A brief reflection on Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”

I think this piece (or novella or novel or something because it’s really short) is a accurate representation of how greed affects the human mind and the slow descent into madness. From what we have gathered, the concept of ‘darkness’ appears to be a) lust and greed for material possessions, b) an abandonment of moral values, or c) seeking things (whether material or not) for your own selfish gain.

At first the reader is meant to picture the enigmatic Mr. Kurtz as this ideal leader, strong and powerful and smart and a real influence on the company. But perhaps this ‘influence’ is not always ideal. He is later depicted as this selfish, personally interested man who yes is quite successful at his job (gaining ivory) but his methods are questionable.

Possession of ivory is Mr. Kurtz’s ultimate goal. In the book there are constant references to its value and luster. Think of it as the modern fight for oil, and Mr. Kurtz the leader of a country who must obtain it in order to support the live the life they have become acquainted to. Thus, humans will lose their inhibitions and may resort to more controversial methods as many political issues depict today.

I sometimes got distracted during the course of the book. This is mostly due to the way Conrad writes. His style tends to be very descriptive and reading a page is sometimes like decoding a puzzle. It is not his fault that I got distracted. I fear that I have been stuck in the ‘teen genre’ for too long and it was a total change of gears from what I had been used to lately. The book definitely warrants a second reading I did enjoy it regardless of my sometimes confusion.