Heart of Darkness and Other Tales (Oxford World's Classics)
by Joseph Conrad
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HEART OF DARKNESS*AN OUTPOST OF PROGRESS*KARAIN*YOUTHThe finest of all Conrad's tales, 'Heart of Darkness' is set in an atmosphere of mystery and menace, and tells of Marlow's perilous journey up the Congo River to relieve his employer's agent, the renowned and formidable Mr Kurtz. What he sees on his journey, and his eventual encounter with Kurtz,horrify and perplex him, and call into question the very bases of civilization and human nature. Endlessly reinterpreted by critics and adapted show more for film, radio, and television, the story shows Conrad at his most intense and sophisticated.The other three tales in this volume depict corruption and obsession, and question racial assumptions. Set in the exotic surroundings of Africa, Malaysia. and the east, they variously appraise the glamour, folly, and rapacity of imperial adventure. This revised edition uses the English firstedition texts and has a new chronology and bibliography. show lessTags
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With only 84 pages this is very much a novella, rather than a novel, but into those 84 pages Conrad fits such a lot. There is more to think or argue about in these few pages than in most books that are five times its length or longer...
Heart of Darkness starts as a simple traveller's tale as the narrator Marlow relates the story of his travels to take control of a steamship on an unnamed African river (clearly the Congo) working for an unnamed colonial power (clearly Belgium). From his very first days in the territory Marlow hears tales of 'Mr Kurtz', an agent in the most remote district: a remarkable man according to everyone he meets, but the reason for this remarkability remains vague and shadowy. And as Marlow attempts to repair the show more steamship which he is to captain, which has been badly damaged, the name of Kurtz continues to haunt him as rumours abound of his activities. Marlow finds himself becoming more and more disillusioned with the brutality of the colonists, but as a mission is launched upriver to relieve Mr Kurtz, he discovers more horrors awaiting him as the ship proceeds towards Kurtz's station ...
This is a book that has been considered at times as racist, condemned as such particularly by the writer Chinua Achebe. If you extract it from the end of the nineteenth century and drop it down at the beginning of the twenty-first without any consideration of the context in which it was written then it could well be considered racist. The language used and the opinions expressed are not those that would be used today. But I don't think that you can extract a book or a writer from their contexts, and there are clear indications in the text, as well as in Conrad's own life, that show him to have held relatively enlightened opinions and to be intensely opposed to the colonial experience in the Congo on which Heart of Darkness is based.
There are so many connections in this book, so many ways in which it could be read, that I can see myself reading it again and again. Highly recommended. show less
Heart of Darkness starts as a simple traveller's tale as the narrator Marlow relates the story of his travels to take control of a steamship on an unnamed African river (clearly the Congo) working for an unnamed colonial power (clearly Belgium). From his very first days in the territory Marlow hears tales of 'Mr Kurtz', an agent in the most remote district: a remarkable man according to everyone he meets, but the reason for this remarkability remains vague and shadowy. And as Marlow attempts to repair the show more steamship which he is to captain, which has been badly damaged, the name of Kurtz continues to haunt him as rumours abound of his activities. Marlow finds himself becoming more and more disillusioned with the brutality of the colonists, but as a mission is launched upriver to relieve Mr Kurtz, he discovers more horrors awaiting him as the ship proceeds towards Kurtz's station ...
This is a book that has been considered at times as racist, condemned as such particularly by the writer Chinua Achebe. If you extract it from the end of the nineteenth century and drop it down at the beginning of the twenty-first without any consideration of the context in which it was written then it could well be considered racist. The language used and the opinions expressed are not those that would be used today. But I don't think that you can extract a book or a writer from their contexts, and there are clear indications in the text, as well as in Conrad's own life, that show him to have held relatively enlightened opinions and to be intensely opposed to the colonial experience in the Congo on which Heart of Darkness is based.
There are so many connections in this book, so many ways in which it could be read, that I can see myself reading it again and again. Highly recommended. show less
I read HoD in high school, and mainly remembered that my teacher went to great lengths to make us understand the absurdity of all existence etc etc... Then I talked about it in college, and mainly remember Theorists going to great lengths to make me understand the immorality of writing about Africans if you're not and African etc etc... And I just re-read it as a nearly thirty year old and thought: what's all the fuss about? It's straightforwardly an anti-imperialistic squib. Not the greatest shit ever, not even the second best book by Conrad - compare Lord Jim and Nostromo - but pretty good, pretty funny, and absolutely vicious.
I guess if you're really set on believing that this is a literary masterpiece, you have to give it either show more five stars or one: either to convince yourself it is, or to complain that it isn't. Just read it as a good little novella, and you'll enjoy it a lot more. And if you're really set on reading it as if all of humanity is ultimately completely f'ed, you also have to give it either five stars or one: either to underline, in ominous freshman terms, that it is; or to strenuously screech, in blathering self-help terms, that it isn't. If you suspect that at many times some of us are f'ed... well, I'm with you.
