Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1902) is a novella of journey into the corruptibility of humankind. Like the narrator, Marlow, Conrad piloted a small steamboat up the Congo River. This area was then being ruthlessly exploited as the private property of King Leopold of Belgium. Conrad became morally shaken and physically ill from the experience. While some of the experiences in Heart of Darkness are autobiographical, much is imaginary, as is indicative of fiction.
Conrad, in 1897, just a short time before Heart of Darkness, wrote:
"The thinker plunges into ideas, the scientist into facts--whence, presently, emerging they make their appeal to those qualities of our being that fit us best for the hazardous enterprise of living. They speak authoritatively to our common-sense, our intelligence . . . It is otherwise with the artist. Confronted with the same enigmatical spectacle, the artist descends within himself, and in that lonely region of stress and strife . . . he finds the terms of his appeal. His appeal is made to our less obvious capacities [less obvious, that is, than intelligence and common sense] . . . The changing wisdom of successive generations discards ideas, questions facts, demolishes theories. But the artist appeals to that part of our being which is not dependent on wisdom . . . He speaks to our capacity for delight and wonder, to that sense of mystery surrounding our lives; to our sense of pity, and beauty, and pain; to the latent feeling of fellowship with all creation--and to the subtle but invincible conviction of solidarity that knits together the loneliness of innumerable hearts . . . which binds together all humanity--the dead to the living and the living to the unborn."
Heart of Darkness asks questions of epistemology, or what knowledge becomes valued over other knowledge; of the history of a brutal era of imperialism; of social and cultural conventions and their transmission; of psychology, or the private inner lives of humans; of religion as an institution; and, of literature as a form of a work of art. Like Kurtz’ journey back into time through his jungle environment, we, as contemporary readers, question our own particular versions of what is good, dark, and real about being human.
Questions for Contemplation[2]
1.
It has been said that Heart of Darkness by Conrad illustrates how “the darkness of the landscape can lead to the darkness of social corruption.” What does this statement mean? How can one’s environment --- whether an environment of the natural world or of the human-created society --- affect one’s actions, feelings, and morals? Is this statement believable or not? How have humans changed, grown, and fallen in demise through social corruption? What kind of changes lead to “progress” for the good of all? What parallels might you draw between Marlow’s journey in Heart of Darkness and the journeys of contemporary western society? In what ways can social change foster climates of hope?
2.
Heart of Darkness seems to blur the line between the so-called “advanced” society of Europe and the “primitive” society of Africa. What makes one culture “civilized” and another “savage” in the eyes of the western world? Are these distinctions valid? Do you think that the culture you live in is “advanced” or “civilized”? Why? Why not? What peer-reviewed, scholarly research might you draw in as support for your position?
3.
In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz is depicted as an upstanding European who has been transformed by his time in the jungle—away from his home, away from familiar people and food, and away from any community moral support that might have helped from his demise into a life of terror and madness. What implications does Conrad make about westerner away from the western society? Are those valid implications? Can contemporary western society move ahead through lessons learned from non-western societies? If so, how?
4.
Kurtz’s dying words are a cryptic whisper: “The horror, the horror.” What “horror” could Kurtz have been talking about? Is there more than one possibility? Why do you think Conrad made this scene so ambiguous? To what degree do humans have horror within them? Has Africa moved beyond its own “horrors” toward a sense of shared community? If so, how? If not, why not?
5.
Some readers claim that Heart of Darkness is strictly a political novella. Others, however, say it’s really a story about the human condition. What is the condition of being human, according to Conrad? How can contemporary society draw lessons from this text?
6.
Heart of Darkness can sometimes seem to readers like an incredibly dark, depressing story that paints civilizations in a very negative light. Did it seem this way to you, or did the story contain any positive moments? If so, what were they? Why did they seem positive? What lessons of hope can we draw from the text?
[2] Adapted from http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/heartofdarkness/
