Literature Analysis #1

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.). Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

• The story first starts out with a man named, Marlow, who is the main character. He sets out on a ship with an organization named, The Company, which sends men to Africa. When Marlow gets there, he becomes a in charge of a ship. He soon finds his ship to be in badly need of repair. Also, when he gets to Africa he hears about the legendary Kurtz. He becomes interested about Kurtz who is greatly praised. He then sets out to find Kurtz, but he is put through many obstacles such as being attacked by natives after the thick smoke went away, being tricked by firewood which were next to a peculiar hut, and becoming in shock when his helmsman gets killed by a native. When he finds Kurtz, Marlow becomes enlightened by Kurtz findings, experiences, and information. Although Kurtz is ill, he is able to talk about many things, but when he is near death, Kurtz speaks about personal documents that Marlow would take care of when Kurtz passes away. When Kurtz passes away, Marlow then becomes ill, but when he recovers, he finds himself going to Kurtz's fiancee, a year after his death. When he gets there, Kurtz's fiancee, just questions and questions Marlow of why Kurtz left without her being there with him. She pleads and begs Marlow to say what Kurtz's last words were. When Marlow thought about it, he said that Kurtz's last words were her name, but really Kurtz's last words were "The horrow! The horror!"
• The purpose of the "Heart of Darkness" is described within the story when Marlow sets out to the country of Africa which has been under imperialism for many years. The term imperialism can sometimes even mean darkness because of the control an outside country has. The firms from these outside countries are not usually checked by the country's government which has allowed them to manage the company however they want. My "take-home" from this story is that Marlow has gone to this imperialistic business in Africa which makes his experiences,pretty much, the heart or the center of the story. With putting it together, Marlow's experiences in Africa becomes the "Heart of Darkness". I could be wrong, but that is my understanding.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

• I feel the theme of this novel is that we go through many experiences in our lives, but there always will be those experiences that stick out the most. That experience can also be the one which makes us who we are today. The experiences you have will most likely affect you and your future. I say this because Marlow, the main character, goes on a voyage in Africa and sees what imperialism has done to the country. He also meets the legendary Kurtz who is very ill. But, the experiences that they had made Marlow think about what his life should be like and how it will change. 

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

• The author's tone, I feel, is about how the world has a desire for control.
• "You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appals me. There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies- which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world- what I want to forget." Pg. 37
• "I saw him extend his short flipper of an arm for a gesture that took in the forest, the creek, the mud, the river, - seemed to beckon with a dishonouring fourish before the sunlit face of the land a treacherous appeal to the lurking death, to the hidden evil, to the profound darkness of its heart." Pg. 45
• "We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil." Pg. 49

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

• Symbolism- Women was a major symbol in the story and in the life of Kurtz, especially his mistress.
• " She carried her head high; her hair was done in the shape of a helmet; she had brass leggins to the knee, brasswire gauntlets to the elbow, a crimson spot on her tawny cheek, innmerable neckalces of glass beads on her neck...She must have had the value of several elephant tusks upon her...And in the hush that had falen suddenly upon the whole sorrowful land, the immense wilderness, the colossal body of the fecund and mysterious life seemed to look at her, pensive, as though it had been looking at the image of its own tenebrous and passionate soul." P. 86
• Protagonist- Marlow is the protagonist, and the story describes his love for traveling which shows why Marlow travels to Africa.
• "'Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration. At that time there were many blank spaces on the earth, and when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map (but they all look that) I would put my finger on it and say, When I grow up I will go there.'" P. 9
• Antagonist: The antagonist of this story could be the natives of the country, but it is debatable since they are not used to being controlled by foreign power. It gave a feelign of the hostility the men had in the country.
• "'I could only hear the heavy splashing thump of the stern-wheel and the patter of these things...We were being shot at!...I saw a face amongst the leaves on the level with my own..'" P.62-63 
• Narrator: With narrator being Marlow, we get a better understanding of how he is making his points of the story.
• "'I had to wait in the station for ten days- an eternity.'" P.25
• Characterization: The book had parts where it the natives were characterize of how distinctive they looked.
• "'Dark human shapes could be made out in the distance, flitting indistinctly against the gloomy border of the forest, and near the river two bronze figures, leaning on tall spears, stood in the sunlight under fantastic head-dress of spotted skins, warlike and still in statuesque repose.'" P. 85
• Conflict: The conflict of this story is when the country of Africa was under imperialism for their ivory.
• "'The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.'" P. 31
• Setting: The story had described a setting of what the water way was in Africa.
• "'The broadening waters flowed through a mob of wooded islands; you lost your way on that river as you would in a desert, and butted all day long against shoals, trying to find the channel, till you thought yourself bewitched and cut off for ever from everything you had once somewhere- far away - in another existence perhaps.'" P.46-47
• Theme- The theme of the "Heart of Darkness" makes what the story is truly about at the end of the story.
• "Marlow ceased, and sat apart, indistinct and silent, in the pose of a meditating Buddha...The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and teh tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of teh earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky - seemd to lead in the heart of an immense darkness." p.110 
• Foreshadowing: When Marlow read a sign next to firewood, the reader can then foreshadow that there will be much death in the story.
• "'Wood for you. Hurry up. Approach cautiously.'" P.52
• Hamartia: Kurtz was known in being an intelligent and an enlightening man, but his illness makes him very difficult to deal with. He was once praised for being an intelligent man, but then when he got ill, people started to think that he isn't very valuable anymore.
• "'Believe me or not, his intelligence was perfectly clear...No eloquence could have been so withering to one's belief in mankind as his final burst of sincerity. He struggled with himself too. I saw it.'" P. 94

(Disclosure: I admit, it was a really hard book to grasp, but with a little bit of assistance with my friends, Danny and Taylor, and my former teacher, Mrs. Byrne, I got the many key points of the book that would help me understand the meaning more.)