Commentary on Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

The first 200 words of this essay...

Cindy Cheng

Heart of Darkness is a book written by Joseph Conrad. The book centers around Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his journey up the Congo River to meet Kurtz, As he travels to Africa and then up the Congo, Marlow encounters the native inhabitants of the region have been forced into the Company's service, and they suffer terribly from overwork and ill treatment at the hands of the Company's agents. The cruelty and squalor of imperial enterprise contrasts sharply with the impassive and majestic jungle that surrounds the white man's settlements, making them appear to be tiny islands amidst a vast darkness.

The passage I chose is at the start of part II when Marlow is about to take a long trip up the into the Congo to pick up Kurtz. This passage is very informative and descriptive. It is quite significant that Marlow is the one speaking because as he tells the story you can almost picture him reliving the whole thing in his mind all over again, through is precise descriptions we are able to actually picture the horror of what he had to see and the chaos in his mind that