Blogs

Heart of Darkness

Submitted by rachel.small on Wed, 10/15/2008 - 21:52

First, off, I would like to start by saying that I also read Heart of Darkness in high school, and it is one of the most amazing books I have ever read.  I often find myself becoming impatient with descriptions in certain books, but Conrad manages to weave details in so beautifully that I cannot tear myself away.Meanwhile, in relating this book to travel, we can see a new type of traveling come forth; this type in no way relates to finding authenticity within a new place but rather abolishing characteristics intrinsic to a place and attempting to turn the place into something more like the traveler’s home, or just using the place to the traveler’s advantage.  Specifically, in this novel, this type of ‘travel’ is widespread, and it is seen as Europeans colonize Africa.  This is why Kurtz ends up in the deepest part of the jungle, still surrounded by Europeans, and why Marlow encounters other Europeans on every step of his journey.Marlow himself is not on a mission to colonize, rather, he is strictly on a quest to find Kurtz; one could argue that in this way he is initially barely a traveler at all, rather, only a man with job to do.  However, as he journeys deeper into the jungle, he finds himself be pulled into a different state of mind, where the European way of colonizing seems less logical, and living in the jungle seems more sane.  Ultimately, he finds Kurtz completely immersed in this state of mind, and in this way he becomes a traveler, for, not only does he retrieve Kurtz, but he discovers what the jungle does to those who try to resist blending in.

Contextualization

Submitted by Stephen Brown on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 20:32.

I like that you contextualize Marlow's status as a traveler beyond the fact that he is traveling outside of his native land. If, as we always argue in this class, travelers are made and defined by more than just their distance from home, then it's constructive to discuss when and why they earn this status.

I feel the same way about the

Submitted by stella on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 01:29.

I feel the same way about the descriptions in this book. It's haunting and breathtaking. But I don't know if the imperialist-type travelers are trying to make the place more like their home, or if they are something has gone terribly wrong in this case, because what Marlow sees is nothing like Europe despite the presence of Europeans. Maybe their motive is purely to exploit the characteristics intrinsic to the place and the people that live there, with the intent of taking their spoils back to Europe rather than making the African colonies more like home. They can take so much from the natives because of the environment's lack of civilization and the norm of brutality; they have no incentive to want that to change. Intentions aside most of the time it ends up changing them and "pulling them into a different state of mind" like you said.