Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is an 1899 novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad. It tells the story of a sailor named Charles Marlow who becomes the captain of a steamboat for a Belgian company traveling deep into Africa. His job is to find a trader named Kurtz, who lives far up the Congo River and has become very strange and wild.

The book is famous for showing how bad European colonialism in Africa was. It also talks about big ideas like how people treat each other and what is right or wrong. Conrad shows that there is not much difference between people who think they are very smart and those who are treated as less smart.

The story was first published in parts in a magazine called Blackwood's Magazine. Later, it was printed as a book and has been read all over the world. It even inspired a famous movie called Apocalypse Now made by Francis Ford Coppola. In 1998, experts put Heart of Darkness at number 67 on a list of the best books in English from the 1900s.

Composition and publication

In 1890, when he was 32 years old, Joseph Conrad was hired by a Belgian trading company to work on one of their steamers. While sailing up the Congo River, the captain fell ill, and Conrad took over. He steered the ship to a remote trading station in Eastern Congo Free State.

Eight years later, Conrad began writing his story Heart of Darkness, using ideas from his own travel journals. The story was first published in three parts in Blackwood's Magazine in 1899. Later, it was included in a book called Youth, A Narrative; and Two Other Stories, published in 1902. Conrad described the story as a wild tale about a journalist who manages a station deep in Africa and becomes respected by local tribes.

Conrad wrote a note for future editions of the book, talking about the three stories inside and sharing thoughts about Marlow, the narrator. Many people have tried to guess who inspired the character Kurtz. Some think it was based on real people Conrad knew in Africa, but others believe Kurtz is a mix of many different folks from that time and place.

Synopsis

The story begins with Charles Marlow sharing a tale by the Thames river. He talks about becoming the captain of a river steamboat for a company that traded ivory. As a child, Marlow was fascinated by the empty spaces on maps, especially those in Africa.

Marlow travels to Africa and meets many people along the way. He learns about a man named Mr. Kurtz, who works far up the river at an important trading post. Marlow's journey to find Kurtz is long and full of challenges. Along the way, he faces dangers and meets people who worship Kurtz. When Marlow finally meets Kurtz, he finds him very sick and changed by his experiences. Kurtz shares important papers with Marlow before his health gets worse. Sadly, Kurtz passes away during the journey back. Marlow returns to Europe, feeling changed by what he has seen and experienced.

Critical reception

When Heart of Darkness was first shared, it didn’t get much attention. But by the 1960s, it became a common book for students to study.

Many experts have written about this story. Some say it shows the terrible effects of rule by other countries in Africa. Others have different views. Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe felt the book didn’t show Africans fairly and hurt their pride. Others argue that the writer was actually criticizing those who took control of Africa.

The book remains very popular in schools and has sparked many discussions about history and fairness.

Adaptations and influences

Radio and stage

Orson Welles adapted and starred in Heart of Darkness for a CBS Radio broadcast on November 6, 1938, as part of his series, The Mercury Theatre on the Air. In 1939, he planned to adapt the story into a film, focusing on the rise of a strong leader. This film was never made, partly because of World War II. Welles later presented another radio version in 1945.

In 1991, an Australian playwright named Larry Buttrose wrote a stage version called Kurtz. In 2011, composer Tarik O’Regan and librettist Tom Phillips created an opera version that premiered in London. In 2015, an adaptation of Welles’ film plan aired on BBC Radio 4, starring James McAvoy as the main character. Another BBC Radio 4 version in 2021 moved the story to modern times.

Film and television

In 1958, a TV show called Playhouse 90 aired a version of the story. The most famous film adaptation is Apocalypse Now from 1979, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It moves the story to Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The film stars Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando. A documentary about making the film, called Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, came out in 1991.

A TV film in 1993 starred Tim Roth and John Malkovich. The 2019 science fiction film Ad Astra is loosely inspired by the story. In 2020, a documentary called African Apocalypse followed a journey to Nigeria, exploring a real-life story that mirrors the book. There are also plans for animated film versions from Britain and Brazil.

Video games

The video game Far Cry 2, released in 2008, is a modern version of the story. Players take on the role of a soldier in Africa. Another game, Spec Ops: The Line, from 2012, directly uses the story’s themes. Players control a soldier searching for survivors in a deserted city. The game Victoria II has an expansion pack named after the book.

Literature

The poet T. S. Eliot used a line from Heart of Darkness in his poem The Hollow Men. Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart responds to the way Africans were shown in Conrad’s book. Other books inspired by Heart of Darkness include Wilson Harris’ Palace of the Peacock, J. G. Ballard’s The Drowned World, Robert Silverberg’s Downward to the Earth, Josef Škvorecký’s The Engineer of Human Souls, Timothy Findley’s Headhunter, and Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder.

Comics

In 2014, a French comic book adaptation titled Au coeur des ténèbres was published. Another French comic, Coeur de ténèbres, came out in 2020. In 2010, a graphic novel adaptation appeared from the publisher SelfMadeHero. Another adaptation by Peter Kuper was published in 2019. In 2021, a comic called Amen reimagines the story in a space opera setting.