I read Heart of Darkness with my daughter as part of a literature reading assignment for high school. I found the language used in the novel to be very dense with long sentences and paragraphs. The story is told in a rather unique way with the narrator actually telling of a narration of another person, Marlow, about his experience as a river-boat captain in Africa. The story take place in the late 1800s in the Congo and is basically an anti-imperialist and anti-slavery work. It is also fundamentally an adventure story showing the perils of a journey into "darkest Africa."
From 1001 books you must read:
Charles Marlow tells a group of British friends about his journey into a part of central Africa which was then the private property of Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Marlow recalls the absurdities and atrocities which he witnessed: a Frnch warship shelling the continent, the cruel treatment of enslaved black laborers, and the remorseless rapacity of the white colonialists who are impelled by the desire for profits from ivory. He looks forward to meeting Mr. Kurtz, the greatly talented and idealistic European trader; but, when he reaches the dying adventure, he finds that the idealist has become deranged and depraved. The "heart of darkness" we learn, is not simply the jungle at the center of Africa; it is also the corrupt heart of Kurtz, and it may even be European imperialism itself..."
From 1001 books you must read:
Charles Marlow tells a group of British friends about his journey into a part of central Africa which was then the private property of Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Marlow recalls the absurdities and atrocities which he witnessed: a Frnch warship shelling the continent, the cruel treatment of enslaved black laborers, and the remorseless rapacity of the white colonialists who are impelled by the desire for profits from ivory. He looks forward to meeting Mr. Kurtz, the greatly talented and idealistic European trader; but, when he reaches the dying adventure, he finds that the idealist has become deranged and depraved. The "heart of darkness" we learn, is not simply the jungle at the center of Africa; it is also the corrupt heart of Kurtz, and it may even be European imperialism itself..."
