Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

This note and the rating refers to the BBC adaptation. I have already rated the original, some years ago…


Joseph Conrad is one of the best writers of literature in English, in spite of the fact that he was born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski.
He spoke English fluently only in his twenties.

This makes it even more incredible to find three of his books on the Modern Library top 100 best books:

-          http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/

Heart of Darkness, Nostromo and The Secret Agent are all there.
Nostromo is also to be found on the Guardian list that covers all languages and all periods, whereas the Modern Library list is limited to English and the XXth century:

-          https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/08/books.booksnews

Heart of Darkness is a magical novel that takes the reader to the “Darkness” of the jungle, the unexplored or little known territory.
Scholars will tell you better, but what I saw was a story of the “Quest”, atrocities and madness, heroes and villains.
The subject has been taken up by many, including the marvelous Francis Ford Coppola in his acclaimed

-          Apocalypse Now

That is because the Heart of Darkness has a universal appeal and the story has so many facets, of which I probably get the less important ones.
The natives are humiliated and killed for the ivory- mainly- and the rich people of the West become fabulously wealthy.
And this presents me with a quandary.
I hold the view that the British in particular and other Westerners have helped in many parts of the world.
-          They have brought “progress” and civilization, with better health care saving millions
At the same time though, we must look at the millions that have died and many more that suffered with the arrival of the white man.
I am not sure if Kurtz is just appalled by the exploitation of the tribes of Congo from one point on, or he loses his mind.

-          “The horror, the horror”

This is what he keeps mumbling at a certain stage and I guess he refers to the colonization and enslavement of Africans.
For a while, Kurtz had been the best provider of ivory for the company, that some can read in the world of today as the “multinational”.
There are cannibals, hippopotamus, strange figures in the forest, incantations and horrible events, heads on sticks and more.
The unexplored, the jungle has an irresistible appeal, but having read about Charles Marlow and his quest for Kurtz one has second thoughts.
In some ways, I live in the Heart of Darkness.
On the streets in the neighborhood, the natives kill cats and send them flying.
They listen to “manele”, shout, and fight with each other on a regular basis.
The toilet is in an outhouse and they scream with profanities from there.
Garbage is thrown all over the place, sometimes in the gated community where I live, that is separated from the “natives” with barbed wire.
For this Heart of Darkness has been colonized by pretentious Goodfellas, who might bring a more civilized atmosphere…

Or they may not

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