Heart of Darkness
The Novel was the inspiration for the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.
Key words
- Colonial: involving a period of political control by a more powerful country
Turkey was once an important colonial power.
- Firsthand: if you experience something firsthand, you experience it yourself
Most of the older reporters have experienced war firsthand.
- In stark contrast: an obvious difference between two or more things
The amount spent on defense is in stark contrast to that spent on housing and health.
- Revered: to very much respect and admire someone or something
Nelson Mandela is revered for his brave fight against apartheid.
- Atrocity: an extremely cruel, violent, or shocking act
They are on trial for committing atrocities against the civilian population.
Read the article to find the answers
- Where is Heart of Darkness set?
- What inspired Conrad to write?
- What did Kurtz become?
- What does 'darkness' refer to in the book?
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist best known for Heart of Darkness, a fictional novel set in colonial Africa at the turn of the 20th century. Conrad left his native Poland to avoid conscription into the Russian army, then began working on British ships before being hired on a steamship in Africa, and according to Conrad, the experience of seeing the horrors of colonial rule firsthand inspired him to write. Much of Heart of Darkness is inspired by his travel journals from this period.
Heart of Darkness
The novel is about a sailor called Marlow who becomes the captain of a Belgian ivory-trading steamship sailing up the Congo River in Africa. When he reaches the first company station, Marlow gets his first taste of colonial horror. He sees African slaves chained together by the neck and stumbles upon a group of sick, starving men hiding in the bush.
In stark contrast, the Company accountant Marlow meets lives in very comfortable conditions. He tells Marlow about a revered Company agent called Mr Kurtz, who runs an outpost deep in the jungle and harvests more ivory than anyone else.
After two months, Marlow finally reaches Kurtz's Inner Station. He is greeted by a young sailor who turns out to be Kurtz's disciple. He proudly tells Marlow about the incredible influence Kurtz has over the local tribes - and the atrocities he has committed to consolidate his power. Kurtz has become a tyrant, driven mad by his thirst for power, and has managed to get the natives to worship him as a god.
Darkness
The darkness in Heart of Darkness is commonly understood to be Kurtz's spiritual darkness and the darkness at the heart of humanity. It echoes the Bible, where darkness is mentioned over 140 times.
"He who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes".
The mad thirst for power of both Kurtz and colonialism in general also echoes the Book of Ecclesiastes, which tells us that human desires are endless and insatiable in the darkness.
"All is vanity ... All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full ... the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing ... there is no new thing under the sun."
In this 1979 film adaptation of Heart of Darkness, Captain Willard is sent to Cambodia on a dangerous mission to assassinate a renegade colonel who has won the trust of a local tribe.
Discussion questions
- Do you have any questions about any of the vocabulary or grammar in this article?
- Have you ever read Heart of Darkness?
- Have you ever been to Africa?
- What do you know about British colonialism?
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