Heart of Darkness
By: Joseph Conrad
Book report by Lincoln Ruybalid
Plot
Heart of Darkness is a novel written by Joseph Conrad and is based in Congo, Africa. The novel is based off of Joseph Conrad's own personal journey up the Congo river into the African interior. The journey reveals the mistreatment and hatred between the colonies of native people. The novel describes the journey by ship of Marlow, the steamboat captain, to rescue Kurtz, a prisoner and god of the native people, and lets the reader explore the mind of Joseph Conrad.
Congo is the 2nd largest country in Africa by area. It now has a population of over 75 Million.
Main Character Analysis
There are two main characters in Heart of Darkness. Marlow and Kurtz are the two main characters, and they share some similarities and differences. Marlow is very eloquent, and is a very good story teller, this is apparent as he tells his sailors stories along the journey. He is a very skilled character, for example he fixes the ship that he runs when it breaks down. Kurtz is the object of Marlow's journey. Kurtz is a very gifted man and throughout the novel the reader learns that he is a fine musician, artist, and is also very charismatic.
Response to Heart of Darkness
The novel Heart of Darkness was very enjoyable and I had a fun time reading it, and learning about the culture, as well as the mind of Joseph Conrad. It was very well written, and the author did an excellent job of describing what life was like in Congo, Africa. His description of the vast river, and the bloody bruising on some of the native people that were holding slaves was pinpoint accurate. Heart of Darkness was a fiction novel, but it was based on Joseph Conrad's actual adventure through the Congo River in Africa. I would recommend this book to a reader that enjoys fiction. I would also recommend this to other readers because I gained insight about how life is in this part of the world, and I was immersed in the culture of slavery and the savagery of the colony warfare.
HEART OF DARKNESS, by Joseph Conrad