Also, the other stories in this edition are decent, not great. 'An Outpost of Progress' is even more pessimistic and anti-imperialist than HoD, and funnier, especially if you've read Bouvard et Pecuchet. 'Karain' isn't so great. 'Youth,' even more than HoD, highlights Conrad's 'ability' to beat a theme to death. Not his greatest asset, that's for sure. show less
I guess if you're really set on believing that this is a literary masterpiece, you have to give it either show more five stars or one: either to convince yourself it is, or to complain that it isn't. Just read it as a good little novella, and you'll enjoy it a lot more. And if you're really set on reading it as if all of humanity is ultimately completely f'ed, you also have to give it either five stars or one: either to underline, in ominous freshman terms, that it is; or to strenuously screech, in blathering self-help terms, that it isn't. If you suspect that at many times some of us are f'ed... well, I'm with you.
Also, the other stories in this edition are decent, not great. 'An Outpost of Progress' is even more pessimistic and anti-imperialist than HoD, and funnier, especially if you've read Bouvard et Pecuchet. 'Karain' isn't so great. 'Youth,' even more than HoD, highlights Conrad's 'ability' to beat a theme to death. Not his greatest asset, that's for sure. show less
This is the story of Marlow, who travels from Middle Class England into 'The Heart of Darkness' which in this case is the Belgian Congo. It is also an exploration of travel into another Heart of Darkness, an exploration of the psychological darkness which resides within the heart of man.
While regarded by many as one of the great modern classics, i am one of the minority of readers who doesn't like this book. Perhaps that is because i was looking to closely for 'Apocalypse Now' links, but i found the prose turgid, and the insights laboured.
While regarded by many as one of the great modern classics, i am one of the minority of readers who doesn't like this book. Perhaps that is because i was looking to closely for 'Apocalypse Now' links, but i found the prose turgid, and the insights laboured.
I originally read this as a junior in high school, and hated it. In fact, this is the only book I've ever destroyed. I had a nice little bonfire with it. Fast forward 14 years...I had to read this for a class at ISU this semester. I read it with a completely different world view than I had as a teenager, and found that I actually understood what was going on. I could follow it and there were parts that I actually enjoyed. I still think Marlow has a creepy man-crush on Kurtz though. Overall, I'll give 2 stars for being okay.
This is one of the most densely packed, richly worded books I have ever read. A journey into the darkness of human nature and the soul. While at the same time expressing the futility of its own communication, this is a genius piece of work, a must read for absolutely everyone.
I read this as part of a research project, along with watching Apocalypse Now (Redux - big mistake) and reading King Leopold's Ghost. Really really fascinating. The quotes within quotes within quotes occasionally got to be baffling, but the story was very compelling.
Interesting idea and themes. Form of the novel consistent with themes of darkness/haziness of morals etc. In the end the prose style was just a little annoying for me
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Joseph Conrad is recognized as one of the 20th century's greatest English language novelists. He was born Jozef Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski on December 3, 1857, in the Polish Ukraine. His father, a writer and translator, was from Polish nobility, but political activity against Russian oppression led to his exile. Conrad was orphaned at a young age show more and subsequently raised by his uncle. At 17 he went to sea, an experience that shaped the bleak view of human nature which he expressed in his fiction. In such works as Lord Jim (1900), Youth (1902), and Nostromo (1904), Conrad depicts individuals thrust by circumstances beyond their control into moral and emotional dilemmas. His novel Heart of Darkness (1902), perhaps his best known and most influential work, narrates a literal journey to the center of the African jungle. This novel inspired the acclaimed motion picture Apocalypse Now. After the publication of his first novel, Almayer's Folly (1895), Conrad gave up the sea. He produced thirteen novels, two volumes of memoirs, and twenty-eight short stories. He died on August 3, 1924, in England. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1897 (An Outpost of Progress) (An Outpost of Progress); 1897 (Karain: a Memory) (Karain: a Memory); 1898 (Youth) (Youth); 1899 (Heart of Darkness) (Heart of Darkness)
- People/Characters
- Charles Marlow; Kurtz
- Important places
- Belgian Congo; Congo River, Africa; London, England, UK
- Related movies
- Apocalypse Now (1979 | IMDb)
- First words
- There were two white men in charge of the trading station.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky - seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.
- Disambiguation notice
- This is the "Oxford World's Classics" edition which contains "An Outpost of Progress", "Karain", "Youth", and "Heart of Darkness". Please do not combine with editions which do not contain all four of these stories, or which c... (show all)ontain any other stories.
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