Heart of Darkness Review

Map of Marlow’s Journey

Describe the detail setting of where the story begins. Characters description

What observations does Marlow make about the Roman conquest of Britain What observations does Marlow make about the Roman conquest of Britain? How do these observations relate to the novels main topic?

Marlow’s predecessor, Fresleven, has died there while “engaged in a noble cause.” What was “the noble cause,” and how did he die?

Why does Marlow describe Brussels as the “whited sepulcher’’?

An aspect of Conrad’s style is to cite the details and let an inner meaning emerge from the accumulated details. This is well depicted in his description of Marlow’s approach to the Outer Station. Which details are used to show the uselessness and wastefulness of the European enterprise?

Part I – Outer Station Outer Station: Central Station: Blasting (connection to “man-of-war”) (“lugubrious drollery”) Chain gang – “great cause … high and just proceedings” Grove of death – “the gloomy circle of some Inferno” Accountant / flies (Beelzebub = “lord of the flies”) Mention of Kurtz Central Station: General Manager (Kurtz) / “Hollow Men” Brickmaker (“papier-mâché Mephistopheles”) (“Hollow Men”) / (Kurtz) Painting Authorial intrusion (30) / “We live, as we dream – alone …” Rivets (Foreman) Hippopotamus EEE

At the Outer Station, Marlow first hears the name of Kurtz At the Outer Station, Marlow first hears the name of Kurtz. What is the accountant’s opinion of Kurtz and where is Kurtz? Marlow & Kurtz. Long before he meets Kurtz, Marlow hears from others that Kurtz is extraordinary, "remarkable." On what evidence do these claims seem to be based? By the end of Part I, Marlow develops a strong curiosity about Kurtz: why?

What is suggest by the names of the three stations: Outer, Central, Inner? How is related to the format and style of the novel?

Marlow remembers the words of the doctor about its being scientifically interesting to observe the mental images of individuals while in Africa and observes, “I felt I was becoming scientifically interesting.” Why?

How is this novella a commentary on colonialism, imperialism, and exploration? How is this novel a symbolic journey into the underworld?

Important information regarding Joseph Conrad.

Define novella

Explain that although HOD is considered to be Victorian in its subject matter, it is very much a “modern” text in both style and form.

Describe the company’s headquarters. What feeling does the place give Marlow? Conrad builds a series of images to describe the company office. Many of these images have traditional, symbolic meanings. Connect the following to they symbolic meaning(s): Whited sepulcher, two women knitting, the deadly snake, the center of the map of Africa, the color black and the sun.

How does Aunt view his assignment? Does Marlow agree with her? Why?

What does Marlow mean when he says the journey down the African coast takes him away from “the truth of things?”

Why does Marlow say he “respects” the company’s elegant account Why does Marlow say he “respects” the company’s elegant account? Is his comment sincere? What the accountant tell Marlow about Kurtz? Why doesn’t the account write to the ivory agent?

What horrors does Marlow encounter on the journey to the central station?

Who are the “pilgrims” and what is Marlow’s opinion of them?

What is significant about the conversation Marlow overhears the night the shed burns down?

Describe the painting in the brick maker’s cabin. What is Marlow’s reaction to it? What mistake had the brick maker made about Marlow? Why doesn’t Marlow correct him?

What is the Eldorado Exploring Expedition What is the Eldorado Exploring Expedition? How does Marlow react to them?

How does the conversation beetween the manager and his uncle, which Marlow overhears on the deck of the steamboat, reveal the m en’s antipathy toward Kurtz?

How does Conrad create mood and tone through his descriptions of the jungle as Marlow journeys upriver?

Why, in Marlow’s opinion, do the cannibals not murder and eat the white men aboard the steamboat?

Provide textual evidence that support the thematic idea of civilization vs. savagery.

Discuss the structure of the novel and how it relates to theme and meaning.

