The Heart of Darkness is a very heavy read that I may just not be accustomed to taking on. I sometime, in all honesty, find myself asking why some books become famous in the first place. Then, when I take a step back, I realize it could just be me and my opinion of the topic, the difficult vocabulary, or the difference in time periods.
One key point that I would like to make is that the events come and go without really leaving any meaning behind. The wordiness of getting to the point makes me doze off into other topics in my mind. Marlow is getting somewhere without really getting somewhere. For example, Marlow first encounters the natives, but then he is back with white folk. Professional critics from the sheet we received even questioned whether Conrad just threw ideas together or if there was actual plot development. This comforts me quite a bit to know that I am not the only one with some doubt in mind of Conrad's work.
In the beginning, I did not even understand the motive for why Marlow is going to the area. I could have just missed a piece of vital information. It is not until later on that I figure out in Part II that he is going to become Kurtz. Many questions flow through my mind as I read without really ever getting answered.
The story within a story is not always as confusing as the Heart of Darkness. If there is anyone out there that can help me with an answer to who is telling the story I would truly appreciate it. What I get out of it is that Marlow begins telling a story to his crew, but then another narrator comes along to finish it for him?
Let’s just say, thank goodness for shmoop and sparknotes! Heart of Darkness is such a short read but yet so difficult to comprehend. Thirty pages doesn’t seem like much to read but when I sit down to read a section of this book, it seems like forever. I find myself reading the same parts over and over because it is hard to focus. Conrad is all over the place with different events and talking about different things that sometimes I just get completely lost. It’s not until after I visit those book summary websites that I have a better idea of what’s going on.
I feel as though Heart of Darkness is over my head but in the long run, it should be approving my comprehension skills. I know that we learn the best when we feel uncomfortable with the text and Heart of Darkness definitely makes me feel that way. It takes me much longer to break down a section, write a journal, and do a log on this book then any other that we have read so far.
Marlow, or whoever else is speaking, gets really jumpy with his ideas. It is sometimes difficult to figure out who is telling the story because of the “story within a story” set up. Also, I think this book is just plain odd. I think I’m having the most trouble finding the deeper meaning in the story. I know that this novella is supposed to have some really deep concepts and I just haven’t made those connections yet. I have yet to read Part III, so I’m hoping that once the book is over, things will be somewhat cleared up. All in all, Heart of Darkness is a pain, but I think it might be good for us.
Well in the beginning I was really not enjoying Heart of Darkness. It is a very hard book to read in many different ways. First of all, it has a lot of language that I am not familiar with. However, from the knowledge my AP Lit. teacher has shared with us there is always a dictionary to help me out. I also think that it is all over the place. There was not a lot going on in part one but I still feel like it was constantly all over. I was very confused as to what to follow. I also think that part of the problem with the book is how long the reading was. I needed more time to read it. Part one was the longest part to read and we had two days to read it. I have a lot of other homework to do too and I feel like I couldn’t fully take my time to understand everything in it because I just didn’t have enough time. Fortunately part two was easier to read for me personally. I followed along a lot better I think because something was actually happening. The first part not a lot was going on and this part was a refresher because there was actually some plot going on. The sheet that you gave us to read on the Heart of Darkness in class really helped. It gave me an idea of what is supposed to be happening and how to plot is going to go. After I read that I felt a lot better about reading part two. Part two was a sigh of relief just because it got a lot easier to me. I am kind of excited to read part three, to see what the whole deal is with Kurtz. It’s got me interested! I think it's a good idea to read it because it will open our eyes to a different style of writing and also a more difficult type of writing.
My deal with this book is that I found Heart Of Darkness very hard to read. It was hard to read because it was written in a very confusing manner. I’d find that I thought I understood what was going on in the story and then suddenly I’d be completely lost. For example when they were on the journey down the river it took my multiple pages to figure out that they were on a boat traveling down the river. It wasn’t until page 112 when it stated, “ Towards the evening of the second day we judged ourselves about eight miles from Kurtz’s station”. Before this I thought they were just talking about how they were going to do it. Overall I truly can’t tell you what happened in a smooth story line since I was lost for half of this story. Along with being lost in the reading I was so confused. This book is said to be a classic. Most classics are very deep and hold many meanings to them. In this story I was trying to look deeper into the reading, but every time I tried I didn’t get anything. I didn’t find any symbols or any themes that made the story seem relevant or profound. I like having a challenging read that makes me learn more about literature, but I really don’t feel that this piece of literature opened my eyes to anything. I looked at the uses of light and dark imagery but it was mainly based on people, which was confusing. It was confusing because it didn’t make the black people out to be either good or bad. Neither race held a specific role, which was not what I was expecting. Maybe after we get together in a Socratic and discuss it I’ll understand more, but until then I’m still in the dark.
Heart of Darkness is an extremely difficult book to read. With this book I can’t understand the meaning of it like all the other books we have read so far. It doesn’t portray an important message like the rest of the books, at least not one that I have been able to find. One major thing that makes this novella difficult is the way the main character, Marlow, tells his story. He rambles on and on the whole time. Marlow focuses on weird and random things, “I avoided a vast and artificial hole somebody had been digging on the slope, the purpose of which I found it impossible to divine”. It makes it boring to read when Marlow talks about pointless things. Another aspect of the novella that makes it confusing is the fact that Marlow doesn’t seem to talk about the events in order. He just randomly goes from event to event and you don’t know where he is or what he is talking about anymore. At one point it didn’t seem like he was actually traveling to see Krutz, it seemed like he was staying in one place the whole time but as it turned out he was actually getting closer and closer to Krutz. Another confusing part of this novella is that I don’t even understand what Marlow is doing. I don’t know why Marlow decided to go to Africa, why he is trying to find Krutz, what his job is, or anything else. If I understood what was happening throughout the novella I think I would actually like it.
Heart of Darkness is, by far, one of the most difficult novellas I've ever read, if not the most difficult. I was unsure whether or not I liked the book at all. I couldn't say either way because I had no idea what was going on the first part. I would find myself rereading sections, and having no idea that I had even read them because I just could not get into it. After a while I came to the realization that we are resisting this difficult literature because it's outside our comfort zone. (My father always stresses getting out of comfort zones, but he's just weird.)
The first part of the book was the longest and the fact that it dragged on made it difficult to read. Another difficulty I faced was understanding the manner it was written in. There was definitely some confusing language. Even with a vast vocabulary, I think some of the words used just make it all the more difficult to comprehend because of the time period it was written in.
The second part was an easier portion than the first, and I was able to grasp the concepts of the novella a little bit more. It wasn't until Mr. Currin gave us that sheet to read in class that some loose ends started to come together, so I thank him for that! It really did help immensely, as well as sparknotes and shmoop. Breaking down a novella as complex is this seems to be the best way for me to comprehend the numerous bits and pieces that make it up. I found it hard to concentrate the most when Conrad would go off on rants about things such as the rivets or talk about random things such as the old woman knitting. I found it odd that she came back in the very last section of part three, when the narrator thinks of her again.
At the end of part three was when I got lost again...did the narrator switch to another man or was it Marlow? It was extremely unclear, unless I just missed something important. Overall, I think I understand the outline of the story, for the most part. I understand the significance of the ivory and it's relation to the importance of Mr. Kurtz. I think the thing that made it most difficult was the fact that the narrator never really gave his opinion either way. He was very neutral, which leaves the reader neutral. There was never a time that the reader could feel what the narrator felt, or anyone else for that matter. I thought the novella lacked in emotional connection and that made it even more difficult to really get into it. I think the Socratics will be really beneficial so everyone as class can share what they took from the book. Hopefully it will enlighten us to the things that are confusing us.
The Heart of Darkness is a very complicated literary work. I like the overall theme and idea of the piece but have real issues with the actual reading of it (not complaining just commenting). I think I would have gotten more out of it with a read-along-guide or something like that to give background on a lot of the events that were occurring. They seemed to be random and not well explained, but I know (form the nature of this piece) that they probably had deep meanings that I’m really upset that I missed out on. For example, who is the “wild and gorgeous apparition of a woman”? She’s described in such detail like, “savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent”. Because of her multiple interactions with Mr. Kurtz and fancy attire I assume she’s some sort of native queen or powerful figure. I was thinking that she could be a symbol of the natives as a whole and how proud and beautiful their culture is, but I don’t think I gathered enough from the text to make that assumption. She always seems regal and aloof from the situations she’s in like when the steam whistle is going off as they leave the land with sick Kurtz aboard. I read an online review that suggested that the woman was used as a comparison to Kurtz’s “Intended” or as an illustration that natives were considered property. I suppose the comparison idea makes sense. The Intended is basically the perfect western style woman while the native is a representation of the strong and independent African women. I’m still not sure.
While Heart of Darkness might be, at times, tedious, it is the introspective point of view that makes the text so impactful. It is not easy to address such difficult themes as good vs. evil and the consequences of absolute power, but Conrad does it beautifully. While the text may be heavy at certain points, the thick and winding plot line directly mirrors the physical setting of the novel. Also, it is logical that a first person account of an event would be fragmented and filled with personal thoughts, as an individual is not able to see the entire picture.
I especially enjoy the dark undertone of the novella. It is a talented author indeed that is able to stir up feelings of horror and dread through written words on a page. While it may be difficult to understand the novel because of the historical context in which it was written, its strange and fascinating events only lend to the book’s appeal.
I agree that the plot moves along quickly and is comprised of a series of seemly random events, but I suspect their significance will be revealed at the novel’s conclusion. I believe what makes this story so powerful is not the imagery or the foreshadowing, but what it forces the reader to do. They inevitably end up discovering that everyone has within themselves their own heart of darkness. For many people, it stays hidden their entire lives, but for a few, they make choices that rip open their protecting layers of humanity and lay bare the essence of pure evil.
Overall, I find that this short novella is one of the most enlightening and philosophical works I have ever read. I believe that no one can really this read work, truly delve into its depths, without coming out changed.
I agree that the Heart of Darkness is a difficult book to read but I also think it has the potential to be good. It seems like a really good story that’s just hidden underneath lots of words that complicate the plot. I also believe that this book is just filled to the brim with literary techniques. There are probably a ton of symbols littered throughout that novel but I can’t seem to find them or understand them. The images in the novella are plentiful but they drown the meaning of the story. Whenever the author describes something he goes on so long that the importance of the passage is lost. The imagery that is helpful though, is usually about light and dark or black and white. This seems to be a common theme in the novel and shows; that black does always signify bad and white is not only synonymous with goodness. The point of view is particularly difficult to follow. Normally, the person telling the story is the narrator but in this novella the person telling the story is a character named Marlow. So naturally its difficult to understand the story when the narrator is listening to it being told. However, I genuinely like the idea of this story. To have a somewhat accurate account of what was happening in Africa at that time is very interesting. Though the topic is very heavy its also something we should all understand and respect so we as a species will never treat each other like that again,
Heart of Darkness is a very powerful novella, although its message may be difficult to grasp. Conrad relies heavily on symbolism, especially light versus dark imagery, to convey the fine line between “good” and “evil”. In the beginning of the novella, a clear distinction between the two is shown. As Marlow stands on the steamer he comments, “The edge of the colossal jungle, so dark-green to be almost black, fringed with white surf, ran straight, like a ruled line, far, far away,” (Pg 78). The jungle, filled with darkness, is clearly shown to be full of peril. Likewise, the two women dressed in black at make Marlow uneasy. In addition, on the journey to find Kurtz, the travelers agree that it is safer to arrive at the camp the next day, rather than to travel in the dark. However, during the course of his travels, Marlow realizes it is not always so simple. At one point he describes the “brooding gloom” of the sunshine and the “lurid glare” of the stars- both sinister connotations of usually bright, cheery objects. Later on, he is also struck by the humanity of the so-called-savage Africans and discovers there is little difference between them and him. Marlow also makes a crucial comment, “The mind of the man is capable of anything,” (Pg 109). I think at this point Marlow has realized that not everything is so clear-cut. Although there is a great contrast between light and dark, the discussion between good and evil may not be as simple. This is only multiplied when Marlow’s idealistic image of Kurtz falls apart when the two finally meet.
Although I think it is a worthwhile read, Heart of Darkness can be a tricky read. Conrad’s style of writing is often quite wordy and the plot tends to jump around. Furthermore, the novella deals with extremely deep, conceptual themes to can be difficult to grasp on their own. Despite the challenge of reading, I still believe that Heart of Darkness is a powerful and thought-provoking work of literature.
My personal deal with Heart of Darkness is that i don't really like it. That statement is not me complaining, but my actual opinion of the book. The book is filled to the brim with symbolism, which is in no case a bad thing, but after awhile I do find myself wondering if the things which I find symbolic in the book are really symbolic at all. Due to the fact that this novel is such a heavy read full of symbolism, I believe this trains the reader to automatically assume that everything mentioned in the novel is in fact symbolic of something else. This may be true for a lot of things in the book, but at the same time I think not everything is symbolic. For example, Marlow's boat becomes trapped in fog, and perhaps fog represents his uncertainty of what he is getting himself into. Or maybe not. Maybe fog is just that...fog..I do enjoy books that challenge me, but this book is really only a challenge because I cannot concentrate due to the wordiness. The plot is extremely confusing because I find it difficult sometimes to tell when Marlow is telling his story or when the actual narrator is telling the story and not the story within a story. However, I am enjoying the story itself once I am capable of getting past the words. One thing I do appreciate about the book is how Marlow and Kurtz are sort of foil characters, but then in the end the reader discovers that they are not entirely different. I enjoy books with foil characters because it makes it easier to understand the characters themselves.
