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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A very interesting book that has a very valid and interesting message: that the people who have long been viewed as savages are in fact just as human as anyone, and the people that have long been viewed as high-class are actually often savages. This message is dealt out through a careful narrative that can be boring at times, but is none the less interesting.
It is in the nature of a human being to sacrifice something for the greater good; however, this was not the case for Kurtz. (semi spoilers ig)
In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Kurtz is portrayed as the embodiment of evil as he practices horrific acts towards the natives to gain Ivory. When Kurtz surrenders his life as an explorer to become a native god, Conrad shows the readers how Kurtz’s temptation and hunger for power led to his annihilation.
Through Marlow, we learn that Kurtz was on an expedition to Congo to find ivory and "civilize" the natives as many Europeans at that time wanted to do. However, when Kurtz had nothing to trade with them, he rallied up tribes and raided villages for ivory. As stated on page 133, “But the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken him on a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion".
Heart of Darkness illustrates Kurtz as an enigmatic character as he is pursued by the protagonist Marlow and many other characters in the novel. Through his horrifying actions towards the natives of Congo, Conrad highlights the evil characteristics of Kurtz and also the European ideals of imperialism and mercantilism. His yearning for ivory leads him to surrender himself to the wilderness and become the God for the natives and have them bring all their ivory to him. We suspect Marlow to form hatred against the company and Kurtz. However, as the story develops, Marlow's fascination with Kurtz grows and he becomes the keeper of Kurtz's memories. This goes on to further display how Kurtz's charismatic characteristics impacted Marlow and the other characters to have a certain fondness and respect for him.
This book was extremely disturbing but I found it quite intriguing to explain the darkness of human nature. I am not exactly sure if I hate or like this book so I'll keep it at a 3 for now.
In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Kurtz is portrayed as the embodiment of evil as he practices horrific acts towards the natives to gain Ivory. When Kurtz surrenders his life as an explorer to become a native god, Conrad shows the readers how Kurtz’s temptation and hunger for power led to his annihilation.
Through Marlow, we learn that Kurtz was on an expedition to Congo to find ivory and "civilize" the natives as many Europeans at that time wanted to do. However, when Kurtz had nothing to trade with them, he rallied up tribes and raided villages for ivory. As stated on page 133, “But the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken him on a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion".
Heart of Darkness illustrates Kurtz as an enigmatic character as he is pursued by the protagonist Marlow and many other characters in the novel. Through his horrifying actions towards the natives of Congo, Conrad highlights the evil characteristics of Kurtz and also the European ideals of imperialism and mercantilism. His yearning for ivory leads him to surrender himself to the wilderness and become the God for the natives and have them bring all their ivory to him. We suspect Marlow to form hatred against the company and Kurtz. However, as the story develops, Marlow's fascination with Kurtz grows and he becomes the keeper of Kurtz's memories. This goes on to further display how Kurtz's charismatic characteristics impacted Marlow and the other characters to have a certain fondness and respect for him.
This book was extremely disturbing but I found it quite intriguing to explain the darkness of human nature. I am not exactly sure if I hate or like this book so I'll keep it at a 3 for now.
Read this book because my English teacher friend told me it was a seminal work. Kept waiting for something to happen, but it didn't. I'm glad it was short. He explained parts to me, but I read for story, not for allegory on the human journey.
Dark bur compelling. The best part was having Branagh narrate for my audio book. A good book made great by a talented narrator.
Classics are worth reading for many reasons--the language endures, the depth endures--but also because of the opportunity to reflect upon the way that society has changed. Conrad wrote "Heart of Darkness," condemning the colonialism that raped Africa as an inevitable poisoning of the national/Continental soul as evinced by a single soul's poisoning. But even as he was writing this bitter accusation, he was still part of his own time, and Marlowe, the African steamboat captain who recounts his trip into the deep, "untamed" parts of Africa, describes the Europeans as cold and rapacious but "civilized," whereas his descriptions of Africans all border on--or cross the line into outright--racial contempt. It is not simply the narrator's persona; it is Conrad's perception as well. (The argument rages back and forth about whether Conrad was himself racist or deliberately reflecting racism. I think he was at least somewhat racist.) But another aspect of the whole story that was acceptable to Conrad and his contemporaries but which is deeply offensive to modern sensibilities is the trade in ivory. A few decades ago, a reader might have discussed the racism, the European character, the issues of finding and losing oneself at the end of civilization. But ivory is simply the prized good in this book; in recent years, this may be of equal reprehensibility, or even more, as we realize how the slaughter was carried out on such a grand scale and how we are now fighting for a chance to save African elephants from extinction due to this trade.
No offence but I got so bored reading this for my degree I spent the entire time wishing it was over.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Idee voor een drankspel: neem een shot iedere keer dat de auteur te pas en te onpas in dit verhaal de titel van het boek noemt.