"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad: A Review
Introduction
Introduction
In my opinion, I found that the novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad is not an easy novel to comprehend. This is may be due to the language use or language construction which makes it difficult for me to digest. It is not a novel which can make me feel like reading it non-stop once I have opened the first page. I could say that I have given up in reading the original novel. I have to look up for the abridge version of the novel to understand eventhough it is not the same as the original one.
Plot Summary
setting of this story takes place along the Congo River in Africa. And it is about the slavery and colonialism of the whitemen upon the black or African Natives in the turn of the century. "Heart of Darkness" is a story about a sailor or rather a frequent traveler who is looking for a new location to go for his next trip. He would like very much to travel along the longest river in Africa, that is the Congo River. Through his Aunt's contacts and friends he got a job as a captain for a steamboat. His mission is to find a man name Kurtz.
Themes
Major themes in Heart of Darkness:
1. A mythical Journey into self
While Heart of Darkness is Conrad's autobiographical account of his trip into the Congo and his commnetary on colonialism, it is more significantly a symbolic journey into the dark recesses of the human psyche, a story given dreamlike qualities with Conrad's methods and techniques.
2. Marlow Explores the boundaries between life and death
Marlow goes to the Congo fascinated with death though naive about its reality. The dangers he encounters winding his way up the snakelike river teach him to limit his involvement with the symbolic dark wilderness and Kurtz if he is to survive physically and psychologically.
3. Marlow Gains Insight through work
Just when Marlow is most despairing about the deplorable conditions of the native Africans and the blind gred of the ivory trade, he discovers that repairing the steamer is useful work. The struggle to maneuver the boat up the Congo with his native helmsman becomes for him a symbol of focus and meaning.
4. In the context of Colonialism and imperialism
Conrad shows that imperialism has detrimental effects on the native Congo population: more warfare, a breakdown of tribal systems. loss of community and social values, and worsened economic conditions. He finds European whites to be unpleasantly hypocritical and presumptuous. Conrad recognizes that although colonialists interfered in the lives of native Africans to improve them, in reality, imperialism and colonial presence exploited innocent people and often destroyed.
Conclusions
Heart of Darkness is a novel of twentieth- century fiction and thought. Conrad developed artistics methods to investigate psychological conditions of human and behaviour and to raise issues concerning modern social and political morality.
Themes
Major themes in Heart of Darkness:
1. A mythical Journey into self
While Heart of Darkness is Conrad's autobiographical account of his trip into the Congo and his commnetary on colonialism, it is more significantly a symbolic journey into the dark recesses of the human psyche, a story given dreamlike qualities with Conrad's methods and techniques.
2. Marlow Explores the boundaries between life and death
Marlow goes to the Congo fascinated with death though naive about its reality. The dangers he encounters winding his way up the snakelike river teach him to limit his involvement with the symbolic dark wilderness and Kurtz if he is to survive physically and psychologically.
3. Marlow Gains Insight through work
Just when Marlow is most despairing about the deplorable conditions of the native Africans and the blind gred of the ivory trade, he discovers that repairing the steamer is useful work. The struggle to maneuver the boat up the Congo with his native helmsman becomes for him a symbol of focus and meaning.
4. In the context of Colonialism and imperialism
Conrad shows that imperialism has detrimental effects on the native Congo population: more warfare, a breakdown of tribal systems. loss of community and social values, and worsened economic conditions. He finds European whites to be unpleasantly hypocritical and presumptuous. Conrad recognizes that although colonialists interfered in the lives of native Africans to improve them, in reality, imperialism and colonial presence exploited innocent people and often destroyed.
Conclusions
Heart of Darkness is a novel of twentieth- century fiction and thought. Conrad developed artistics methods to investigate psychological conditions of human and behaviour and to raise issues concerning modern social and political morality.
Submitted to:
En. Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan
Lecturer TSL 570
UiTM Perak
Semester Jul. 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment