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Intro
It is during the high point of British Imperialism that our story within a story begins. On a boat, four unlikely friends wait patiently for the chance to dock.
As time goes by, one of them, Marlow his name, decides to break the silence and retell his dark tale of freshwater sailing in Africa...a haunting tale that starts in Belgium where his aunt helps him become captain of a steamer. The steamer's route is to transport Ivory deep along the Congo River, in the heart of Africa. According to Marlow however, his route lay in a diffeerent heart...a heart of darkness.
Marlow recounts his tale and makes constant references to the talk of a man named Kurtz, starting from the time he reached the first station at the start of his trek further into the wilderness. His objective at this point was to find and repair his steamer and it lay far up into the congo river. Everyone along his route seemed to know Kurtz; a "universal genius" and the number one trader for the Company.
After seeing how disgustingly the natives are treated, and the depths that humanity sinks to in the deep jungle (where might, evidently, makes right), Marlow finally concludes his 800 mile journey and meets the legendary Kurtz who turns out to be extremely sick. A surely was agenius, but a genius who had fallen victim to the insanity of the darkness. A raider and a worshipped God to a small tribe, he plundered for his ivory and even tried to attack the steamer so as to try to dissuade Marlow and his companies attempts to reach and save him. Yet Marlow convinces Kurtz to try to return to Europe with him and be given his due respect for his brilliant economical, phiolosophical and political ideas...however, that is a journey that disease never allows Kurtz to complete.
Kurtz gives Marlow documents detailing his ideas and all sorts of correspondence with officials and Marlow decides (for no real reason, but just perhaps to honor Kurtz) to take them all to Kutz's wife back in Belgium. Unfortunately though, after all the events that Marlow bore witness to in the deep jungle's of Africa, he came out of it a very different man.
And so ends Marlow's dismal tale of the heart of darkness...
continue...
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