What is the gist of Heart of Darkness?
What is the gist of Heart of Darkness?
Heart of Darkness centers around Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his journey up the Congo River to meet Kurtz, reputed to be an idealistic man of great abilities. Marlow takes a job as a riverboat captain with the Company, a Belgian concern organized to trade in the Congo.
Why is it called the Heart of Darkness?
The phrase ‘Heart of Darkness’ refers to the inmost region of Africa (which was in those times still in the process of being explored) and the black people who still led primitive lives. The title is appropriate for the novel because Marlow has described his experiences of the Congo and people of Congo.
Who is the audience in Heart of Darkness?
The men aboard the Nellie Marlow’s friends, who are with him aboard a ship on the Thames at the story’s opening. They are the audience for the central story of Heart of Darkness, which Marlow narrates.
Why is Africa the heart of darkness?
Throughout Heart of Darkness Conrad uses images of darkness to represent Africa. Darkness is everything that is unknown, primitive, evil, and impenetrable. Marlow often uses the phrase, “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness” (Conrad 68), to describe his progress on the Congo.
What was Kurtz doing in the Heart of Darkness?
Kurtz is a central fictional character in Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella Heart of Darkness. A trader of ivory in Africa and commander of a trading post, he monopolises his position as a demigod among native Africans.
What is the plot of heart of Darkness?
Heart of Darkness Plot Summary. Heart of Darkness tells the story of Marlow, a sailor, who describes to his shipmates the unusual experience he had traveling upriver in the Congo and the effect it had upon him.
What is the summary of the heart of Darkness?
Book Summary. Heart of Darkness begins on the deck of the Nellie, a British ship anchored on the coast of the Thames. The anonymous narrator, the Director of Companies, the Accountant, and Marlow sit in silence. Marlow begins telling the three men about a time he journeyed in a steamboat up the Congo River .
What is about heart of Darkness?
Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad about a narrated voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State in the Heart of Africa. Charles Marlow, the narrator, tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames.
What is the theme of the heart of Darkness?
– The Hypocrisy of Imperialism. Heart of Darkness explores the issues surrounding imperialism in complicated ways. – Madness as a Result of Imperialism. Madness is closely linked to imperialism in this book. – The Absurdity of Evil. – Futility. – Contradiction and Ambivalence. – Hollowness.
