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3.02 AVERAGE
3.02 AVERAGE
A rather bleak story with no purpose. Its beauty lies in its description and writing, while the plot suffers from inattention.
I also was not a fan of Apocalypse now (extremely overrated film), a rendition of this work. It’s one of those reads that people will claim they enjoyed to sound like a more rounded reader when in reality it really is a jumbled bunch of nothingness with pretty words.
I also was not a fan of Apocalypse now (extremely overrated film), a rendition of this work. It’s one of those reads that people will claim they enjoyed to sound like a more rounded reader when in reality it really is a jumbled bunch of nothingness with pretty words.
I kind of get what he was trying to do, but my God was it frustrating to read sometimes. 'Heart of darkness', 'heart of darkness', I GET IT. It was more fun to have a lecture about this than to actually read it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really difficult to understand and read. From what I could glean, it was an earnest criticism of colonialism, but with the racism and misogyny of 100 years ago. It was tough to get through as it was so confusing.
A book i had to read for school that I was constantly falling asleep through. I would have DNFd if I was reading this for fun. This book could have been 100 pages shorter and gotten the point across just as well. (its only 102 pages) I would feel bad for rating it a 1, but I didn’t like any of it and my opinion means very little so who cares?
I LOVE APOCALYPSE NOW !!!!!!! anthony bourdain and francis ford coppola convinced me to read this
"Africa as setting and backdrop which eliminates the African as human factor. Africa as a metaphysical battlefield devoid of all recognizable humanity, into which the wandering European enters at his peril. Can nobody see the preposterous and perverse arrogance in thus reducing Africa to the role of props for the break-up of one petty European mind?"
Chinua Achebe, An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
An interesting and disturbing read from the perspective of a narrator (and author) who was personally complicit in the atrocities committed in the Congo during the late 1800s. Whilst I found it a somewhat atmospheric read, this almost entirely relied on the racist and dehumanising depictions of Africa and African people, which are used simply as a narrative foil to one European white man's journey into madness and back. Achebe's essay, available here, offers a much more thorough critique that I can, and I would recommend reading alongside Heart of Darkness.
Chinua Achebe, An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
An interesting and disturbing read from the perspective of a narrator (and author) who was personally complicit in the atrocities committed in the Congo during the late 1800s. Whilst I found it a somewhat atmospheric read, this almost entirely relied on the racist and dehumanising depictions of Africa and African people, which are used simply as a narrative foil to one European white man's journey into madness and back. Achebe's essay, available here, offers a much more thorough critique that I can, and I would recommend reading alongside Heart of Darkness.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't remember the last time I read something written so engagingly and vividly. The moral and psychological implications run as deep as the river the main character Marlow embarks his expedition on.
It is essential to distinguish Marlow from Conrad, because Conrad could only have created a character who slowly—and ambiguously—comes to grasp the horrors of colonialism if he himself held a firm moral opposition to it. The nuance and ambiguity in Marlow’s perspective are possible precisely because Conrad was writing from a critical distance, not from complicity! Any troubling or ambivalent views expressed by Marlow should therefore be read as part of the character’s journey, not as a reflection of the author’s own beliefs.
The mythological elements and intertextuality are clever and narratively integral.
It is essential to distinguish Marlow from Conrad, because Conrad could only have created a character who slowly—and ambiguously—comes to grasp the horrors of colonialism if he himself held a firm moral opposition to it. The nuance and ambiguity in Marlow’s perspective are possible precisely because Conrad was writing from a critical distance, not from complicity! Any troubling or ambivalent views expressed by Marlow should therefore be read as part of the character’s journey, not as a reflection of the author’s own beliefs.
The mythological elements and intertextuality are clever and narratively integral.
A phenomenal and important piece of literature.
I don’t know how to rate this book- especially in terms of stars. Before reading I thought it was critical of the colonial ‘mission’, and I suppose of it’s time it was, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that it is awful to read in modern times. Konrad may have disapproved of the chaotic structuring of the colonial agents but he was still a raging racist and shouldn’t be platformed. I don’t think it’s helpful to read dehumanising descriptions of people when they are not presenting critically but rather constantly insisted upon. I think the plot was a vessel for some lofty prose and ruminations on life, as was popular with early 20th century writers. These instances of writing are at times beautiful but overshadowed by how horrible the story and descriptions of black people are.
I've been sitting with this one for a bit, mainly because it's really hard to square the praise I've seen it get with the horrific racism dripping from every page.
What this book *wants* to be is indeed a horrific condemnation of colonialism at its worst. It sort of gets there, but it's stumbling over all of its early 20th-century biases and weird Victorian hangups.
These days, there exist dozens of better works that grapple with the legacy of colonialism in Africa. Every single one of them will summarize this book. No need for anyone who isn't specifically interested in Victorian literature on colonialism to touch this mess.
What this book *wants* to be is indeed a horrific condemnation of colonialism at its worst. It sort of gets there, but it's stumbling over all of its early 20th-century biases and weird Victorian hangups.
These days, there exist dozens of better works that grapple with the legacy of colonialism in Africa. Every single one of them will summarize this book. No need for anyone who isn't specifically interested in Victorian literature on colonialism to touch this mess.