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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
Good writing, though a bit inscrutable at times. So this is where "The horror! The horror!" comes from!
Whether or not Conrad intended to be racist, or if he was making a critique of racism via a racist narrator, doesn't matter. What matters is that it comes off as extremely racist: There is no outside form of reference, no other depiction of Africans, no hint aside from critique of European barbarism that racism is negative. At best, they come off as "noble savages" compared with the depraved machinations of Europeans. Coupled with the unbearably obvious metaphors, this was an awful book.
How did a book I loathe so much turn into one of my favorite films? I’ll never understand. Give me Apocalypse Now any day.
Update 9/21/12
I'll be honest, I didn't give Conrad the credit he deserves when I first read this book. He is a good writer, however when I read this the first time I was annoyed that we were reading about a blatant colonial story and how we read it through the Freudian lens (you know the ego, super-ego, and Id). When thinking about it, I guess people want to distance themselves with how much wrong there is in this book. Since I had to read it again for my Post-Colonial literature class I got a better feel (as well as realizing that I had a change in heart).
However, I will say it even though the language is very much derogatory, Conrad was a man of his time. Although, there are hints that I think make me think that maybe he wasn't.
I'll be honest, I didn't give Conrad the credit he deserves when I first read this book. He is a good writer, however when I read this the first time I was annoyed that we were reading about a blatant colonial story and how we read it through the Freudian lens (you know the ego, super-ego, and Id). When thinking about it, I guess people want to distance themselves with how much wrong there is in this book. Since I had to read it again for my Post-Colonial literature class I got a better feel (as well as realizing that I had a change in heart).
However, I will say it even though the language is very much derogatory, Conrad was a man of his time. Although, there are hints that I think make me think that maybe he wasn't.
Kourtz is experienced through the words of other yet the protagonist supposedly was his best friend even though they exchange few words. He is an amazing human being for no reason at all.
More of a 4.5. The writing is superb. A sense of dread and primitive terror is felt troughout the whole book.
A story of a man in a boat who heards the story of a man who went to the Congo and saw the nature of man without the constraints of civilization. It is of the opinion that when men have no rules and are able to do as they please, they will oppress ruthlessly, the will kill lightly, they will dehumanize quickly.
Very nice read.
A story of a man in a boat who heards the story of a man who went to the Congo and saw the nature of man without the constraints of civilization. It is of the opinion that when men have no rules and are able to do as they please, they will oppress ruthlessly, the will kill lightly, they will dehumanize quickly.
Very nice read.
I didn't like it...
A whole lot of the narrative is about Kurtz, but very *very* little is said about what he actually did or said. If someone talked to me so vaguely in real life, I'd do my best to terminate that discourse posthaste.
A whole lot of the narrative is about Kurtz, but very *very* little is said about what he actually did or said. If someone talked to me so vaguely in real life, I'd do my best to terminate that discourse posthaste.
Originally, I was not a fan of this book. It is a little dry compared to other books I was reading around that time frame, so it made it difficult to read. I knew the whole light/ dark symbolism existed, but I didn't, in all honesty, truly understand it. I originally gave it three stars.
Then it all clicked one day as I was reflecting on the novella. Marlow calls Brussels the "sepulchral city". A sepulcher is a beautiful structure on the outside, yet inside it holds a decaying and maggot ridden entity. He also uses the term "blinding sunshine". The Belgians are there for this awful, greed filled mission, yet they justify it by saying they are there for humanitarian reasons. He is told Kurtz is a "remarkable man" and an "emissary of light" yet he is a greed filled man willing to kill his only friend over a minuscule amount of ivory. So the message, the heart of darkness lies in false light. Marlow also mentions how much he detests dishonesty. This further supports my interpretation as he would believe that the worst form of darkness would be deceiving people by hiding it in the light.
So now I have bumped to the star level it deserves as the use of symbolism in this novel is brilliant .
Then it all clicked one day as I was reflecting on the novella. Marlow calls Brussels the "sepulchral city". A sepulcher is a beautiful structure on the outside, yet inside it holds a decaying and maggot ridden entity. He also uses the term "blinding sunshine". The Belgians are there for this awful, greed filled mission, yet they justify it by saying they are there for humanitarian reasons. He is told Kurtz is a "remarkable man" and an "emissary of light" yet he is a greed filled man willing to kill his only friend over a minuscule amount of ivory. So the message, the heart of darkness lies in false light. Marlow also mentions how much he detests dishonesty. This further supports my interpretation as he would believe that the worst form of darkness would be deceiving people by hiding it in the light.
So now I have bumped to the star level it deserves as the use of symbolism in this novel is brilliant .
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can see why it's a classic, but it's so wordy and descriptive that the story gets lost in the details sometimes. It's short, and that's helpful, but it's definitely a hard read just because of how dense it is.