Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad | Summary & Analysis

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Joseph Conrad's book Heart of Darkness is set in the 1890s in the height of European colonization of Africa. Main character Charlie Marlow undertakes a dangerous journey deep into the African jungle to meet Kurtz, an important and mysterious ivory company agent who may have lost his mind. When he arrives at his destination, Marlow's unforgettable encounter with Kurtz delivers powerful, unsettling questions about the nature of man, greed, and imperialism that have resonated long after the book's publication.
Kristen Over, Associate Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Joseph Conrad's book Heart of Darkness. Download the free study guide and infographic for Heart of Darkness here:
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[@hamedmozafari679]

We need to stop judging figures of past with the standards of today. He was a product of his time and environment, not a oppressive racist.

[@tinascott1306]

So should the jews stop talking about and forget about the holocaust. Why do white people always want to tell black people to forget the past, while they continue to currently deflecting and pretending racism doesn't exist

[@philipford6183]

It's one of my top 5 reads. I must have re-read Heart of Darkness 5 or 6 times by now. Every time, I am pulled into Conrad's mesmeric, haunting, almost poetic tale. It's a text rich with metaphor, ripe for re-interpretation and I'm sure that was very deliberate on the part of its author. By turns evocative, shocking, and melancholy, Conrad's novella emerges as a damning indictment of rapacious colonial barbarism and exploitation - yet somehow there's still a note of ambivalence about the text. Perhaps that's one of its most disturbing aspects. Highly, highly recommended for anyone who enjoys superbly well-written literature - plenty to critique, debate, explore.

[@harrycheng1340]

The algorithm has blessed you by placing your comment at the top

[@aidan.zburham772]

dont care, didn’t ask + no wenches

[@nounou-kf5ed]

Please I need link for that book

[@kshitizpoudel9259]

Thank u so much Course Hero. You are life saviour

[@soljoez]

You dont even mention the grove of death, which is one of the most striking passages on the novella, and also one of the most sympathetic towards the native lives destroyed by European colonialism O:

[@devinmorse9112]

That part legit made me misty-eyed.

[@cristiangongola8138]

Much appreciated!

[@SandyQueue]

Conrad's writing is both concise and beautifully descriptive, and I love this style. I too have ready this book several times. It is so rich, yet so sparse.

[@manirajpyakurel8275]

Thank You so much !

[@janeallgood9833]

why do the africans adore him if he is so brutal to them? why does he hate them if he is becoming one of them?

[@mylittleunicorn4515]

Kurtz's station is the inner station, not the central station. It is associated with the id, chaotic inner self

[@Aaabbbccc457]

ah Kristen is back ! exciting 🖤 Thank you for all the hard work you put into making these amazing videos

[@weatherwaxusefullhints2939]

I believe her name is Karen. Yes, Karen seems about right.

[@crush42mash6]

Excellent job on the analysis, I’ve seen Apocalypse now almost 10 times and now I want to read the book. Thank you for your insight

[@MOOSEDOWNUNDER]

You thinking her analysis is excellent tells me that you have no idea what you are talking about. Not one clue. Don't leave your education up to the liberal woke twats of this World. Get out there and discovery the truth from people that have lived there and invested in the betterment of the continent.

[@riiddisbuk2496]

And I played Spec Ops: The Line over 40 times. I even have a webnovel published based off Apocalypse Now, Spec Ops: The Line, and Heart of Darkness.

[@xpollo7782]

Exactly what I did, I read heart of darkness right after watching Apocalypse Now a couple of times. Really, a fascinating story.

[@lotofart]

Thank you so much Course Hero and the infographics in the website are super-helpful ♡

[@brienfarmer6846]

great video

[@hamdamalmaktoum5105]

Thank you so much🔥🔥🔥

[@santanudey9877]

The presenter (Gentle lady) has been excellent, narrating the topic in terms of diction and intonation. Especially, she hasn't shown unnecessary haste in covering the topic like the other presenter (I beg pardon for mentioning this). I'd prefer her in most of the coming programs too.

