Summary of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

It's with bated breath that the reader follows the brief but harrowing account of Charlie Marlow, who, in dense prose, recounts his journey up the Congo River and into the heart of Africa - and the "heart of darkness" - for it is also a journey into the dark places of the human soul. In the latter days of European colonialism, Marlow becomes the captain of a run-down steamer for a Belgian trading company. When he arrives in Africa, he hears rumors about a Mr. Kurtz, who reportedly lives (and rules) hundreds of miles upriver. Having a charismatic personality, Kurtz is the most successful trading agent of the company, delivering huge amounts of ivory. Overcoming much adversity, Marlow travels upriver to meet the man - an encounter that leaves a deep and lifelong mark on Marlow. Throughout the novel, author Joseph Conrad's detailed and realistic description of the wilderness and cruel colonial rule stands in contrast to the narrative symbolism of the story. As white men confront a starkly depicted primeval world, Conrad evokes a dark and terrifying image of human nature and creates one of the bleakest narratives on European colonial rule in modern literature.
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