10 Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness
Dr. P. P. Ajayakumar
1. Objectives
- To introduce the novel Heart of Darkness to the students of literature.
- To familiarize the students with the basic concepts related to the novel.
- To create an awareness about the historical and political significance of the novel.
- To help the students to approach the novel in its entirety.
- To inspire the students to interpret the novel in fresh ways.
2. Introduction
About the Author: Born in Polish Ukraine on 3rd December 1857, Joseph Conrad’s childhood was beset by several tragic incidents that made him literally an orphan. His family fought for the freedom of Poland which was invaded by Russia, Prussia and Austria. His father, Apollo Korzeniowski was arrested for his anti-Russian activities in 1861 followed by his mother Eva’s arrest in 1862. The two were sentenced to exile to Vologda, a town in Northern Russia. Eva died of Tuberculosis in 1865 and Apollo died of the same disease in 1869. Bereft of the love and affection of parents at the tender age of 12 Conrad’s life was in shambles. Moreover he was affected by lung inflammations and Epilepsy. After the death of his mother he was sent to his mother’s brother in Krakow for education. Though he never completed his formal education he read a lot especially translations of Charles Dickens’s novels and Captain Frederick Marryatt’s adventurous novels. Perhaps it was his exposure to Marryatt’s adventurous novels that created interest in going to the sea. He travelled to the French port city, Marseilles and joined the French Merchant Navy. He suffered from severe depression due to financial crisis that arose out of gambling debts and attempted suicide. After recovering from this depression, he signed on to an English ship 1878 and eight years later he became an English subject. His experiences travelling to Congo resulted in the writing of the novel, Heart of Darkness, the most famous novel written by Conrad. His other major works include Lord Jim, Nostromo and The Secret Agent. He died in 1924.
The Novel, Heart of Darkness: The most famous work of Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness is a novella published in book form in 1902. Partly autobiographical in nature the novel depicts the journey that Conrad took through modern day Congo during his years as a sailor. The novel is discussed widely as a foundational text of colonialism and has been acclaimed for the use of ambiguity that he uses to reveal Marlowe’s perceptions of the horrors that he encounters. Even more significant is the way in which it breaks the narrative conventions of the Victorian novel adopting a novel style which connects it with the modernist narrative. Similarly Heart of Darkness combines the Victorian and the Modern values through the combination of the depiction of heroism on the one hand and the concentration on concepts alienation, confusion and skepticism on the other. At the same time the major thrust of the novel is on the threat of Imperialism and its moral and ideological confusion. It has been adapted as a film, Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
2. Key Concepts
Novella: Novella is a short novel or a long short story. The English word ‘novella’ is derived from the Italian term ‘novella’ which means ‘new.’ It is intended to be read in single sitting and is not usually divided into chapters.
Frame Tale: Frame Tale is a literary technique that sometimes functions as a story within a story. It leads the readers from the first story to another story. In Heart of Darkness Marlow’s story is narrated to the reader by the anonymous narrator who listens to Marlow on the deck of Nellie. Conrad’s frame narrator like the reader understands that the European Imperialism is founded on a number of lies that he has whole heartedly believed.
Colonialism: Colonialism is the practice or policy of overpowering and exploiting a weaker nation or area by a stronger nation. The political control exerted by the European powers over the rest of the world during the past few centuries was justified describing it as the extension of civilization. The European colonial powers argued that the more civilized, developed and powerful nations have the right to colonize the weaker, less civilized and undeveloped nations in order to create economic development and civilization in the colonies. This so called ‘civilizing mission’ intern established and justified the superiority of the European world over the non-Western world.
Post colonialism: Post colonialism is an academic and intellectual response to the cultural legacies of Colonialism and Imperialism. It attempts to analyze the politics of knowledge created, controlled and distributed by the colonial ideology and the way in which it represents the colonizer and the colonized. It questions and reorients the modes of cultural perception and illustrates the ideology and praxis of colonialism and neo-colonialism. It attempts to destabilize the theories that support Western thought through which colonialism perceives the world and tries to establish an intellectual space from which the marginalized can voice out their experiences. Notable theoreticians who contributed in the development of Postcolonial theory are Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, GayatriChakrabortiSpivak, and Homi K. Bhabha.
