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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN num: 9780141441672
ISBN number: 0141441674
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 192
Printing Date: September 25, 2007
Publishing house: Penguin Classics
Sale Popularity Level: 37163
Studio: Penguin Classics
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Penguin inaugurates a series of revised editions of Conrad’s finest works, with new introductions
Exploring the workings of consciousness as well as the grim realities of imperialism, Heart of Darkness tells of Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, who journeys into the heart of the African continent to discover how the enigmatic Kurtz has gained power over the local people.
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Conrad's novella contains an almost endless fount of symbolic allusions. One of the most important series of allusions occurs early (in the frame narrative) and ties the symbolism of darkness, finitude, the mystery of the labyrinth and death to the images of the lunar cycle, the tide, yarn and narrative.
"The yarns of seaman have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But 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" (6).
Conrad appears to be indicating that the seaman is closer to the "state of nature" because of his intimate relationship with the primal cycle of the tide (eternal recurrence). Melville certainly indicates as much in Moby-Dick. The natural rhythm of the sea forces the seaman into greater harmony with nature, thus enabling him to see more clearly the natural state of man--helping him to see into the darkness. The allusion to natural cycles at this point interestingly connects with the later mention of "unspeakable rites" performed for Kurtz by the natives (61), for religious rituals are very often tied to the cycle of the moon. For example, Easter is always on the very first Sunday following the very first full moon of the vernal equinox. The moon represents death and rebirth because it is born, grows, declines and dies, only to be reborn. Each day the moon is killed by the sun, the light; but the light of the sun only temporarily illuminates the darkness, i.e. darkness (ignorance) is the more natural state. Mythologically the animal associated with the sun is the lion, whose golden face resembles the sun; the animal associated with the moon is the bull, whose horns represent the horns of the moon. Thus we have the many references to the sacrifice of the bull in almost all "primitive" religions, imitating the death of the moon. The Minotaur (bull-man) is conspicuously brought to mind at the beginning of Plato's Phaedo (58a9-b3) in relation to Socrates, death and sacrifice. The lion's roar scatters the horned beasts of the prairie, imitating the power of the sun's light to scatter darkness.
In this passage Conrad is metaphorically indicating by means of symbolic images and conceptual allusion that some things are only visible at night, in the dark as it were. Furthermore, these things can have a higher degree of reality than those made visible in the sunlight. The heart of things is shrouded in darkness. Might Conrad's account of light enveloped in darkness be a dramatic image of something like Socratic knowledge of ignorance? The entire tale can be read as a story of how nature is hidden in the deep recesses of the political community (civilization). But the story is told in Schopenhauerian and Nietzschean rather than Platonic language. We have an allegory of the recognition of the mystery of existence as it manifests itself within the hierarchy of human souls or psyches. Of course in modernity there is not much of a hierarchy, and the souls of Conrad's Westerners all seem to be equally base. The closest thing we have in Conrad's tale to a philosopher is Marlow (we don't know enough about the frame narrator to say one way or the other, i.e. with him we are left in the dark), who is really more of a "neutral" observer. Marlow's soul lacks eros or the "love of victory" necessary to pursue the never-ending quest for self-knowledge; however, Marlow clearly represents the harmonization of light and dark. Even so, we must look beyond Marlow--to his imitation of the Buddha--to see that knowledge of ignorance is the actualization of the cosmic state of nature in the soul of man, which explains the soteric effects of self-knowledge and does so in way that also explains how these soteric effects transcend the "local" soteriology necessary to political community; i.e. it refers us to the necessity of religion to community politically and explains the tension between the soteric effects of self-knowledge in the elevated individual's soul in contrast with the soteriological needs of nonphilosophic souls. There are those unable to comprehend, unable to accept the truth into their soul without it destroying them. Thus Kurtz, even though he is exceptional (to borrow a Nietzschean term), is not a philosopher--he had "no restraint" (63). The community must conceal the truth about darkness by shining a man-made light on it (the myth of cultural progress out of darkness into the light), you might say. Direct contact with the "light of truth" would destroy the community (knowledge is dangerous); for that light also contains within it the truth about cosmic darkness (staring directly into the light of the sun causes blindness or reabsorption into ... Read More
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Heart of Darkness is the short classic novella written in 1899 by Joseph Conrad. Conrad was born in the Ukraine of Polish lineage. Young Joseph left for a career on the seas; retired to England, married and sat down to produce several fin de siecle novels dealing with the sea, foreign lands and political terrorism.
