Of Drakness---a bridge of Drama between the conscious and unconscious, because all perceived living is drama, and because all thought is mythic---seems to be a skill not concomitant with local and current inclinations. Watching "teevee," and/or other "moving pictures"--especially the thoughtless, mind-imprisoning garbage they serve up in this era, and I have seen many eras--just can not give mind and imagination needed space for visualization, which is how the attendee experiences the experience itself, and not just some other person's opinion or night mare. Do you "get" me, dude, smell what I'm cooking--not! (yech! who thinks this sewage Up?) If you don't "get" Heart Of Darkness now, you will later, but it might be too much later. Unplug anything electric, and read a book or something. You know who you are.

Unspeakably beautiful prose. The images reinforcing the narrative reinforcing the resulting horror, always slightly offstage, but always so close to your own soul as if to feel its very breath.

The plot consists of a frame story and narration of an "adventure" or a misadventure, where a young ambitious man takes a job as a river pilot, sent to investment operations in Africa, with a mission to go upriver and obtain goods and ivory. The story follows his journey from introduction to his employer, his travels in Africa, and his return.

But the plot is not the story, for it is the internal narration that we encounter his growing knowledge and apprehension and anxiety but compelling necessity of meeting Kurtz, the manager of the inner station of the operation.

But even the voice is not the story, for it is the care in which the words are chosen, and the ineffable quality of their lulling you into a state of consciousness of evil. After reading the book you are left marvelling at how literature is capable of such power.

Conrad is an amazing writer! English is his THIRD language, too! This book is so incredibly packed with symbolism and beautiful, almost poetry-like, writing. He references classical literature and Biblical symbolism as well as creating his own themes that run through it. It's really an amazing work! I did my term paper in my British Literature class on it.

After several failed attempts at reading "Heart of Darkness," I finally curled up in a comfy chair one rainy night and read it all in one sitting. This was my experience: I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'M TERRIFIED. A masterpiece of hypnotic writing.

After several failed attempts at reading "Heart of Darkness," I finally curled up in a comfy chair one rainy night and read it all in one sitting. This was my experience: I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'M TERRIFIED. A masterpiece of hypnotic writing.

I consider the work of Joseph Conrad, "Heart of Darkness" to be a literary masterpiece. One of his powerful tools throughout the novella is the imagery, which Conrad uses to illustrate, contrast, and compare ideas for the reader to visualize. We can recognize that the first imagery of darkness emerges from the title of the novella. As we read through the story, we encounter the repetition of light and most importantly the repetition of darkness. The imagery of light and darkness represents beyond the contrast of the colors. It illustrates white (the Europeans) and black (the Africans). Furthermore, it illustrates European colonization versus uncivilized African, righteousness versus inhuman act, and life versus death.

The imagery of light and darkness appears in numerous parts of the novella. Some of the examples, Marlow -he is a main character in the novella- discusses about a blank space on the map as "a white patch," but it had changed into "a place of darkness" (Conrad 5). Fresleven -he is one of the characters in the novella- was killed because of the misunderstanding of "two black hens" (6). Marlow arrives at a city, which reminds him of a "white sepulcher." Two women are "knitting black wool." Marlow sees a "white-haired" secretary (7). Marlow describes the two women as they were guarding the "door of darkness" (8). Marlow sees the color of "dark-green" almost "black" of the edge of the jungle (10). Marlow sees "black rags" around the Africans' loins (12). "We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness" (31). They come upon a "dark corner" at the Inner Station (33). As Marlow goes to see Kurt's intended, the room appears to "have grown darker, as if all the sad light of the cloudy evening had taken refuge on her forehead" (69). Marlow sees "an unearthly glow in the darkness" in Kurt's intended, which reflects her grief and sorrow (70). Marlow is unable to tell Kurt's intended the truth about Kurt's last word as Marlow describes, as "it would have been too dark -too dark altogether" (72). These are some examples of Conrad's illustration of light and darkness that keep repeating throughout the novella. However, the imagery of light and darkness is signified in several meanings according to the plot of the story and the reader's view.

The imagery of light and darkness can be depicted in several intensions. The imagery of light can be represented as white Europeans whose intention is to civilize the African's way of living. In contrast, the imagery of darkness can be represented as the uncivilized Africans. The second intension of light can be depicted as the European imperialism carried out by Kurtz -he is one of the main characters chosen to live among the Africans as the chief or a figurehead- over the Africans' tribe. It seems that Kurt's first intension acquired by his company is to bring light (civilization) into the lives of the Africans and also bring as much ivory as possible into the European company. Subsequently, we find that parts of Kurt's intension had change. His interest on ivory might have been the same or similar to the past but his interest in Africans' lives has changed. He is represented as the light for the Africans while the ivory is represented as darkness. The concept of African civilization by the European company becomes the darkness and the Africans' wild life becomes the light in the heart of darkness.