The Congo: A Belgian colony in Africa until 1960, Congo was captured by the Belgian ruler King Leopold II and named it Etat Independent du Congo meaning The Congo Free State. Apart from ivory and rubber which was shipped to Belgium in plenty,free labor was a major attraction. Leopold’s agents treated the natives cruelly and forced them to work for them without any wages. Detractors were killed cruelly. Historian AdamHotchshild observes that during the reign of Leopold the population of Congo dropped by ten million. The novel Heart of Darkness portrays this dark phase in the history of colonialism in Congo. Marlow compares the Congo River to a snake to suggest the magical powers with which it is associated. The river is emblematic of the culture and civilization of Africa which the Whites failed to come to terms with.
2. Summary Part I
They become contemplative as the sun sets. He refers to London as “one of the dark places on earth.” Marlow breaks the silence by narrating his tale about his visit to Congo. The narrator reports what Marlow tells to the people on board of Nellie. Marlow refers to the conquests of the past and how all those conquests turned out to be plundering the riches of those who were different from them. He suggests that something more is needed to redeem mankind. There was long silence. After some time Marlow broke the silence telling about one of his journeys. Even as a boy Marlow desired to become a seaman or explorer. He spent about six years as a sailor in the Indian Ocean, Pacific and China Seas and then decided to join as a pilot in a steam boat that goes to Congo in Africa.He saw the map of the Congo in a shop window and was fascinated by it. The Congo River is compared to a snake with its head in the sea, its body curving over the country and its tail in the deep of the land. The Continental Trading Company conducting operations in Congo had its headquarters in Brussels. After signing the documents in Brussels he underwent medical examination. The doctor measures his head with calipers and asks him whether there were any history of madness in his family.
After thanking his aunt he leaves for Congo in a slow French steamer. It reached the mouth of the river in thirty days and Marlow suffered depression due to the long and boring journey. He was taken to the steamboat in a steamer. The Captain of the steamer told him ominous stories about the Europeans in Africa and referred to a man who committed suicide on the road. He spent about ten days at the Company’s outer station from where ivory was shipped to Europe. He came across the real Africa during his stay there, starving natives, broken machinery; lose rails and arrogant white traders. During this period he met the Accountant who told him about Kurtz a company agent who was in charge of ivory business deep in the interior. He described Kurtz as a remarkable person and wanted him to inform Kurtz about his imminent promotion in the Company administration. Marlow moved to the Central station one day after the conversation along with sixty men who carried equipment, food and water. He saw signs of cruelty, suffering and destruction on the way; abandoned villages, bodies of native men who have been shot on the head and innumerable paths to the interior of the forest constructed by the invaders enhanced the horror. When he reached the Central station he was informed that the steam boat that he has to pilot was damaged and that it was at the bottom of the river and so he was forced to wait there. He met a brick maker who enquired him about the company’s activities in Europe.But he confessed ignorance about such official secrets. He saw a sketch in oil in the wall of the Brickmaker’s cabin. It is of a “woman, draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch.” The manager informs him that it was painted by Kurtz. Marlow needed rivets to repair his steam boat but it did not arrive. Instead a group of white explorers who called themselves Eldorado Exploring Expedition arrived riding donkeys followed by natives in search of treasure. He heard rumors about Kurtz who has gone to the interior of the forest.