Heart of Darkness is in fact one of the more difficult books I've read. It's a very complicated literary work but has much more meaning to it than the textual meaning. The only reason that I think it's so difficult to read is because it is so wordy and rather hard to keep concentration. Sometimes Marlow will start to get into really minute details and I find myself thinking of what I'll eat for dinner or what other homework I could be doing. Although this happens I read it anyway and then look to shmoop or sparknotes for a little more guidance. There's something about Marlow that seems sketchy which makes me not like him very much. He's awkwardly devoted to Kurtz which creeps me out because he has no idea who this guy is and he only wants to hear him speak. Is this creepy to other people, or is it just me? He's also a hypocrite. In the beginning of the story, he heavily emphasized on how much he hates liars but yet at the end of the story, he lies to Kurtz's girlfriend about Kurtz's last words. Another thing about this book that I find interesting is the way it's told. It's not told from the narrator, but from a character in the story, almost like he's taking over the story. I may be looking too far into this, but could it possibly be a symbol of the story? Marlow taking over the story could relate to white men taking over the heart of Africa?
I can’t say that Heart of Darkness is the hardest read I’ve done but my biggest problem with this is its wordiness. I believe that the wordiness might be attributed to the fact that Marlow is telling his own story and therefore is embellishing it probably. When anyone tells a story we embellish things and tell more about things than we might have too to make it more interesting. Yet I believe he falls into the comment the narrator made, “showing in this remark the weakness of many tellers of tales who seem so unaware of what their audience would best like to hear…” (page70).As reading the comments it’s quite obvious that Marlow’s tale isn’t pleasing the class much. As well as everyone else though I’m falling into the same downfall of thinking of other things while attempting to read and allowing Shmoop to help my reading make more sense. Many a times I find myself rereading passages multiple times and I think just rereading the novella one more time will help me finally understand the story.
I agree completely with Sarah though, the book seems overly symbolized to the fact where I enjoy the novella less because I just can’t concentrate on the story. Besides the other thoughts floating in my head I read things and then jump to the conclusion, “this must be a symbol.” Then to my regrets not always find what it could possibly mean. The imagery of everything though seems to keep me going with the book, even through the wordiness and the symbols I can’t put the book down. Such in depth remarks on the jungle and the people who inhabit it help the book along. I definitely like the book, I’m just not in love with it.
Overall I really don’t find Heart of Darkness that bad, especially coming off of Ethan Frome and The Awakening. While there are sometimes that I feel that the wording and style of the story aren’t the greatest, I enjoy the plot and characters. I appreciate that there is actually something going on that is at least mildly interesting, which wasn’t the case in the previous two selections. I also think that Marlow is a well created protagonist who doesn’t come off as unreasonable or foolish like Edna Pontilleier and Ethan Frome. While I understand that stylistically the wording of the story is sometimes slow and hard to understand, I think it fits with the narrator. One example of when i did get annoyed with the writing however was on page 125, when after the traumatic death of his helmsman, Marlow begins to reflect on Kurtz. “Of course I was wrong. The privilege was waiting for me. Oh yes, I heard more than enough. And I was right, too. A voice. He was very little more than a voice.” This sequence seemed oddly placed to me and while i understand that it was foreshadowing I didn’t think it was very conducive to the story. In my opinion it would have been better to continue with the story in a more linear format, as that section breaks up the plot flow in a weird way that in my mind doesn’t really make the novella any better. In conclusion, I really think that Heart of Darkness is a good, if outdated, story that is much more interesting than what we had been reading. That being said the modern film adaptation, Apocalypse Now, is in my opinion the better version of the story.
What is my deal with the Heart of Darkness? It is a very difficult question to answer. There have been many hints given to me but I still have many questions to ask. The style of this novella is hard for many of its readers to follow. For one thing it is written in a complete flashback so I often find myself wondering what Marlow’s story has to do with what is happening presently as Marlow is telling the story. Flashback can be a very effective technique and it is especially important for the plot of this story. Because it is told in a flashback the readers are only aware of Marlow’s characteristics through what Marlow has to say about himself and the judgments made by his decisions. The readers are responsible to make their own analysis on Marlow. The theme that the author is trying to get across to his readers could be looked at in many different ways. The general theme can easily be suggested as good-vs.-evil. The author used many symbols to portray what should be seen as good or bad. The use of color imagery was extremely important here. For example; Conrad chose the have Marlow go to Africa in search of white pure ivory that is guarded and surrounded by dirty black human beings. Kurtz was also characterized as a “phantom” and deathly white and sickly. This is where tone showed its importance. Consistently an eerie feeling was present with the readers. This affects the way any of them are able to absorb and translate what is actually happening. Kurtz was described the way that he was to show his “bad side”; his heart corrupted and turned black because of his greed. This takes the readers into a connecting theme, madness. “Save me!- save the ivory, you mean…I will return. I….”(pg. 143)Kurtz had went crazy and ‘mad’ and the readers are left to believe that he was that way because of his greed and selfishness of the African riches.