[@mdranahussain1974]

Thanks a lot

[@jo8623]

0:21 - if some critics have wonder whether to read the book, I think they are wrong. It is not in their interest to tell what should a reader read...

[@whitealliance9540]

New dark heart book kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGjVm3h7oJykb68

[@davidsabo405]

👉 💯

[@loveforhumanity1898]

Excellent work

[@humnahassan4581]

superb

[@EthanReadsHisBooks]

Book summary begins 3:31. "History Lesson" before that.

[@ammavinanbusuresh6027]

Great 👍

[@luciehasson1169]

Racism is not a theme in the novel. Conrad did not write Heart of Darkness with the intention of being racist, as it was not even a question at the time. The aspects that are racist in the novel are the evocations of savagery, stating that the savages are not so different from the "civilized people", which is racist in itself when you look at it from today's perspective. The theme here is human nature, the darkness that lies within every human, which is only let loose by the lack of civilization, and being face to face with the jungle.

[@sigmasix3719]

Yep she totally didn’t get it and saw what she wanted to see

[@JH-dl6vu]

@@sigmasix3719 Isn't that the point of the book? To be able to view in another perspective and not what your teacher told you it meant? Geez, people hate everything that doesnt fit their narrative. A book is a thought provoking story

[@stevendurham9996]

Beautifully said. 😊

[@stevendurham9996]

@@nickshort4157 I agree. Conrad wasn't a racist: he chronicled it.

[@quorthorn7945]

@@stevendurham9996 Also it's not racist to call those who have not progressed even past tribalism 'uncivilised' as that is what they are. Referring to them as "Not so different" is accepting them as humans despite their limitations, quite progressive really.

[@muzamilishaq2475]

Remarkable

[@tdreamgmail]

History repeats itself

[@mdjahidulislam3257]

Though the background sound is very annoying! But the video is effective, I think.

[@Joaocruz30]

Ok. I'm hesitant with reading this one first or Albert Camus' L' Etat de Siege but the fact is that the thematic of both it's the same kind in these days we are in. Thanks

[@natashaaron9194]

She is well spoken

[@camygiuliani8758]

thank you !

[@aliveandwellinisrael2761]

video starts at 0:42

[@Comuzzy]

That “the racism in this book is bad” was so unnecessary lmao

[@nathanhaynes2856]

'the book is racist! not worth reading!' So because readers today find the language and depiction of the natives insensitive, it's no longer worth exploring any deeper meaning. Ok then.

[@fun-with-purpose1436]

They don’t want you to read it, otherwise you will question your leaders and their motives.

[@njorogekaranja2315]

The statements you've started with were not passed as verdicts. They in fact, for a literary mind, act as a trigger for reading the book thus giving way for a broader spectrum of the exploration of the text's deeper meaning. This is a nicely done analysis however, and the text, though racist, is nicely done. Conrad's genius in storytelling cannot be ruled out. However, I'm entirely with Chinua Achebe.

[@nathanhaynes2856]

@@njorogekaranja2315 it's true, at least for me, when media is considered racist, misogynistic or antisemitic, I just want to read it more.

[@doing_BS]

That's not what she's saying.

[@nathanhaynes2856]

@@doing_BS wuts she saying?

[@loveforhumanity1898]

How can I?

[@T6293h]

YAAAAAAAAAAAY THIS CHANNELA ALSO DOES HEATRGT OF DARKNESSS

[@xxxx-fz8lr]

That'll be great if that was written

[@Packers786]

Anyone here because of apocalypse now?

[@hakim6387]

Because of the exam lol

[@riiddisbuk2496]

Spec Ops: The Line. But I did watch Apocalypse Now.

[@riiddisbuk2496]

Also, I am writing a webnovel based off this novel.