The imagery of light and darkness is arbitrary in the novella. What is considered to be righteousness according to the Europeans is indeed inhuman. One way is to think of light as bringing the civilization to the Africans, but this can also mean bringing the darkness into the African's lives by chaining them up and making them work as slaves. "The joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking" (13). The European imperialism is represented as the darkness and inhuman act. They go to Africa just because they want "to make money" (17). Europeans make money by collecting ivory and taking advantages of the Africans' land and also the Africans' lives. The image of European trading company as being white and righteousness is an illusion, instead, it is so dark and evil; as a result, many lives are being taken away.

The image of death is signified as darkness. The death of Fresleven signifies as the darkness in Africa and how brutal Africans are (6). The image of Africans being chained up is also signifies as the living death, the darkness; they are being controlled by white men and not being able to run freely (13). The death of a "middle aged Negro with a bullet hold in the forehead" is also signified as inhuman killing (17). This is a form of darkness from the European side. Lastly, it is the death of Kurtz, which signifies as the darkness from the European side and as well as the African side. Perhaps, Kurtz is the only one who can bring light into the lives of the Africans but since he is dead, the light is also vanished along with him leaving the darkness behind the Africans and also his intended who lives in Europe.

The imagery of light and darkness in the novella can be describes in many meanings. What we evaluate as the righteousness might consider as the darkness and inhuman act. Joseph Conrad is an outstanding English writer. He uses the imagery to illustrate and contrast opposite ideas such as light versus darkness, righteousness versus inhuman, and life versus death. What is interesting is that he does not suggest that one idea must be in the category of light or darkness, but instead he makes the reader chooses what is considered as light or darkness.

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover, 1990.

I consider the work of Joseph Conrad, "Heart of Darkness" to be a literary masterpiece. One of his powerful tools throughout the novella is the imagery, which Conrad uses to illustrate, contrast, and compare ideas for the reader to visualize. We can recognize that the first imagery of darkness emerges from the title of the novella. As we read through the story, we encounter the repetition of light and most importantly the repetition of darkness. The imagery of light and darkness represents beyond the contrast of the colors. It illustrates white (the Europeans) and black (the Africans). Furthermore, it illustrates European colonization versus uncivilized African, righteousness versus inhuman act, and life versus death.

The imagery of light and darkness appears in numerous parts of the novella. Some of the examples, Marlow -he is a main character in the novella- discusses about a blank space on the map as "a white patch," but it had changed into "a place of darkness" (Conrad 5). Fresleven -he is one of the characters in the novella- was killed because of the misunderstanding of "two black hens" (6). Marlow arrives at a city, which reminds him of a "white sepulcher." Two women are "knitting black wool." Marlow sees a "white-haired" secretary (7). Marlow describes the two women as they were guarding the "door of darkness" (8). Marlow sees the color of "dark-green" almost "black" of the edge of the jungle (10). Marlow sees "black rags" around the Africans' loins (12). "We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness" (31). They come upon a "dark corner" at the Inner Station (33). As Marlow goes to see Kurt's intended, the room appears to "have grown darker, as if all the sad light of the cloudy evening had taken refuge on her forehead" (69). Marlow sees "an unearthly glow in the darkness" in Kurt's intended, which reflects her grief and sorrow (70). Marlow is unable to tell Kurt's intended the truth about Kurt's last word as Marlow describes, as "it would have been too dark -too dark altogether" (72). These are some examples of Conrad's illustration of light and darkness that keep repeating throughout the novella. However, the imagery of light and darkness is signified in several meanings according to the plot of the story and the reader's view.

The imagery of light and darkness can be depicted in several intensions. The imagery of light can be represented as white Europeans whose intention is to civilize the African's way of living. In contrast, the imagery of darkness can be represented as the uncivilized Africans. The second intension of light can be depicted as the European imperialism carried out by Kurtz -he is one of the main characters chosen to live among the Africans as the chief or a figurehead- over the Africans' tribe. It seems that Kurt's first intension acquired by his company is to bring light (civilization) into the lives of the Africans and also bring as much ivory as possible into the European company. Subsequently, we find that parts of Kurt's intension had change. His interest on ivory might have been the same or similar to the past but his interest in Africans' lives has changed. He is represented as the light for the Africans while the ivory is represented as darkness. The concept of African civilization by the European company becomes the darkness and the Africans' wild life becomes the light in the heart of darkness.