The Heart of Darkness is a very heavy read that I may just not be accustomed to taking on. I sometime, in all honesty, find myself asking why some books become famous in the first place. Then, when I take a step back, I realize it could just be me and my opinion of the topic, the difficult vocabulary, or the difference in time periods.
ReplyDeleteOne key point that I would like to make is that the events come and go without really leaving any meaning behind. The wordiness of getting to the point makes me doze off into other topics in my mind. Marlow is getting somewhere without really getting somewhere. For example, Marlow first encounters the natives, but then he is back with white folk. Professional critics from the sheet we received even questioned whether Conrad just threw ideas together or if there was actual plot development. This comforts me quite a bit to know that I am not the only one with some doubt in mind of Conrad's work.
In the beginning, I did not even understand the motive for why Marlow is going to the area. I could have just missed a piece of vital information. It is not until later on that I figure out in Part II that he is going to become Kurtz. Many questions flow through my mind as I read without really ever getting answered.
The story within a story is not always as confusing as the Heart of Darkness. If there is anyone out there that can help me with an answer to who is telling the story I would truly appreciate it. What I get out of it is that Marlow begins telling a story to his crew, but then another narrator comes along to finish it for him?
Let’s just say, thank goodness for shmoop and sparknotes! Heart of Darkness is such a short read but yet so difficult to comprehend. Thirty pages doesn’t seem like much to read but when I sit down to read a section of this book, it seems like forever. I find myself reading the same parts over and over because it is hard to focus. Conrad is all over the place with different events and talking about different things that sometimes I just get completely lost. It’s not until after I visit those book summary websites that I have a better idea of what’s going on.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though Heart of Darkness is over my head but in the long run, it should be approving my comprehension skills. I know that we learn the best when we feel uncomfortable with the text and Heart of Darkness definitely makes me feel that way. It takes me much longer to break down a section, write a journal, and do a log on this book then any other that we have read so far.
Marlow, or whoever else is speaking, gets really jumpy with his ideas. It is sometimes difficult to figure out who is telling the story because of the “story within a story” set up. Also, I think this book is just plain odd. I think I’m having the most trouble finding the deeper meaning in the story. I know that this novella is supposed to have some really deep concepts and I just haven’t made those connections yet. I have yet to read Part III, so I’m hoping that once the book is over, things will be somewhat cleared up. All in all, Heart of Darkness is a pain, but I think it might be good for us.
Well in the beginning I was really not enjoying Heart of Darkness. It is a very hard book to read in many different ways. First of all, it has a lot of language that I am not familiar with. However, from the knowledge my AP Lit. teacher has shared with us there is always a dictionary to help me out. I also think that it is all over the place. There was not a lot going on in part one but I still feel like it was constantly all over. I was very confused as to what to follow. I also think that part of the problem with the book is how long the reading was. I needed more time to read it. Part one was the longest part to read and we had two days to read it. I have a lot of other homework to do too and I feel like I couldn’t fully take my time to understand everything in it because I just didn’t have enough time.
ReplyDeleteFortunately part two was easier to read for me personally. I followed along a lot better I think because something was actually happening. The first part not a lot was going on and this part was a refresher because there was actually some plot going on.
The sheet that you gave us to read on the Heart of Darkness in class really helped. It gave me an idea of what is supposed to be happening and how to plot is going to go. After I read that I felt a lot better about reading part two. Part two was a sigh of relief just because it got a lot easier to me. I am kind of excited to read part three, to see what the whole deal is with Kurtz. It’s got me interested! I think it's a good idea to read it because it will open our eyes to a different style of writing and also a more difficult type of writing.
My deal with this book is that I found Heart Of Darkness very hard to read. It was hard to read because it was written in a very confusing manner. I’d find that I thought I understood what was going on in the story and then suddenly I’d be completely lost. For example when they were on the journey down the river it took my multiple pages to figure out that they were on a boat traveling down the river. It wasn’t until page 112 when it stated, “ Towards the evening of the second day we judged ourselves about eight miles from Kurtz’s station”. Before this I thought they were just talking about how they were going to do it. Overall I truly can’t tell you what happened in a smooth story line since I was lost for half of this story. Along with being lost in the reading I was so confused. This book is said to be a classic. Most classics are very deep and hold many meanings to them. In this story I was trying to look deeper into the reading, but every time I tried I didn’t get anything. I didn’t find any symbols or any themes that made the story seem relevant or profound. I like having a challenging read that makes me learn more about literature, but I really don’t feel that this piece of literature opened my eyes to anything. I looked at the uses of light and dark imagery but it was mainly based on people, which was confusing. It was confusing because it didn’t make the black people out to be either good or bad. Neither race held a specific role, which was not what I was expecting. Maybe after we get together in a Socratic and discuss it I’ll understand more, but until then I’m still in the dark.
