 Heart of Darkness was first published as a three-part serial story in Blackwood's Magazine. | |
| Author | Joseph Conrad |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novella |
| Published | 1899 serial; 1902 book |
| Publisher | Blackwood's Magazine |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Preceded by | The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' (1897) |
| Followed by | Lord Jim (1900) |
| Text | Heart of Darkness at Wikisource |
Heart of Darkness is an 1899 novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel is widely regarded as a critique of European colonial rule in Africa, whilst also examining the themes of power dynamics and morality. Although Conrad does not name the river on which most of the narrative takes place, at the time of writing, the Congo Free State—the location of the large and economically important Congo River—was a private colony of Belgium's King Leopold II. Marlow is given a text by Kurtz, an ivory trader working on a trading station far up the river, who has "gone native" and is the object of Marlow's expedition.
Central to Conrad's work is the idea that there is little difference between "civilised people" and "savages". Heart of Darkness implicitly comments on imperialism and racism.[1] The novella's setting provides the frame for Marlow's story of his fascination for the prolific ivory trader Kurtz. Conrad draws parallels between London ("the greatest town on earth") and Africa as places of darkness.[2]
Originally issued as a three-part serial story in Blackwood's Magazine to celebrate the 1000th edition of the magazine,[3] Heart of Darkness has been widely republished and translated in many languages. It provided the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film Apocalypse Now. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Heart of Darkness 67th on their list of the 100 best novels in English of the 20th century.[4]
- ^ The Norton Anthology, 7th edition, (2000), p. 1957.
- ^ Achebe, Chinua (2000). "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. 2 (7th edition), p. 2036.
- ^ National Library of Scotland: Blackwood's Magazine exhibition. In Blackwood's, the story is titled "The Heart of Darkness", but when published as a separate book, "The" was dropped from the title.
- ^ 100 Best Archived 7 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Modern Library's website. Retrieved 12 January 2010.