Shedding Light on the "Heart of Darkness"

Anybody bring a flashlight? We're going to need one, because today we are plumbing the depths of Joseph Conrad's classic novella "Heart of Darkness". (Yes, it's just as upbeat as the title promises. Buckle up, kids!)

Loosely based on his own experience in Africa, Conrad's best-known story revolves around a seafaring man named Marlowe who is sent by an ivory company into the depths of the Congo to retrieve one of the company's top agents. The agent in question is a Mr. Kurtz and the company feels that he has gone mad in the jungle. Marlowe experiences numerous setbacks throughout his trip, and his anticipation of meeting the legendary Mr. Kurtz seems to be heightened with every delay. As evidenced by the human skull-topped fence posts surrounding Kurtz's property, Marlowe is not to be disappointed. Upon their meeting, we find that Kurtz is revered as a bit of a god among the native tribes and he reminded me very much of a sort of human Gollum. (Those of you who have read the book, imagine Kurtz looming over his hordes of ivory and hissing, "My precccciousssss..." Eerily fitting, I think.)

There are many themes to be explored, even in this short novella, but the largest of these are the contrast between light and dark (which is much more complex in this story than simply "good and evil"), the representation of women in the 1890s, the complexities of African colonization, and the inclination toward madness in each of us.

The story begins slowly but, before I knew it, I had been sucked into the jungle along with Marlowe and Kurtz, fighting for my own sanity in the wilderness. The language is, at times, admittedly dense, but the story itself and the introspection it provides are well worth the effort. Just don't forget your imaginary machete!