ReplyDeleteHeart of Darkness is an extremely difficult book to read. With this book I can’t understand the meaning of it like all the other books we have read so far. It doesn’t portray an important message like the rest of the books, at least not one that I have been able to find.
ReplyDeleteOne major thing that makes this novella difficult is the way the main character, Marlow, tells his story. He rambles on and on the whole time. Marlow focuses on weird and random things, “I avoided a vast and artificial hole somebody had been digging on the slope, the purpose of which I found it impossible to divine”. It makes it boring to read when Marlow talks about pointless things.
Another aspect of the novella that makes it confusing is the fact that Marlow doesn’t seem to talk about the events in order. He just randomly goes from event to event and you don’t know where he is or what he is talking about anymore. At one point it didn’t seem like he was actually traveling to see Krutz, it seemed like he was staying in one place the whole time but as it turned out he was actually getting closer and closer to Krutz.
Another confusing part of this novella is that I don’t even understand what Marlow is doing. I don’t know why Marlow decided to go to Africa, why he is trying to find Krutz, what his job is, or anything else. If I understood what was happening throughout the novella I think I would actually like it.
Heart of Darkness is, by far, one of the most difficult novellas I've ever read, if not the most difficult. I was unsure whether or not I liked the book at all. I couldn't say either way because I had no idea what was going on the first part. I would find myself rereading sections, and having no idea that I had even read them because I just could not get into it. After a while I came to the realization that we are resisting this difficult literature because it's outside our comfort zone. (My father always stresses getting out of comfort zones, but he's just weird.)
ReplyDeleteThe first part of the book was the longest and the fact that it dragged on made it difficult to read. Another difficulty I faced was understanding the manner it was written in. There was definitely some confusing language. Even with a vast vocabulary, I think some of the words used just make it all the more difficult to comprehend because of the time period it was written in.
The second part was an easier portion than the first, and I was able to grasp the concepts of the novella a little bit more. It wasn't until Mr. Currin gave us that sheet to read in class that some loose ends started to come together, so I thank him for that! It really did help immensely, as well as sparknotes and shmoop. Breaking down a novella as complex is this seems to be the best way for me to comprehend the numerous bits and pieces that make it up. I found it hard to concentrate the most when Conrad would go off on rants about things such as the rivets or talk about random things such as the old woman knitting. I found it odd that she came back in the very last section of part three, when the narrator thinks of her again.
At the end of part three was when I got lost again...did the narrator switch to another man or was it Marlow? It was extremely unclear, unless I just missed something important. Overall, I think I understand the outline of the story, for the most part. I understand the significance of the ivory and it's relation to the importance of Mr. Kurtz. I think the thing that made it most difficult was the fact that the narrator never really gave his opinion either way. He was very neutral, which leaves the reader neutral. There was never a time that the reader could feel what the narrator felt, or anyone else for that matter. I thought the novella lacked in emotional connection and that made it even more difficult to really get into it. I think the Socratics will be really beneficial so everyone as class can share what they took from the book. Hopefully it will enlighten us to the things that are confusing us.
The Heart of Darkness is a very complicated literary work. I like the overall theme and idea of the piece but have real issues with the actual reading of it (not complaining just commenting). I think I would have gotten more out of it with a read-along-guide or something like that to give background on a lot of the events that were occurring. They seemed to be random and not well explained, but I know (form the nature of this piece) that they probably had deep meanings that I’m really upset that I missed out on. For example, who is the “wild and gorgeous apparition of a woman”? She’s described in such detail like, “savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent”. Because of her multiple interactions with Mr. Kurtz and fancy attire I assume she’s some sort of native queen or powerful figure. I was thinking that she could be a symbol of the natives as a whole and how proud and beautiful their culture is, but I don’t think I gathered enough from the text to make that assumption. She always seems regal and aloof from the situations she’s in like when the steam whistle is going off as they leave the land with sick Kurtz aboard. I read an online review that suggested that the woman was used as a comparison to Kurtz’s “Intended” or as an illustration that natives were considered property. I suppose the comparison idea makes sense. The Intended is basically the perfect western style woman while the native is a representation of the strong and independent African women. I’m still not sure.
ReplyDeleteWhile Heart of Darkness might be, at times, tedious, it is the introspective point of view that makes the text so impactful. It is not easy to address such difficult themes as good vs. evil and the consequences of absolute power, but Conrad does it beautifully. While the text may be heavy at certain points, the thick and winding plot line directly mirrors the physical setting of the novel. Also, it is logical that a first person account of an event would be fragmented and filled with personal thoughts, as an individual is not able to see the entire picture.
ReplyDeleteI especially enjoy the dark undertone of the novella. It is a talented author indeed that is able to stir up feelings of horror and dread through written words on a page. While it may be difficult to understand the novel because of the historical context in which it was written, its strange and fascinating events only lend to the book’s appeal.