The imagery of light and darkness is arbitrary in the novella. What is considered to be righteousness according to the Europeans is indeed inhuman. One way is to think of light as bringing the civilization to the Africans, but this can also mean bringing the darkness into the African's lives by chaining them up and making them work as slaves. "The joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking" (13). The European imperialism is represented as the darkness and inhuman act. They go to Africa just because they want "to make money" (17). Europeans make money by collecting ivory and taking advantages of the Africans' land and also the Africans' lives. The image of European trading company as being white and righteousness is an illusion, instead, it is so dark and evil; as a result, many lives are being taken away.

The image of death is signified as darkness. The death of Fresleven signifies as the darkness in Africa and how brutal Africans are (6). The image of Africans being chained up is also signifies as the living death, the darkness; they are being controlled by white men and not being able to run freely (13). The death of a "middle aged Negro with a bullet hold in the forehead" is also signified as inhuman killing (17). This is a form of darkness from the European side. Lastly, it is the death of Kurtz, which signifies as the darkness from the European side and as well as the African side. Perhaps, Kurtz is the only one who can bring light into the lives of the Africans but since he is dead, the light is also vanished along with him leaving the darkness behind the Africans and also his intended who lives in Europe.

The imagery of light and darkness in the novella can be describes in many meanings. What we evaluate as the righteousness might consider as the darkness and inhuman act. Joseph Conrad is an outstanding English writer. He uses the imagery to illustrate and contrast opposite ideas such as light versus darkness, righteousness versus inhuman, and life versus death. What is interesting is that he does not suggest that one idea must be in the category of light or darkness, but instead he makes the reader chooses what is considered as light or darkness.

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover, 1990.

If one is seeking answers to the question why things must always go wrong, one must read this book. I have read hundreds of pages of critical writing on Heart of Darkness, and as many interpretations. They were all extremely interesting; they were all a nice try... I would encourage the reader to endeavor to look into what there is beyond the story, not in what is being said, but what is not being said, and why. The answer is at the other end of your own mind. As for the Everyman's edition and Klinkenborg's introduction - just perfect!

Apocalypse Now doesn't do justice to this story. You need to actually lose yourself amidst the pages to discover the true darkness humanity possesses. With each page, you'll be drawn further and further into the jungle of emotions, where you'll try to keep away from the tentacles of nausea and disgust as you traverse the primordial struggle for survival. Sure, you'll fight the mosquitoes and humidity of ethics, but in the end you will succumb to what Joseph Conrad refers to as the dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths and germs of empires.

-by Simon Cleveland

My son needed this for school and this was the best priced edition available.

The heart of darkness contains numerous meanings as portrayed by this veriest yarn narrated by Marlow in his boat venture to see the inexplicable Kurtz.

As written by the verbose and salty seaman Conrad, this book encounters personality eddies and characters ebbing into insanity as the narrator and others discover the Congo conjures an abject funk which today's jargon would describe as insanity.

Deeply moving, this tale contrasts the horrible treatment of the Congo natives. Their value of life diminishes daily amid the pestiferous intrusion by Marlow and Kurtz and these Europeans' Belgian "Company" whose goal and bottom line is to gather all ivory - illegally if one must - for the good of the continental customers.

The "heart of darkness" can be the merging of a gray sky to a gray ocean in the open sea as the sun sets, or it can be the heart of nature which permits the horror brought upon the natives by the whites, or it can be the end of the river which leads to Kurtz's camp of atrocities, or it can what lies in the unknown - the metaphor to the darkness we feared as children.

Eerily, Conrad's writing leads you down the Congo River with the same trepidation and natural fear which a stranger in a very strange land would experience. The writing is so well done that it truly cannot be harnessed in other media. Orson Welles correctly determined this would not translate well into cinema. And, the great "Apocalypse Now" -- with its not-too-distant references -- touches the mood as well as celluloid can. But, it falls short.

This is a qualified classic.

Joseph Conrad's novel about one man's journey into the heart of darkness is considered a classic, and for good reason. This novel has no fear in providing the reader with detailed descriptions of all the horrors that take place throughout its pages.

The novel starts out with Marlow, the main character, sitting down with a few of his ship-mates to tell a story. Normally Marlow's stories aren't ones to stay up for, but he quickly ensnares the listeners with his disturbing tale of madness. Marlow was the captain of a steamboat who ends up at a slave-trading post along the banks of a huge river in Africa. While at the post, not only does Marlow witness some of the most horrible things you can imagine, but he also hears many rumors and stories of a brilliant man, Kurtz, who runs another post farther up the river, and farther into the deep wilderness. Kurtz is supposed to be next in line to run everything with the Company, but the rumors running around the post aren't all good ones, and Marlow is eventually commissioned to take his steamboat upriver and find Kurtz. Once Marlow finally reaches his destination, the book really takes the reader over with its frightening descriptions of Kurtz and his situation that he created being alone out at this post with the natives for the longest time.

