As these posts are to be informal and strictly reflective, I am going to take freedom with expressing my opinion since I have become increasingly vexed with this book.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a story quite as void of anticipation and suspense as “Heart of Darkness.” The first few opening paragraphs of Chapter 1 were positively chock full of such heavily ominous, seeping imagery and powerfully menacing tone that I remember thinking “Oooh, this is going to be good!” As a person who whole heartedly enjoys reading old classics (ex: I found “The Scarlet Letter” riveting), I truly wanted to say that I liked this book. Unfortunately, I found Conrad’s storytelling tactics to be lifeless, bland, and straightforward yet absolutely puzzling at the same time. I appreciate his incredible use of symbolism but one can only apply so many motifs before the whole plot morphs into one lengthy riddle. Any rising action moved as slowly as molasses in the middle of January and was eventually squelched or simply faded away into the blackness of the story. The perfect example is the sequence of scenes in which Kurtz is dying yet is still making demands. Every time he was shown, either stretched out, mouth agape or crawling through the jungle, I was expecting him to die or attack Marlow or do something expected of a madman. But nothing came of it! There where points at which I honestly had no desire to turn another page because I was so uninterested and disappointed. I understand Conrad’s reasoning behind writing “Heart of Darkness” and I believe the overarching themes he addresses of the corruption of humanity, the fragility of morals, and the grotesque distortion of righteousness should certainly be put to memory but he could have made his book more appealing by expanding and electrifying the many mini-climactic moments that occurred throughout the story.
I can best sum up how I felt upon reaching that last blessed punctuation mark on page 72 by using a meteorological comparison. The experience was similar to when a storm is brewing outside your window, getting blacker and angrier by the minute, with the occasional sharp gust of wind rocking the house, and you grab your Snuggie and hunker down, ready for the heavens to let loose. But hours pass and not even a drop of rain has fallen or a crack of thunder has sounded. Then the clouds dissipate and all threat of a storm subsides. You are left feeling cheated and dissatisfied for having prepared for nothing.
Hey there,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that I absolutely agree with every single letter of this post. I feel the exact same way about this novella...granted, you used much better wording than I ever could.
I geniunely could not believe the whole "big reveal" with Kurtz's character. I was floored by the lack of an actual tipping point, so to speak, and I would be a liar if I said I did not throw my book at the nearest wall.