I agree that the plot moves along quickly and is comprised of a series of seemly random events, but I suspect their significance will be revealed at the novel’s conclusion. I believe what makes this story so powerful is not the imagery or the foreshadowing, but what it forces the reader to do. They inevitably end up discovering that everyone has within themselves their own heart of darkness. For many people, it stays hidden their entire lives, but for a few, they make choices that rip open their protecting layers of humanity and lay bare the essence of pure evil.
Overall, I find that this short novella is one of the most enlightening and philosophical works I have ever read. I believe that no one can really this read work, truly delve into its depths, without coming out changed.
I agree that the Heart of Darkness is a difficult book to read but I also think it has the potential to be good. It seems like a really good story that’s just hidden underneath lots of words that complicate the plot. I also believe that this book is just filled to the brim with literary techniques. There are probably a ton of symbols littered throughout that novel but I can’t seem to find them or understand them. The images in the novella are plentiful but they drown the meaning of the story. Whenever the author describes something he goes on so long that the importance of the passage is lost. The imagery that is helpful though, is usually about light and dark or black and white. This seems to be a common theme in the novel and shows; that black does always signify bad and white is not only synonymous with goodness. The point of view is particularly difficult to follow. Normally, the person telling the story is the narrator but in this novella the person telling the story is a character named Marlow. So naturally its difficult to understand the story when the narrator is listening to it being told. However, I genuinely like the idea of this story. To have a somewhat accurate account of what was happening in Africa at that time is very interesting. Though the topic is very heavy its also something we should all understand and respect so we as a species will never treat each other like that again,
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ReplyDeleteHeart of Darkness is a very powerful novella, although its message may be difficult to grasp. Conrad relies heavily on symbolism, especially light versus dark imagery, to convey the fine line between “good” and “evil”. In the beginning of the novella, a clear distinction between the two is shown. As Marlow stands on the steamer he comments, “The edge of the colossal jungle, so dark-green to be almost black, fringed with white surf, ran straight, like a ruled line, far, far away,” (Pg 78). The jungle, filled with darkness, is clearly shown to be full of peril. Likewise, the two women dressed in black at make Marlow uneasy. In addition, on the journey to find Kurtz, the travelers agree that it is safer to arrive at the camp the next day, rather than to travel in the dark. However, during the course of his travels, Marlow realizes it is not always so simple. At one point he describes the “brooding gloom” of the sunshine and the “lurid glare” of the stars- both sinister connotations of usually bright, cheery objects. Later on, he is also struck by the humanity of the so-called-savage Africans and discovers there is little difference between them and him. Marlow also makes a crucial comment, “The mind of the man is capable of anything,” (Pg 109). I think at this point Marlow has realized that not everything is so clear-cut. Although there is a great contrast between light and dark, the discussion between good and evil may not be as simple. This is only multiplied when Marlow’s idealistic image of Kurtz falls apart when the two finally meet.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think it is a worthwhile read, Heart of Darkness can be a tricky read. Conrad’s style of writing is often quite wordy and the plot tends to jump around. Furthermore, the novella deals with extremely deep, conceptual themes to can be difficult to grasp on their own. Despite the challenge of reading, I still believe that Heart of Darkness is a powerful and thought-provoking work of literature.
My personal deal with Heart of Darkness is that i don't really like it. That statement is not me complaining, but my actual opinion of the book. The book is filled to the brim with symbolism, which is in no case a bad thing, but after awhile I do find myself wondering if the things which I find symbolic in the book are really symbolic at all. Due to the fact that this novel is such a heavy read full of symbolism, I believe this trains the reader to automatically assume that everything mentioned in the novel is in fact symbolic of something else. This may be true for a lot of things in the book, but at the same time I think not everything is symbolic. For example, Marlow's boat becomes trapped in fog, and perhaps fog represents his uncertainty of what he is getting himself into. Or maybe not. Maybe fog is just that...fog..I do enjoy books that challenge me, but this book is really only a challenge because I cannot concentrate due to the wordiness. The plot is extremely confusing because I find it difficult sometimes to tell when Marlow is telling his story or when the actual narrator is telling the story and not the story within a story. However, I am enjoying the story itself once I am capable of getting past the words. One thing I do appreciate about the book is how Marlow and Kurtz are sort of foil characters, but then in the end the reader discovers that they are not entirely different. I enjoy books with foil characters because it makes it easier to understand the characters themselves.