Conrad's writing, as most classical writing, is a little hard to follow at moments, and while the book should be appreciated for its elegant, disturbing descriptions, I actually felt that the dialog between the characters, particularly Kurtz and Marlow was the strongest point of the novel. As Marlow comes into contact with more people who actually know Kurtz, the reader is informed again and again what a brilliant man he is, and how just listening to him talk can be the best thing in the world. But when Marlow and Kurtz finally meet, the reader is only given a few snippets of conversation, and the rest goes unmentioned by the author except for a couple parts at the end. While this small criticism of the novel doesn't mean that it isn't still a classic, it just means that in terms of this particular reader, I think it could have been even better and more powerful than it was.

But other than that one small beef, I have nothing bad to say about this novel. Conrad was a gifted writer who seemed to understand the effect that shocking images can have on a reader. The images spoken of in his novel aren't pointlessly graphic at all, they are all engineered so the reader can understand the true nature of everything that was going on in during this time.

On a side note, reading this novel helped me understand Apocalypse Now a whole lot more than I did before.

To shortly summarize, "Heart Of Darkness", by Joseph Conrad, is all about an English man named Marlow. He's a sailor and an explorer who takes command of a steamboat on an African river, during the Age of Imperialism. He takes his ship up the river in hopes of finding a man named Kurtz, who's something of a legend among the Englishmen living in Africa. What he finds along his journey causes him the question the morality of Imperialism, and he finds in the African natives something which resembles evil. And once he finds Kurtz, he realizes that, although the Imperialists may act superior and tough, they are just as savage and immoral as the natives.

"Heart Of Darkness" is a real page turner. It may be short, but I finished it in 4 days (which is fast for me). Marlow is a generally likeable character, and easy to relate to. Kurtz, however, provides the enigma. Conrad's story is excellent, but some characters, Kurtz included, could have used more development. Thus, Kurtz remains something of a mystery to the reader. How he got to be the way he is is never explained. But my, what figure he is... he cuts off the heads of natives and shoves them on posts outside his house. He's a savage man who has a special way with the natives, which is what makes him legendary. But when Marlow gets to him, Kurtz is ill, and his final days appear to be on the horizon.

The mood of this book is extremely bleak, and overall it is depressing. But by the same token, it makes the reader question the moral values of men, and whether those in a position of power have the right to rule over those who are inferior. Marlow really questions this, and in the end, comes to the conclusion that such things are wrong. Personally, I like dark books such as this one, so I highly recommend it.

This collection brings together three remarkable novellas by Joseph Conrad: Youth, Heart of Darkness and The End of the Tether. In Youth Charlie Marlow recounts the troublesome voyage of the old ship Judea and its wretched 600-ton cargo of coal. The same Marlow also serves as the narrator in Heart of Darkness, undoubtedly the most famous of the three stories. It details how Marlow takes on a foreign assignment as a ferry boat captain on the Congo River in order to restore communications with Kurtz, an eccentric ivory procurement agent isolated in the secluded midlands. Finally in The End of the Tether Captain Whalley, a former dare-devil skipper, sacrifices his retirement and embarks on a precarious voyage on the steamer Sofala in order to support his distant, beloved daughter.

Like many of Conrad's early novels these three stories are set aboard ships. These stories tell of men who go beyond the normal routine of life to challenge themselves, whether from curiosity or necessity, in order to obtain what they seemingly cannot reach. Conrad depicts these desperate men with a vigor that on its own is already enough reason to dive in these stories. But there is much more. The real power of these masterpieces will only surface after a second read. The first reading is like a voyage into the unknown, not unlike the main characters would have experienced it. Only on a second or third reading do you become more aware of the subliminal power of the words and can you appreciate the full power of the colorful narrative. This way the at first read overly long descriptive passages get more and more significance and surely reveal their significance to the story.

One of the many layers to the stories is the drive to react against the self-proclaimed dominance of the human race: both against his environment as against his fellow man. In Heart of Darkness Marlow even literally proclaims that the unbounded exploitation of the natural resources is a disfigurement to the human conscience. Therefore it is not surprising that theme of alienation was craftily interwoven in John Milius' script for Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now loosely based upon Conrad's novella.

Not everyone will be charmed by the dense narrative and slow pace of these stories. But if you manage to see beyond this dated style, what is left is simply a masterpiece.

When Marlow begins his journey to find the mythical Kurtz in HEART OF DARKNESS, Joseph Conrad dares the reader to accompany Marlow on a voyage less into the physical jungles of darkest Africa and more into the mental labyrinth that human beings erect to protect themselves from the horrors that they themselves build. In this justly famous novella, Conrad depicts a pre-politically correct age when white men thought it only fair and inevitable that they plunder the riches of Africa all the while comforting themselves that they were uplifting the fallen state of a lowly people.

Conrad uses a twin layer of narratives in order to achieve the needed objectivity that he felt required to place the reader at varying distances from the horror that Kurtz cried out at the end. The opening narrator is unnamed, possibly Conrad himself, who sets the stage by placing the reader at a safe distance from the evils which lay squarely ahead. Through this narrator we get a bird'e eyes view of the true narrator Marlow, who is depicted as somehow different from the four other men on the deck of the Nellie. This difference in physical attributes slowly increases to concomitant differences in perspective, attitude, and general authorial reliability. Marlow is a deeply flawed man who has the disadvantage of viewing the unfolding events from the prejudiced eyes of a white colonial civil servant who is sure that the blacks in Africa are little different from his preconceived notion of uncivilized cannibals. Further, Marlow makes numerous errors of judgment along the way, many of them seemingly insignificant, yet the totality of the reader's perspective is twisted through the equally twisted lens of an unreliable narrator. Conrad's purpose in melding the reader to a flawed narrator was to insure that the reader could never trust what he reads, thereby increasing his sense of unease in that the sense of safety that Marlow feels, first on the deck of the Nellie, and later in the jungle itself, is as flimsy as the signposts that guide Marlow toward his goal.

The goal is Kurtz, a trader who set out to civilize the blacks into accepting a white version of civilization, but Marlow finds out that the reverse happened. The true horror that Kurtz sees is the horror that all would be conquerors find when they discover that the philosophy of racial supremacy which led them into conflict with a people whom they deemed unworthy is shown to be built on straw. Kurtz knows that the only difference between his brutal acts toward the natives and their own similar atrocities toward themselves is no difference at all. As corrupt as Kurtz must have been, in his closing cry of horror, he finds a small measure of redemption and closure. Marlow sees what Kurtz saw, knew what Kurtz did, and heard up close and personal Kurtz's swan song of pain, but Marlow learned nothing of lasting value. All he could think of was to maintain the image of the Kurtz that was: "I remained to dream the nightmare out to the end, and to show my loyalty to Kurtz once more." The journey that Kurtz took was a horror only because he became what he sought. The journey that Marlow took became a horror only because he learned nothing from what he sought. As you and I read HEART OF DARKNESS, we must decide which journey has the more meaningful signposts.

I purchased this book for my 17 year old daughter. She needed it for an assignment at school. The book was exactly what she needed. It shipped fast and is in great condition!

In his day, Joseph Conrad had a remarkable way of discribing a scene, very pognant. But as I finished reading Heart of Darkness, it reminded me of the original King Kong movie with Fay Wray. It was scary...in its day.

The short novel of Conrad is a great read for those wishing to see a darker side of man, of experiencing a trip in Africa to the depths of the jungle through madness and the heat to find a man of almost mythical proportions. The journey starts off with the narrator describing his trip to some fellow ship mates. As the story goes on, the narrator tells of his ride up the river to find Kurtz in the jungle. Kurtz has been held in almost everyone's eyes the narrator has met as one of the greatest men alive yet when Kurtz is found, he finds a man composed of insanity. The descriptions of the story are occasionally beautiful but are all in great length. Although the story is well written and very descriptive, it is for the most part uneventful and anticlimaxing. Heart of Darkness is a great read but dont expect alot from the story.

Conrad's besetting literary sin was always prolixity. Despite his occasionally brilliant descriptive passages and his ability to pick just the right uncommon word when he needed it, he rarely bothered to compress his writing. So it oftentimes sprawls.

This shapelessness is the most serious problem with Heart of Darkness. The paragraphs go on forever. The man who tells the story of his journey - Marlow - is criticized by the primary narrator for his many "inconclusive" tales, so Conrad may well have cultivated his seemingly rambling style just to emphasize how difficult it is for Marlow's listeners to understand the point. If so, I believe that choice was a mistake.

Much in the story is excessively subtle and allusive. Yet Conrad's deep pessimism about human progress and the human "spirit" is unmistakable. The story's secondary theme, that most people "just can't handle the truth" (to quote a Jack Nicholson movie), comes through loud and clear.

Heart of Darkness is a classic more for what it says than how it says it. What's more, we're far more receptive to Conrad's message today than was the reading public in 1899. The tale's current fame owes a great deal to Apocalypse Now, but readers looking for an adventure novel will be disappointed.