Heart of Darkness is the immortal story of Charlie Marlow an old seadog sharing tales with three of his friends. He describes in great detail the trip he took to the darkest forests of the Congo. He went on an old steamer down the river to sell ivory. The journey is a trip through the lowest circles of hell. Along the way he discovers dead natives, old junk and deserted trading posts. He is in quest of the enigmatic ivory trader Kurtz (in German the name means "low). Kurtz is a well educated man who has refined tastes. The problem is that he has turned into a monster of depravity being worshipped by terrified natives serving him as slaves. Kurtz is ill and dies crying out, "The horror!"; "The horror." Marlow returns to England where he lies to Kurtz's innocent lover by telling her the trader's last words concerned his love for her.
This story of less than 100 pages has led to every kind of literary interpretation in the last 108 years. It has been seen as:
a. A parable of European exploitation of the African continent. King Leopold of Belguim ruled the Congo as a brutal tyrant murdered natives and seizing the wealth of the nation for his and his nation's own glory.
The story can be seen, therefore, as a bitter attack on European imperialism.
b. England is also called a "dark country" as Conrad did not approve of the Empire's mistreatment of colonial subjects, exploitation of the land and rush to greed.
c. Terror? What is it that Kurtz sees at the end? His own grey soul? The inevitability of death without grace or eternal life? The racism of European society in its cruelty to the grey and natives peoples it has conquered?
d. Is Kurtz the darker image of Marlow? Conrad was wont to look at split personalities in many of his characters. Is Kurtz the id and Marlow the ego of our psyches?
e. What other meanings could you as a reader find in these gripping pages? What makes literature fun as well as profitable for our development as human beings is the ability we have to make sense of what is on the page in our own lives and spiritual development.
Joseph Conrad's story is prophetic of the horrors of the twentieth century. It is one of the greatest novellas ever written; worthy of your time and effort to explore.
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I am not sure how I made it the last 34 years not having read Conrad's Heart of Darkness, especially as a literature buff. What is interesting about Marlow's narrative is that we can pinpoint him as both an anti-imperialist and a racist, two characteristics that are very difficult to reconcile indeed. Of course the book is about the white man going into the hinterland of Africa and taking what his heart desires (in this case, ivory). More than that, though, we meet Kurtz, a man who has given up civilization to live among the "savages." Marlow (the narrator), who is sent on a mission to retrieve Kurtz (who has essentially become a danger to himself and his country), sees much of himself in this spectral figure and his journey up the Congo to find him is rife with diversions, ponderances, lush imagery and precarious dilemmas.
Once you finish the book, I recommend seeing Apocalypse Now. As you may or may not know, it was based on Conrad's book (as well as Frazer's The Golden Bough). In the film, Vietnam is replaced with Africa, but we still get to see, quite clearly, the horror man bestows upon his fellow man, and on himself.
Both the book and the film are worth seeing and discussing.
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Arriving at this page, inspired, enthused by Coppola's cinematic masterpiece 'Apocalypse Now'? Or maybe from the documentary 'Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'? Eager to learn more? maybe drink at the fountain from which perhaps the greatest piece of cinema, was born? Think again. What we have here is purely and simply a VERY mediocre novella, a work that was written not by a writer, but by a Mariner with a typewriter - a hobbyist. On no account could or should this be taken as a seminal work of either fact or fiction, and I wish those who are forever trying to have this work classified as such a literary milestone would find a real cause to champion. I mean why is this one of the supposed greats? Is it original? No! Well written? No! Does it have well-drawn characters? No! an intriguing plot, perhaps? No. Does it use language in a new or creative way? No. Does it re-define the novella? No! Does it have potential to influence, either in style or content, the works of other writers? No! - then what? What is it that reverberates so loudly? If not the work then the noise of the crowd surrounding the pedestal - eager for a glimpse of the masterpiece that (they have been told) is so revered, so special.
Between the pseudo-intellectual and the literary professor's attempts to 'interpret' this work (for interpret read: paint it their colour) there is nothing hidden, nor magical here, no genius lies between the poor structure and the even worse punctuation. A simple tale, nothing more. Had one not know Conrad actually ventured to the African Continent, one could have easily mistaken his poorly drawn figures, his stereotypical characters as being the stuff of a boyhood imagination - too many comics and children's novels read under the blanket with a torch...
The only extra-ordinary factor here is the fact that Coppola, in his undisputed genius, took this simple, fragmented tale of no real literary worth and from its inspiration produced a moment in cinematic history which will never again be glimpsed, a peak never again scaled. That is the only thing one need be in awe of here.
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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 very 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.
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