Analyze how the characters Marlow, Kurtz and the Intended relate to one another and to the themes of the novella

What are some o the moral implications of European colonialism in the late 19th century. Give examples from the text

Effects of light and dark imagery Specific examples from the text

What is the literal and figurative meaning of heart of darkness?

What is the origin of evil or darkness in the novel?

Describe the effects of destruction of a culture. Textual evidence

Discuss the theme of individual helplessness Textual evidence

Discuss the theme of futility of resistance.

The story is constructed around a series of foils. How are the “harlequin” and the manager (from the central station) differentiated from each other? What do they have in common? How do they function to highlight important defining qualities of Kurtz? How is Kurtz used, by comparison/contrast, to define Marlow?

How do Marlow’s views about women’s nature and role show up in the contrast between the situation in which, he tells his hearers, he completely misrepresented it? Is Marlow’s conduct with Kurtz’s “Intended” and his aunt an instance of proper moral restraint? Are some lies genuinely morally necessary? Are we meant (by Conrad) to see this as one?

What is the point of providing a “frame narrator”? How does the presence of this kind of narrator affect your view of Marlow’s authority as a narrator?

Describe the exchange between Marlow and his idealistic Aunt. How well does Marlow’s self-description as a realist hold up over the course of the story? Explain.

Europeans in the [Belgian] Congo Europeans in the [Belgian] Congo. Consider the Europeans that Marlow meets at the Company's stations: (a) the Company's chief accountant (1378-79: why does Marlow respect him?), (b) the manager (1380-81: why is such a man in command?), (c) the "faithless pilgrims" (1382: why does Marlow call them that?), (d) the "manager's spy" (1382: what kind of "devil" is this "papier-mache Mephistopheles" [1384]?); 
(e) the "sordid buccaneers" of the Eldorado Exploring Expedition (1387). How does Marlow assess these men and their motives for coming to and remaining in Africa?

When Marlow reaches the Company’s Outer station, he offers us some observations about it. What does he say about the reigning “Devil” in this Outer Station? How does this “Devil” differ from others with whom he has made acquaintance?

Patterns of Three Note the following patterns in your books: Three chapters Three times Marlow breaks the story Three stations Three women (Aunt, Mistress, Intended) Three central characters (Kurtz, Marlow, Narrator) Three characters with names Three views of Africa (political, religious, economic)

When Marlow reaches the Central Station, how does he describe nature’s effects on the Station and its inhabitants? What power does the wilderness have over the Station and what appears to motivate its occupants?

How does Marlow describe the Congo River and its environs? How does he describe his interaction with the river? What illusion does the River promote? What insight does it provide?

Marlow says he came to an important realization as he neared Kurtz’s station. What is the realization and to what extent does it influence or explain his behavior in the rest of the story?

How does Marlow describe the partially completed report that Kurtz penned before lapsing into his fatal illness? What effect does that report have on Marlow?

Marlow sees the “symbolic” skulls lining Kurtz’s hut Marlow sees the “symbolic” skulls lining Kurtz’s hut. What reflections do those skulls lead Marlow to make regarding the nature of Kurtz’s downfall in the wilderness?

What does Kurtz say in his final illness? What, if anything, does Marlow learn from Kurtz? How does he interpret Kurtz’s phrase “the horror, the horror”?

Kurtz finally passes away, and at the text’s conclusion Marlow decides to visit Kurtz’s “Intended” Why does Marlow lie to here about Kurtz’s last words? Does his lie reflect any insight he has gained from his trip up the Congo and to “the Heart of Darkness”? Explain

Themes One of the novel’s strengths is its complexity. Conrad comments on a range of themes that resonate with most readers, such as: The corrupting influence of power Man’s inhumanity to man Racial inequality Gender inequality Nature as adversary

Moral-Philosophical: Heart of Darkness is preoccupied with general questions about the nature of good and evil, or civilization and savagery What saves Marlow from becoming evil? Is Kurtz more or less evil than the pilgrims? Why does Marlow associate lies with mortality?