"We live in the flicker." Need I say any more? As much meaning as can be packed into just over 100 pages. Best read in a quiet place with a good bottle of red wine at your side. Not for the weak of mind or heart. Be prepared to discover.

This book will take you on a journey and as you go deeper into the jungle you fall deeper into the dept of mans corruptibility. This book is brutal and honest. Marlow is the type of good man that does nothing and his goal is the type of man that has fallen from everything. Marlow ends up seeing the very essence of the darkness of men. You realize that he too could be corrupted just as easily by this evil that has stolen his targets soul. I too felt that I could be corrupted by the same evil if I was in their place. That is the scariest thing of all. I felt disgustingly empowered by this book and by the end I had chills down my spine at the absurdity of that perceived power and the great cost it took on all the innocents around it.

After reading Heart of Darkness, one of English Literature's great works, one question will come to the reader's mind: Are people really that heartless? An allusion to the imperialism era, Joseph Conrad centers the story of Marlow's adventure into the African jungle with story of human corruption, greed, and lust for power. Readers are just like the main character, Marlow, as the reader and he not only will learn, but also be disturbed by the dark secret of Kurtz; the secret of Kurtz's obsession for ivory and god-like status. But more interestingly, Joseph Conrad uses highly eccentric character development. What keeps this suspense in the story is that the author does not establish a clear and solid connection between the reader and the characters. Even though Marlow and Kurtz's character is revealed to some extent, the reader will have a hard time figuring out who the characters really are. For example, the readers will be perplexed by the two side of Kurtz: one is the multi-talented Kurtz who had come to help "civilize" Africa and other is the sick, brutal, and insane man who wants nothing but money and power. As the plot thickens, interestingly, the readers will notice the increasing darkness surrounding them as the imagery of shadows and blackness is more prevalent as the famous last words of Kurtz will disturb its listeners.

These are some components of the Joseph Conrad brilliant style that are hidden deep within the story just waiting for the readers to explore. Readers must think critically as they read this novel or they will find this novel boring and difficult. However, every reader will understand and be marveled, yet troubled, by the Joseph Conrad's portray of heartless and materialistic human civilization; the real Heart of Darkness.

Many have complained that Heart of Darkness is difficult to read or that it doesn't make sense, but I think such reviewers miss the point of this novel. It is a deeply psychological novel, rather than a straightforward adventure story. As a psychological novel, there are lots of impressions, and a certain amount of jumping around within Marlow's consciousness. It is definitely worth reading to gain some insight on how man reacts when seperated from his civil society, and how the forces of colonialism corrupt those who come in contact with it. Check it out but be prepared for a wierd experience.

As Elaine would say, Heart of Darkness is an enigma. There are moments in this novella that are sheer beauty of prose. But they are few and very far between. Basically, it is a story being told by one man, Marlow (a Conrad regular,) to three others. Throughout the telling, which is on board ship in the darkness of night waiting for the tide to change on the Thames, Marlow can't often tell if his listeners are awake or asleep. It is easy to understand why they would be asleep: most of what he says is nonsensical. For 40 years I was a broadcaster and have found that I can often understand concepts I don't grasp while reading silently when I read them aloud. I tried this often during this book and the passages still didn't make sense. Long sentences grouped together in lengthy paragraphs that just don't seem to have a point. There are points made: the rape of a continent by the white industrialist, the inhumane treatment of the natives, the class conscious attitude of the Brits. But, the nut of the story could be told in a couple of paragraphs: the rescue of a dying agent in darkest Africa. Thankfully, Conrad chose the shorter novel form not a full-length book. Reading this is like devouring a bowl of spinach ice cream for the three or four chocolate chips buried deep inside. For this tale, one star. On the other hand, in the short novel companion piece The Secret Sharer, we find two interesting characters drawn together on a sailing ship. One is a captain just assigned to a ship in the Sea of Siam; the other, a charged murderer who flees his own ship and swims miles to the new captain's ship. On that night, only the new captain is on deck. He hauls the exhausted seaman aboard, discovers they have so much in common the Captain considers the fugitive his double and vows to help him escape. Whereas Heart of Darkness should have been a short story, there are enough interesting aspects and unresolved issues to make The Secret Sharer the basis of a full-length novel. I give it three stars.

I got through Heart of Darkness by writing myself notes in the margins to help me figure out and remember what was happening. If you're being forced to read this, look at it from an analytical point of view and you might get through it. See it as an object to be studied rather than a thing to be enjoyed.

After I was finished, the one question I asked myself was, "what was I supposed to get from this?" Heart of Darkness is dense and bland, however, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be explored.