Part II
Marlow learned from the Manager that Kurtz wanted the company to send him to the jungle to show how much ivory he could procure. Later hesends his assistant back to the Manager alleging inefficiency. The Manager felt that Kurtz would die in the jungle. The Eldorado Expedition entered the jungle. It was heard that the donkeys were all dead as well as the natives, “the less valuable animals.” After repairing the steam boat Marlow with his team of “pilgrims” also started their journey to the inner station accompanied by the Manager and the natives. The steam boat came across a hut of reeds about fifty miles below the inner station. There was the remnant of a flag and neatly piled wood and a board in which it is written, “Wood for you. Hurry up. Approach cautiously. “There was a table, heap of rubbish and a book on seamanship inside the hut. Marlow took the book and put it in his pocket and the Natives took the wood. A mile and a half below the inner station the natives attacked the steam boat firing small arrowsand the pilgrims reacted by firing guns into the bush. The helmsman was killed by a spear. Marlow thinks about the Helmsman’s look before he died. He throws his dead body overboard. The current takes his body. It rolls twice and disappears. Marlow says that he had been a second rate Helmsman, but he would now be a first class temptation, meaning food for the Cannibals. A decaying building on the slope of a hill was seen. A white man wearing a hat with a boyish face with no beard and blue eyes appeared. He reminded Marlow of a harlequin. He was a Russian who served in an English ship. He pointed towards the hill and told them that Kurtz was there.
Part III
Reaching the Inner Station Marlow saw a long decaying building with long posts around it. Each post was topped with round curved balls which were human heads. He came to know that Kurtz was still alive and that it was his quarters and the Natives attacked the boat because they don’t want anyone to take Kurtz away from them. Marlow came to know more about Kurtz from the Russian who told him that Kurtz used to go for hunting in the forest for ivory along with the natives. He wanted Marlow to take Kurtz away quickly. He had very high opinion about Kurtz. He had listened to him on many occasions and had discussed about love. He had nursed Kurtz out of two illnesses. At present Kurtz is very ill. Looking through the binoculars he discovered that the round knobs that he saw on the posts bordering the house were the heads of native rebels. A group of natives appeared carrying Kurtz on a stretcher. He ordered his army to leave and the Manager and other agents conveyed the messages to Kurtz laying him on bed. Leaving Kurtz’s room he saw a woman who had a proud and magnanimous appearance emerging on the shore. She wears brass leggings to the knee, brass wire gauntlets to the elbow and necklaces of glass beads. She walked with measured steps and seemed to wear the value of “several elephant tusks upon her.” She boarded the steam boat raised her arms and disappeared in the bush without speaking a word. The Russian says that she had created problems for Kurtz. Marlow heard Kurtz speaking irreverently to the Manager inside the room. When he came out he informed Marlow that Kurtz’s ivory district will be closed as his method is unsound. The Russian and Marlow shared the suspicion that the white rescuers of Kurtz are really trying to harm him. Kurtz never wanted him to be taken away and that is why he ordered attack on the steam boat. The Harlequin further wanted Marlow to protect Kurtz’s reputation when he goes back to Europe.
Marlow woke up at midnight hearing the sound of the drum and the natives reciting incantations. He found Kurtz’s room empty and found him trying to escape crawling through the grass. Seeing Marlow his first reaction was to ask him to run and hide himself, but then he told Marlow about his plans which were ruined by the Manager. He then led Kurtz to his roomand the next day they started off to the sea in order to go back to Europe. They saw three natives covered with bright red earth shouting some magic spell. Kurtz’s native mistress began shouting something and the same was repeated by his 1000 followers. The white men pointed their rifles towards the natives. Marlow blew the whistle vigorously to scare the natives. Though many of them ran away the wild woman did not. The whites then opened fire against Kurtz’s followers. Kurtz continued to speak about his experiences and handed over a packet of papers to Marlow to keep it for himself away from the Manager. One evening when he entered Kurtz’s room Marlow heard his last words, “The horror! The horror!” Marlow left the room without uttering a word. Then the Manager’s servant boy announced in a contemptuous voice, “Kurtz dead.” The next day they buried his body in the jungle. Marlow felt that he could never compare himself to Kurtz. He had something to say. His last words, “The horror” are an indication of his conviction about life. It may be a reference to the moral victory that he had finally after many defeats. Back in Brussels Marlow was nursed back to health by his aunt. A company official visited Marlow demanding the papers handed over by Kurtz. Though he hands over the report on the Natives he removes the final comment “Exterminate all the Brutes.” Kurtz’s cousin whom he met told him about Kurtz’s musical abilities and his organizational capabilities. According to him Kurtz could have become an inspiring political leader with his charisma and his electrifying voice. Marlow also met Kurtz’s fiancée who appeared sincere, trustworthy and innocent. When she asked Marlow to tell Kurtz’s last word he lied and said the last word he pronounced was your name. She sighed and cried. The story narrated by Marlow was over. On board the ship Nellie the listeners stood still. The narrator looked at the clouds, the overcast sky and the Thames and felt that the river is flowing into the “heart of an immense darkness.”
