Scarica Heart of Darkness by J. Conrad e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is a voyage to the heart of Africa. The continent is a big metaphor unconsciousness. The story is told by Marlow, which is the main character. He is deeply fascinated with Africa. He takes a ferry and then a boat to get to Africa. His goal is to retrieve Mr. Kurtz, who is the most important merchant of the trading company to which Marlow belongs. Kurtz has lost himself diving his stay in Africa. He has forgotten the rules and codes of the modem civilization. The company is worried about it and sends Marlow on a mission to bring him back to London. On his trip, Marlow gets to the 3 trade stations owned by the company. The first one is called the Outer Station. From there Marlow starts to explore the surroundings and assists to terrible scenes of natives being enslaved and starved to build up the new railway. Represents the fact to his eyes the failure of progress. It seems more like on infernal circle. Marlow is horrified by what he just sow because it is a sign of ill treatment toward the land (Africa) itself. Before leaving he meets the chief-accountant of the station. On this occasion he hears news of Kurtz for the first time since his departure. The accountant praises Kurtz because he delivers to the company a larger amount of ivory, than all the other merchants, even though he employs questionable methods. When Marlow gets to Central Station, the second one owned by the company, he is under the impression that the chief-accountant is trying to slow him down in his quest for Kurtz. Marlow suspects that the man damaged his boat on purpose. The accountant is a brick mater who is waiting for the building materials to from over a year. Marlow is invited in the accountant’s room where see as a picture in oils representing a woman blindfolded carrying a light torch in her hand. The sketch symbolized the opposition between light and darkness. The light appears to be the west world and civilization. On the other hand Africa represents the darkness however, as the novel goes on, the equivalence is questioned by the author. Again Marlow hears nice words on Kurtz. When the ship has been repaired Marlow can continue his voyage. Before arriving at the Inner Station, the last one, where he will find Kurtz, he is attacked by the savages. At that moment Marlow fears for Kurtz’s life because he thinks that he is in danger. Marlow will find out afterwards that Kurtz is the savages idol and that he was attacked for that reason: the natives didn’t want Marlow to take Kurtz away from them. After surviving the assault Marlow finally arrives at the station. There he meets a Russian merchant. The man tells him that Kurtz has changed his vision of the world and that he is worshipped like a god by the natives and by his fellow merchants. Unfortunately, he also learns that Kurtz is ill and doesn’t have much to live. From the station Marlow sees with a binoculars Kurtz’s hut and he notices that there are same severed heads stuck on the fence . The heads belong to the natives.