I explored it, and am appreciative for the experience; but, don't hold your breath waiting for me to pick it up again any time soon.

This may be one of the best novels of the English language. Not an easy read by today's standards but amazing nonetheless. It may have to be read more than once to truly appreciate the greatness of this inner trip into the Heart of Darkness.

As a side note Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece `Apocalypse Now" is based on this piece.

The two Joseph Conrad novellas "Heart Of Darkness" and "The Secret Sharer" make for an interesting juxtaposition in this Signet Classic edition, not only because they are great stories but because of their interesting dialogue on the nature of man.

In "Heart Of Darkness," we follow our narrator, Marlow, as he leads a boat up the Congo to bring back an ivory seller named Kurtz, seeing along the way example after example of how cruelly the colonial powers treat the native population. Worse follows when Marlow finally reaches Kurtz, discovering a former idealist turned pirate who simply kills what he can and takes what he wants until jungle fever claims him.

Most people read "Heart Of Darkness" after seeing "Apocalypse Now," the Francis Ford Coppola movie based on the tale. It's startling how many elements of Conrad's story made the final cut, including a crazy Russian in the book who raves about how Kurtz has "expanded his mind" in such a way that makes you wonder if Conrad somehow foresaw Dennis Hopper. The modern nature of Conrad's writing seemed to anticipate the cinema of today. "Heart of Darkness" was certainly a favorite of auteurs; Orson Welles thought of making it into a movie before deciding instead on "Citizen Kane."

"Heart Of Darkness's" arrival to the present day hasn't been all favorable. It's out of favor with many academics because of passages like this, about the native population:

"It was unearthly, and the men were - No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it - the suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity - like yours - the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar."

Not pleasant reading for the 21st century, but keep in mind this is the narrator talking, not Conrad. Conrad is playing a subtle game with the reader, stoking notions of racial superiority as a means of illuminating the wanton viciousness of the white colonists, who advanced civilization has made crueler and coarser than the blacks they enslave. The first time you read "Heart of Darkness" you worry for Marlow traveling in the company of a group of man-eating grass beaters. The second time, you realize that those black tribesmen are the only cannibals in the book who control their appetite.

No question Conrad was a supreme pessimist when it came to human nature, which is why "The Secret Sharer" is such a welcome contrast. The narrator here is a captain on a ship, very young and held in suspicion by his crew, who finds himself harboring a fugitive, wanted for murder on another vessel.

The captain brings him to his cabin, where the two become joined in their act of secrecy, sweating out possible discovery from the captain's crew. In time, they become like two children having a whispered conversation after midnight during a sleepover, brothers almost. As the bond deepens, the captain notices a modest resemblance between them.

Sure, there's the requisite ambiguity, but if "Heart of Darkness" is all about the dark side of human nature, and of course it is, "The Secret Sharer" in a quieter way presents us with Conrad's notion of what makes life worth living, the ability of people to look out for one another and serve as shoulders to lean upon. Plus it has ample examples of Conrad's sea writing, which is really quite good.

An adventure into deepest, darkest Africa . . . An exposý of the evils of European Imperialism . . . A deep, introspective look into the recesses of one's own soul and character . . . "Heart of Darkness" is a novel which deals with these three complexities in an interesting, enjoyable, and thought-provoking manner.

Joseph Conrad's classic is, on the surface, a novel which chronicles the adventures of Marlow as part of a Belgian Congo "trading" company, and his pursuit for the larger-than-life Kurtz. However, it delves into the hypocrisy of Imperialism, the darkness in one's soul, and the relative meaning of insanity. Although the naked savagery and cruelty of the Europeans toward the Africans is exposed, particularly in the "Grove of Death," Marlow's more pressing concerns are with the effect that Imperialism has upon the "civilized" individual. By all accounts, Kurtz was a model citizen in Europe and of utmost regard, bounded by the social norms and mores of the rigid European society. Yet, when he plunges into the jungles of Africa, the previous social norms which bounded him are now broken, and his soul has infinite freedom. It is in this environment of limitless freedom that the soul will undoubtedly veer toward the dark abyss of one's inner being. Truly, Kurtz has been horrified about what has become of him, and Marlow shudders at the potential fate of his own soul.

Although this novel exposes the hypocrisy and savagery of Imperialism, it does not regard the native Africans in a high light, either. Although Marlow certainly displays compassion toward the "savages" and is the most sympathetic toward them, he still views them as mere inhuman objects. At times, Marlow seems to be more concerned about the inefficiency and wastes of the colonial system, than of the welfare of the natives. But at least Marlow exposes the hypocrisy of the Europeans who claim to "civilize the savages," but are interested in nothing more than their own wealth and self-interest.

