Heart Of Darkness :: essays research papers fc

The Horror&9 centre of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a novel where the main character Marlow is relative a business relationship of a trip to the Congo. This novel is said to mayhap be an autobiography of Conrads life at sea. This is said because Conrad was a seaman for a many years and went into Africa many times. The novel is so powerful that even after 100 years, we still struggle with its meaning. This story has been retold by Francis Ford Coppola in the film Apocalypse Now. Chinua Achebe has recently explored Conrads ideas on imperialism. Achebe believed Conrads book presented a racist view of the pile of Africa and Achebe in his own book, Things Fall Apart, presented imperialism through the eyes of the Africans. The story of marrow squash of Darkness is being told to four men on the deck of the Nellie. The story being told is about one of Marlows expeditions to the Congo in count of an Ivory hunter named Kurtz. When Marlow found Kurtz in the Congo, Kurtz had "gone nat ive" Marlow found, "a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole," outside of Kurtzs raise and Kurtz had been hunting with tribes in the area (Conrad, 73). When Marlow arrived Kurtz, was ill and dying. Kurtz cried out the words "The crime The horror" right before he checkd (Conrad, 85). These words cried out by Kurtz as he died created the most important passages in Heart of Darkness. The trend this one passage is interpreted determines how the book is interpreted.&9One reading is that the "horror" is death and Kurtz is realizing he is dying. Kurtz is horrified at the thought of dying and is crying out in pain of the realization. Kurtz may be algophobic to die in the heart of darkness. Kurtz may be afraid to die knowing that he will never see his intended once more and he may feel criminalityy for leaving his intended for his uncivilised life. This interpretation shows a book about lost love and guilt for finding a new life. This interpret ation is one of the less entangled and un enkindle interpretations.&9Now here is a more interesting and complex interpretation. Some view Heart of Darkness as a racist book. This interpretation comes from the view that the "horror" Kurtz is identifying is his being brought "down" to the African ways. This interpretation sees the African ways as uncivilized and horrid to Kurtz when he realizes he was at their level.