2. Majortopics Alienation: The novel begins and ends in silence. In the beginning the men on board the ship silently wait for the tide to turn and in the end they remain silent deeply moved by the story of Marlow. Long journey to distant land and lonely life there had damaging effects upon most of these characters including Marlow, Kurtz and the Russian. The psychological transformation that the imperial explorers undergo is portrayed subtly in the novel. The fate of Captain Fresleven and the Russian refers to the experience of loneliness and alienation and its aftereffects on their life. The case of Kurtz is the most horrible experience as he has been cut off from the humanizing influences and has lost reason overwhelmed by the base animalistic instincts resident in him. The novel becomes a journey into the darkness within. It focuses mainly on the devastating effect that the imperial expansion and the brutality inflicted upon the natives had on the colonizers.
The Civilization: The novel reveals the hollowness of the “great” European civilization which is skin deep and has failed miserably in keeping its humanistic outlook in the colonies. The white characters that we come across in the novel are driven by one aim that is making money and are ready to do any kind of atrocity to fulfill their goal. The unnamed European city is referred in the novel as “Sepulchral City” which means a city like a hollow tomb. Marlow realizes that there is a dark heart behind the glorious civilization just as the white sepulcher hides the remnants of the dead body. Civilization fails in preventing the animal instincts of the white colonialists in Africa. They succumb to base instincts and become prey to the primordial instincts of violence and horror.
Racism: Heart of Darkness has been accused of having racist approach towards the natives of Africa. Though it is not treated as the central theme the novel presents Africans as “niggers,” “criminals,” “Cannibals” and “savages.” The natives are portrayed as subordinate beings and are forced to work hard, chained, starved, mutilated and murdered without any sense of guilt or fear of punishment. It indirectly suggests that the white man has the innate right to conquer any country and subordinate the people there for the benefit of the Europeans. Kurtz who was worshipped by the natives as god has no reluctance to conclude his report on the savage customs with the comment, “Exterminate all Brutes.” On the other hand the novel also unravels the horrible side of the colonial enterprise with its corrupt hollow white officials and the mass destruction that they have perpetrated on the native population in Africa. But the novelist’s approach revealed through the character Marlow is that of an indifferent observer and his approach is not far removed from the white colonialists. Although he regrets the death of his helmsman, who was a black, he observes that he was “a savage who was no more important than a grain of sand in a black Sahara.” The view that the whites are civilized and the blacks are uncivilized and that they need be civilized is the kind of perspective shared by the novel. This view is purely racist in its content.
The Title, Heart of Darkness: The title, Heart of Darkness refers to the darkness of the “uncivilized,” “dark” continent Africa as well as the interiors of the mind of the characters which are dark and not open to other people. The literal journey to the jungle is a metaphor for a symbolic journey into the inner landscape of the soul. The title also points towards the idea of sin and redemption. The journey into the dark jungle can be a journey to the primordial state of man and the journey back can be an escape from it. The fact that Kurtz succumbs to death is indicative of the overexposure that he had with the primitive culture whereas Marlow recovers and comes back to life.
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Reference
- Achebe, Chinua. “‘An Image of Africa’: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.” In Heart of Darkness: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism,ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988. Print.
- Eagleton, Terry. Criticism and Ideology: A Study in Marxist Literary Theory. London: Verso, Reprint edition 2006. Print.
- Stape, J.H., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.Print.
- Dean, Leonard F., ed. Joseph Conrad’s ‘‘Heart of Darkness’’: Backgrounds and Criticisms. Prentice-Hall,1960.Print.
- Garnett, Edward. Conrad: The Critical Heritage, edited by Norman Sherry. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1973. Print.