[@loveforhumanity1898]

I want to follow you on Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook

[@mrguermo1]

So it’s clear that Conrad was criticizing imperialism but is the same true of the racism in the book? Do we know if Conrad himself was a racist?

[@Toocant]

Yes, basically every European during this time period was

[@projectc.j.j3310]

Obviously by todays standards

[@edorasmarauder5761]

Good question.

[@thakurshouryapratapsingh3506]

Whose heads were on the fence???

[@CMichaelEH]

people Kurtz thought were rebels

[@shreyasibhattacharya6223]

The natives, especially African men who probably didn't submit to Kurtz's authority. He saw himself as God figure and eventually so did the natives.

[@TasfiaIslamSN---yz1vk]

Study English Literature as major for five years taught "Ignorance is a bliss". Knowledge is pain and burden. If tomorrow I was given the choice of avenging all the colonised countries, especially Africa, I'd do it in a heartbeat!!! As person from Indian subcontinent, my blood boil with anger to think of those colonizers!!!

[@yoshi2413]

The book was not racist, you assume it’s racist for certain things, it’s just the evil of humans themselv3s

[@JH-dl6vu]

Book isnt racist itself, white people were racist and the book just told what the people of it's time thought and felt.

[@ianpowell-palm5503]

Marlow is CERTAINLY racist, in many of his interactions with the indigenous persons. But he also actively speaks out against the horrors, and inefficiency, of Colonialism. So it's a mix between the two. But it is absolutely there.

[@bruno_loves_hops8594]

Thank you! I don't think they've read this book in its entirety. They've totally missed the point!

[@zacnieprawisz9171]

showing modern Ukraine while talking about XIXth century just shows 0 research was made on that part... he was a Pole born in a Russian Empire in a place which now is in Ukraine, so if you really wanted to show a map relevant to his life, you should have shown Russian Empire xd

[@nadziejanowak7758]

In fact it was occupied part of Poland of that time after the partitions it was russian empire

[@ryanmaclean1720]

NGL I looked up the wrong heart of darkness

[@AreEnTee]

🤣🤣🤣

[@briansheehan5256]

How did this outstanding story about the complexities of Human nature turn into just another critique of European imperialism?

[@NerdySwede]

Do... do you know what kind of book you are talking about?

[@Freddiefreds]

Did we read the same book or did you miss the point completely?

[@CyberneticOrganism01]

You're just uncomfortable about what your ancestors did. But they're long dead. You're new.

[@vespa9566]

Very well said. In the world of now mathematics , is now racist…..

[@ariana1034]

the critics that wonder if the book is worth reading today... the answer is NO

[@al2642]

Yeah, the British pushed Conrad to expose Belgian ruthless colonisation. Out of good heart, not in sake of competition, no nono.... 😂😂😂

[@bablugorai8524]

hi

[@johnjohnon8767]

I wonder if " apocalypse now " based on this? You have a rogue army colonel , who's name is kurtz and barbarous natives..

[@minak.8305]

In a lecture about Heart of Darkness I attended our professor said yes! Apocalypse Now is based on the novel, ofc with a twist

[@NoLefTurnUnStoned.]

Are you joking?

[@jasicjan]

Next time at least read the book before trying to review it :/

[@goldsteinism]

wym

[@780tmcbride]

Sorry, focused on all the wrong coincidental messages in this one.

[@al2642]

Yeah, but the point was not just Belgian, was it?

[@AnthonyRusso93]

There is something so deeply wrong with the humanities primarily those who study humanities. Shakespeare wrote plays with the intention of commercial success. Authors write things with the intention of commercial success. They want to make money the people want to be entertained thus the writers want to be entertaining except Marx he was just basically begging because he refused to get a job but that is it all this deep analysis it is the consequence magical thinking overeducation and having put lead in paint and gasoline for far too long. It is wild because this is something Mark Twain wrote about well not the lead in the paint. What analysis did they do then "The corn pone represents the Aztec God Huitzipotecli corn being the staple crop of meso American people. The evil chalkies have been blind to the totally chill vibes and spiritual frequencies of the hella fly POC culture"

[@portraitofyun]

wiegman anyone?

