JOSEPH CONRAD
Heart of Darkness
Microsoft Reader (205 KB)

$3.95

"Heart of Darkness can be seen as a journey--Marlow's mythical journey in search of the self, in order to bring back a new truth, and, through all the pages of the novel, the main character relates his experiences journeying up the Congo River in quest of another white man, Kurtz. This enigmatic man was received by the black natives as if he were a god, but perhaps because he has gone into the jungle without knowing himself, and unprepared for the ordeal, his wrong conduct took him beyond the limits of his heart, paying the price in madness and death. On the contrary, Marlow did not transgress his limits and came back without fully understanding his experience, and although the heart of darkness tried to exercise it's influence on him, too, he was able to restrain himself--he recognized it's fascination and it's abomination, but resisted his desire to join in those unspeakable rites. Marlow was saved because his aim was self- knowledge, the mystery of existence, which demands a great humility." (A.M. Alvarez)