ReplyDeleteHeart of Darkness is in fact one of the more difficult books I've read. It's a very complicated literary work but has much more meaning to it than the textual meaning. The only reason that I think it's so difficult to read is because it is so wordy and rather hard to keep concentration. Sometimes Marlow will start to get into really minute details and I find myself thinking of what I'll eat for dinner or what other homework I could be doing. Although this happens I read it anyway and then look to shmoop or sparknotes for a little more guidance. There's something about Marlow that seems sketchy which makes me not like him very much. He's awkwardly devoted to Kurtz which creeps me out because he has no idea who this guy is and he only wants to hear him speak. Is this creepy to other people, or is it just me? He's also a hypocrite. In the beginning of the story, he heavily emphasized on how much he hates liars but yet at the end of the story, he lies to Kurtz's girlfriend about Kurtz's last words. Another thing about this book that I find interesting is the way it's told. It's not told from the narrator, but from a character in the story, almost like he's taking over the story. I may be looking too far into this, but could it possibly be a symbol of the story? Marlow taking over the story could relate to white men taking over the heart of Africa?
ReplyDeleteI can’t say that Heart of Darkness is the hardest read I’ve done but my biggest problem with this is its wordiness. I believe that the wordiness might be attributed to the fact that Marlow is telling his own story and therefore is embellishing it probably. When anyone tells a story we embellish things and tell more about things than we might have too to make it more interesting. Yet I believe he falls into the comment the narrator made, “showing in this remark the weakness of many tellers of tales who seem so unaware of what their audience would best like to hear…” (page70).As reading the comments it’s quite obvious that Marlow’s tale isn’t pleasing the class much. As well as everyone else though I’m falling into the same downfall of thinking of other things while attempting to read and allowing Shmoop to help my reading make more sense. Many a times I find myself rereading passages multiple times and I think just rereading the novella one more time will help me finally understand the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with Sarah though, the book seems overly symbolized to the fact where I enjoy the novella less because I just can’t concentrate on the story. Besides the other thoughts floating in my head I read things and then jump to the conclusion, “this must be a symbol.” Then to my regrets not always find what it could possibly mean. The imagery of everything though seems to keep me going with the book, even through the wordiness and the symbols I can’t put the book down. Such in depth remarks on the jungle and the people who inhabit it help the book along. I definitely like the book, I’m just not in love with it.
Overall I really don’t find Heart of Darkness that bad, especially coming off of Ethan Frome and The Awakening. While there are sometimes that I feel that the wording and style of the story aren’t the greatest, I enjoy the plot and characters. I appreciate that there is actually something going on that is at least mildly interesting, which wasn’t the case in the previous two selections. I also think that Marlow is a well created protagonist who doesn’t come off as unreasonable or foolish like Edna Pontilleier and Ethan Frome. While I understand that stylistically the wording of the story is sometimes slow and hard to understand, I think it fits with the narrator. One example of when i did get annoyed with the writing however was on page 125, when after the traumatic death of his helmsman, Marlow begins to reflect on Kurtz. “Of course I was wrong. The privilege was waiting for me. Oh yes, I heard more than enough. And I was right, too. A voice. He was very little more than a voice.” This sequence seemed oddly placed to me and while i understand that it was foreshadowing I didn’t think it was very conducive to the story. In my opinion it would have been better to continue with the story in a more linear format, as that section breaks up the plot flow in a weird way that in my mind doesn’t really make the novella any better. In conclusion, I really think that Heart of Darkness is a good, if outdated, story that is much more interesting than what we had been reading. That being said the modern film adaptation, Apocalypse Now, is in my opinion the better version of the story.
ReplyDeleteWhat is my deal with the Heart of Darkness? It is a very difficult question to answer. There have been many hints given to me but I still have many questions to ask.
ReplyDeleteThe style of this novella is hard for many of its readers to follow. For one thing it is written in a complete flashback so I often find myself wondering what Marlow’s story has to do with what is happening presently as Marlow is telling the story. Flashback can be a very effective technique and it is especially important for the plot of this story. Because it is told in a flashback the readers are only aware of Marlow’s characteristics through what Marlow has to say about himself and the judgments made by his decisions. The readers are responsible to make their own analysis on Marlow. The theme that the author is trying to get across to his readers could be looked at in many different ways. The general theme can easily be suggested as good-vs.-evil. The author used many symbols to portray what should be seen as good or bad. The use of color imagery was extremely important here. For example; Conrad chose the have Marlow go to Africa in search of white pure ivory that is guarded and surrounded by dirty black human beings. Kurtz was also characterized as a “phantom” and deathly white and sickly. This is where tone showed its importance. Consistently an eerie feeling was present with the readers. This affects the way any of them are able to absorb and translate what is actually happening. Kurtz was described the way that he was to show his “bad side”; his heart corrupted and turned black because of his greed. This takes the readers into a connecting theme, madness. “Save me!- save the ivory, you mean…I will return. I….”(pg. 143)Kurtz had went crazy and ‘mad’ and the readers are left to believe that he was that way because of his greed and selfishness of the African riches.