For the PC crowd, the Offend-o-Meter is pretty high. The native Africans are stereotyped as savages and cannibals who believe in witchcraft and sorcery. They are regarded as ignorant and superstitious and inferior to the Europeans, even by Marlow. Women are regarded as out of touch with reality, and merely objects for a man's affection and wealth. And of course ivory is hunted and is celebrated in abundance. But I think these can be dismissed as a relic of its era.

Overall, this is a great book that not only explores European Imperialism, but also the depths of one's inner soul. And although Imperialism isn't soundly rejected, it still provides an interesting study for the prevailing wisdom of the time.

Heart of Darkness may be the greatest novel written in the English language. This book must be read more than once in order to truly appreciate the masterpiece that it is. The book is made even better when one studies Conrad's life and realizes that English was his fifth language and he didn't learn it until his 30s. Truly amazing!

Though not a good choice for the casual reader, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a thought provoking, descriptive novel that not only delves deep into the jungles of Africa, but also deep into the jungle of the human psyche. Following the trail of a steamboat captain's adventures in Africa during the 19th century, Conrad's words seem to flow as he describes the various scenes and emotions throughout the book, but like a river, prolonged exposure can exhaust the reader, and sometimes the words can overwhelm and confuse more laid-back audiences.
On a more positive note, Conrad touches on the many of the pivotal issues of his time and today. One of the more obvious ones is racism. Black native Africans are prominent in this book and they are portrayed as the beasts of burden and the blundering fools. Conrad goes further with this by discussing the issue of Slavery. Towards the beginning of his journey the main character encounters a mine where the blacks are being used as slaves, and the ones that are too weak to work anymore are piled in a corner of the mine to die.
This leads to a discussion of Capitalism, another big issue in the book mostly personified by the incompetent overseers of the trading stations along the Congo River, on which the main character steams along. Overall the book has a very dark mood only lightened by the main character's occasional humorous quips.
Heart of Darkness is a masterpiece at heart and an excellent read for older and more experienced readers, but more casual audiences should stay clear, as they, like myself, may lose themselves in Conrad's words. My recommendation for an easier book would be The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, who borrowed many ideas from Conrad.

For me, this was not a very interesting story. I realize there is a lot of symbolism behind Conrad's writings, but perhaps I am not 'bright' enough to fully appreciate them. There is a lot of representation of the natural darkness of man's morality- but beyond this I didn't pick up too much. I struggled reading the book- it actually took me almost a year to finish it, even though it is quite short. Despite its short length- the chapters are painfully long, and I found myself desiring some kind of break.

The introduction to the signet classic version (written by Albert Guerard) is an excellent aide to the book, and helped me see the different poionts of view regarding the book and it also helped me see why this book is so highly esteemed. Although I found the reading of this book slow and at times torturous, I believe Conrad has a correct (yet dark) view of human nature. Compared to Conrad's Secret Sharer, this book is much better.

I'm sure this book was revolutionary when it first came out. I'm sure that it boggled the minds of so-called civilized intellectuals everywhere and made people think a little harder about the benefits of imperialism. But this book has little relevance anymore. The threat of colonization has far from subsided, I suppose, but in a world of 24-hour news stations, talk radio, and political personalities bombarding the media with their personal opinions, the issue has been overanalyzed and picked apart. Nothing new is presented in the book in this century, which is a real shame, because the writing is to many people very beautiful.

The problem for me was not reading a tired diatribe about the horrors of civilization and humanity's common savagery. No, the problem was in the central metaphor, which I'm sure you can guess by reading the title. Again, maybe the symbol of light and darkness was new and exciting 100 years ago, but it certainly is not now. And it doesn't help that Conrad chose to make absolutely certain that even his dimmest readers couldn't miss his metaphor; his favorite words are "light," "white," "dark," "black," "haze," "brooding," "blinding," "shadow," "sun," and "gloomy," and he does not hesitate to overuse them. I cringe when I consider counting the amount of times I read the phrase "the impenetrable heart of darkness." Plus, as the entire story is orally told by Marlow, the entire fact that he uses this overarching metaphor is unrealistic and only serves to make each mention of light and dark more irritating. It's a quick read, but save yourself the trouble and just look up "imperialism" on wikipedia, or read Orwell's "Animal Farm" - a much more original classic with a similar pessimistic view of humanity.

Heart of Darkness is a true literary masterpiece-- something that you can sink your teeth into and ponder the plight of mankind. The descriptions are amazing, especially given the fact that Conrad was not a native English speaker. That impresses me. The journey exposes what the true heart of darkness is. Reminds me a lot of a book I read cal