Heart of darkness word count. Joseph Conrad 2019-02-22
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#Classic: Heart of Darkness
The darkness of Africa collides with the evils of Europe upon Kurtz's last words. My idea was to let that chain-gang get out of sight before I climbed the hill. In the outer room the two women knitted black wool feverishly. He thought that each ivory station should stand like a beacon light, offering a better way of life to the natives. The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. To get on with the work—to stop the hole. There was a way—for an intelligent man.
Then I nearly fell into a very narrow ravine, almost no more than a scar in the hillside. And farther west on the upper reaches the place of the monstrous town was still marked ominously on the sky, a brooding gloom in sunshine, a lurid glare under the stars. Every genre has its own length preferences. The second setting is that of Marlow's actual tale. He dispatched another officer on a bizarre three-thousand-mile three-month round trip to the nearest telegraph station to send a senseless telegram to England. Throughout the entire novel Conrad uses a plethora of simple colors, objects, and places in order to clarify very complex meanings. The light of course, represents civilization or the civilized side of the world and the dark, more importantly represents the uncivilized or savage side of the world.
The flame had leaped high, driven everybody back, lighted up everything— and collapsed. When he went home on leave he rioted on a large scale—pompously. An act of special creation perhaps. Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. The up-river stations had to be relieved. I always went my own road and on my own legs where I had a mind to go.
We were cut off from comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. There was an air of plotting about that station, but nothing came of it, of course. A lot of people, mostly black and naked, moved about like ants. He thought that each ivory station should stand like a beacon light, offering a better way of life to the natives. No influential friend would have served me better. Darkness Heart of Darkness contains two layers of narration. It was built of horizontal planks, and so badly put together that, as he bent over his high desk, he was barred from neck to heels with narrow strips of sunlight.
But even at these times the rest of his person seemed to disclaim the intention. I had my shoulders against the wreck of my steamer, hauled up on the slope like a carcass of some big river animal. From behind that structure came out an impression of pale plumpness in a frock-coat. However, in their zeal, they themselves became more savagely barbaric than any native. It had loops to go over his ears.
The fascination of the abomination—you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate. They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade. The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires. She is anchored in the Thames River, where her passengers wait for the tide to go out. You could see these two roaming about all day long with their heads close together in an everlasting confab. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale - mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack.
Heart of Darkness stands as further proof, if we needed it, that the most disturbing and enduring horror stories are almost always based in truth. The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth. Marlow is employed to transport ivory downriver; however, his more pressing assignment is to return Kurtz, another ivory trader, to civilization in a cover up. The possibility of reverting back to savagery is seen in Kurtz. Rather surprised, I said Yes, when he produced a thing like calipers and got the dimensions back and front and every way, taking notes carefully.
The snake had charmed me. With the mistress, as with the other Africans, Conrad restricts himself to outward appearances—in this case, conceived of as barbarous. Kurtz has a reputation throughout the region. The camps of these people surrounded the place and the chiefs came every day to see him. He lifted a warning forefinger.
