Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is one of the greatest works of the 19th century and deserves it’s place alongside such classics as Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo in the literary canon of the 1800s. That is frighteningly impressive company, however Heart of Darkness can hold it’s own in such company for the same reason it might be quietly removed from such company, because of how creatively and irredeemably ugly it is. In amongst the tales of selfless sacrifice and redemption in spite of time and adversity, in amongst these heart softening stories lies a heart harding story of man’s blackness and evil, of selfishness and profit venture, of the path of least resistance. That is why Heart of Darkness must be in the canon, because it is different, it is one of the rare stories where you care nothing about anyone and none of it matters.
Heart of Darkness follows Marlow’s journey through three layers of darkness "the darkness of Congo wilderness, the darkness of the European’s cruel treatment of the natives, and the unfathomable darkness within every human being for committing heinous acts of evil" (HoD, The Literature Network). The darkness of the Congo wilderness creates the isolation necessary to explore the other forms of darkness throughout the story. The darkness of colonialism seems dated to us now, however such treatments of natives is still relevant to modern imperial nations as seen in Apocalypse Now, the best adaptation of Heart of Darkness in film, "Coppola replaced European colonialism with American interventionism" (Apocalypse Now, Wikipedia). Finally there is the Darkness at the Heart of all men and the desire to take the path of least resistance / greatest profit, most hear would go on about the character of Kurtz, however I found the true revelation of this was at the end when Marlow tell Kurtz’s fiancé that Kurtz’s last words were her name as opposed to the truth, his last words "The horror, the horror" (Heart of Darkness, Wikipedia), this shows that not even Marlow the protagonist is free of this darkness.
Heart of darkness is a great book, it deserves the praise it gets because there is no possible way you will enjoy it. Heart of Darkness was made to reveal the darkness we’d rather ignore, it was made to be painful to read. The only thing I can think of from other genres that compares would be Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the film not the novel, in that it is completely uncompromisingly ugly.
If you were to use the word "enjoy" somewhat more loosely, you could say that you enjoyed this work. It's mesmerizing for the relentlessness of the quest and the sordid horror of Kurtz. It's enjoyable because it is written so well.
ReplyDeleteAnd I disagree with your para 1 remark that none of it matters: surely it is significant to look into the darkness of man's heart and see what lies there. Humanity would do well to more fully acknowledge its own darkness, rather than pretend it doesn't exist.