[@jarosawcholewinski8654]

Showing the modern territory of Ukraine at the beggining is pointless.

[@Lanceeditz106]

Lol read some ‘intellectual’ comments, if y’all were so critical and intellectual you’d be reading more rather than watching a course hero video lmfao. I watch them only for summary haha, idts they can have all the critical analysis of a book in a short video and it’s also not their goal ig.

[@bato4531]

Why do people call novels written before the 1950s racist? That's like calling victorian era novels on women backwards

[@davidash2727]

Blah blah blah

[@nazmulgani3776]

Your analysis of the Symbol or meaning of DARKNESS or the title of the novel HEART OF DARKNESS is highly disappointing. DARKNESS basically means EVIL . And evil exists in the heart of every man. We may not be aware of this DARKNESS. This dormant evil only needs a conducive environment to grow, to come out. Kurtz, a versatile genius, is a glaring example of Conrad' s moral vision, philosophy................Kurtz is not just a European coloniser or merchant but he represents every one of us. The theme of RACISM is irrelevant . It is also a misinterpretation.................Conrad shows that even the African cannibals have some moral standards or values or conscience . That's why they don't kill Marlow and other whites aboard the steamer breaching the code of MUTUAL FAITH, HOST N GUEST bonds...................

[@Literarygeek2329]

Not necessarily. In literature there is no single answer or any correct answer as to say. Everyone interprets based on his/her own understanding of the subject matter

[@RogerPodacter]

wow, he was born in Ukraine over 100 years before Ukraine existed. This pc bs is really tiring- you have to question every sentence these "experts" say

[@1995yuda]

The novel is NOT Racist, your shallow reading of its nuance is what makes you arrive to such misleading and ignorant assumptions. READ BETWEEN THE LINES and learn to read in CONTEXT.

[@gregstudeny1680]

Stick to the book. Leave out all the other crap.

[@EyesOfFrozenMeat]

Make sure to taint the review of the book with modern zeitgeist outrage morality. You're damn near halfway through the video before even talking about it. In what is left, you did next to nothing to bring out what the book was really about.

[@whitealliance9540]

Why are Yaull mad they are explaining the history ? Its all important info

[@SethTheOrigin]

Belgians didn't enslave the Congolese - other Congolese did; the Belgians traded in slavery but did not enslave.

[@DoubleNN]

I quite dislike this analysis - practically no mention of the exploration of the human condition this thing is, instead it's a simplistic reduction run through modern lenses, ignoring the obvious overt mockery of these "civilised" people with superiority complexes and calling the whole thing racist, because, I presume, there are tribesmen in it. Rather than exploring the dark parts of the human psyche the book is meant to portray, instead here it's portrayed as a critique of Belgian Colonial policy(?). It isn't mentioned here why those people are called "pilgrims" in this video, Marlow calls them that because they just hung around with sticks doing nothing, lazy and useless. Meanwhile the Cannibals they hired are praised for their hard work. Most of the Europeans in the story are ridiculous in appearance, mannerisms, attitudes, and didn't he say, at the very beginning, that England was dark once? It clearly isn't a race thing. It's not so much as critique of colonialism I feel so much as a question about our attitude towards civilisation, reflected I should think, ironically, in the dismissive attitude this video seems to have towards these people in the distant past, calling the book "racist" right out of the gate.

[@keptkozy]

Annoying how modern people can't separate the setting from a gripping story. Yeah, the characters were savages, both black and white in their own way. He didn't pull punches. Babies these days

[@christophercrystal4449]

Woke twinged interpretation. But thank you as it helps me understand people with your views.

[@tibbe9920]

An incredibly boring book

[@Toocant]

Sometime is feels like Conrad just chose the biggest most annoying words possible

[@LongWalker730]

This is a horrible analysis

[@zerokhan858]

great video