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Heart of darkness comprehensive summary
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The Heart of Darkness Notes- Joseph ConradCharacter List
Charlie Marlow a 32 year-old man who has "followed the sea." Marlow's story of his voyage
up the Congo River constitutes almost all of Conrad's novel. He pilots the steamboat sent to
relieve Kurtz and is shocked by what he sees the European traders have done to the natives.
Kurtz an ivory trader for the Company. Kurtz works out of the Inner Station and is
remarkably effective at acquiring ivory. A well-educated European, he is described as a
"universal genius" and begins his work in the Congo as part of a virtuous mission. However,
while in the jungle, he sets himself up as a god to the natives. By the time Marlow reaches
him, he is emaciated and dying.
The Manager Working out of the Central Station, the Manager oversees the Company's
activities in the Congo. (He is based on a real person, Camille Delcommune.) The Manager is
able to inspire uneasiness in others; Marlow later figures out that he was responsible for the
wreck of his steamboat. The Manager fears that Kurtz is trying to steal his job.
The Accountant Also working out of the Central Station, the Accountant somehow manages
to wear spotless clothes in the sweltering heat and complains about the groans of a dying man
who is brought to his office for fear of being distracted and making clerical errors in the
Company's books. He also confides to Marlow some of the Company's shady business
practices.
The Brickmaker Although his name suggests the nature of his position, the Brickmaker does
not make any bricks because of a shortage of materials. When Marlow meets the Brickmaker
at the Central Station, Marlow suspects that he is "pumping" him for information about the
Company's plans.
The Harlequin a Russian freelance trader who meets Kurtz in the jungle. He admires Kurtz
immensely, telling Marlow, "This man has enlarged my mind."
Kurtz's Native Mistress Kurtz's native mistress. She is very protective of Kurtz and leads a
chant on the bank of the river when Kurtz leaves the Inner Station. She dresses in bright
colors.
,The "Pilgrims" European agents at the Central Station waiting for a chance to be promoted to
trading posts, so they can then earn percentages of the ivory they ship back.
The Helmsman a native crewman on Marlow's steamboat. He is killed by a spear during an
attack on the boat.
The Doctor When in Brussels, Marlow is examined by the Doctor at the Company's
headquarters. He is interested in the effects of the jungle (and the lack of restraint it offers its
inhabitants) on European minds.
Marlow's Aunt Using her influence with the wife of a high Company official, she helps
Marlow get his post as a steamboat pilot for the Company.
Kurtz's Intended a demure and mourning young woman; Marlow visits her after he returns to
Europe and lies to her about her fiancée's last words. She is dressed in black.
The Narrator an unnamed man on board the Nellie who relates Marlow's story to the reader.
Summary and Analysis Part 1
Summary
Heart of Darkness begins on board the Nellie, a small ship moored on the Thames River in
London. After describing the river and its slow-moving traffic, the unnamed narrator offers
short descriptions of London's history to his companions who, with him, lazily lounge on the
deck, waiting for the tide to turn. With him are the Director of Companies (their Captain), a
lawyer, an accountant, and Marlow, the novel's protagonist. As the sun sets, the four men
become contemplative and brooding; eventually, Marlow breaks the spell of silence by
beginning his tale about his voyage to the Congo.
The other men remain silent while Marlow collects his ideas, after which he begins the story
proper. The remainder of the novel becomes (with a few exceptions) the narrator's report of
what Marlow tells him and the others on board the Nellie. Conrad's novel is thus a frame
story, or story-within-a-story.
As a boy, Marlow was fascinated by maps and yearned to become a seaman or explorer who
could visit the most remote parts of the earth. As a young man, Marlow spent approximately
, six years sailing in the Pacific before returning to London — where he then saw, in a shop
window, a map of Africa and the Congo River. Recalling the news of a Continental trading
Company operating in the Congo, Marlow became determined to pilot a steamboat to find
adventure in Africa. He asked his aunt, who knew the wife of a Company official to assist
him in getting a job as a pilot; she happily complied.
Marlow hurried across the English Channel to sign his contracts at the Company's
headquarters in Brussels. Passing through an office with two women who are knitting,
Marlow spoke with the Company's director for less than a minute; after being dismissed, he
was asked to sign a number of papers in which he promised not to divulge any trade secrets.
Marlow finally reached the mouth of the Congo. Finding passage on a little sea-bound
steamer to take him where his steamboat awaited him, Marlow spoke with its Swedish
captain about the Company and the effects of the jungle on Europeans. The Swede then told
Marlow a short yet ominous story about a man he took upriver who hanged himself on the
road. Shocked, Marlow asked why, only to be told that perhaps the "sun" or the "country"
were too much for him. Eventually, they reached the Company's Outer Station, which
amounted to three wooden buildings on the side of a rocky slope. Out of this station was
shipped the Company's most important and lucrative commodity: ivory.
Marlow spent the next ten days waiting for the caravan to conduct him to the Central Station
(and his steamboat), during which time he saw more of the Accountant. On some days,
Marlow would sit in his office, trying to avoid the giant "stabbing" flies. When a stretcher
with a sick European was put in the office temporarily, the Accountant became annoyed with
his groans, complaining that they distracted him and increased the chances for clerical errors.
Noting Marlow's ultimate destination in the interior region of the Congo, the Accountant
hinted that Marlow would "no doubt meet Mr. Kurtz," a Company agent in charge of an
incredibly lucrative ivory-post deep in the interior. The Accountant described Kurtz as a "first
class agent" and "remarkable person" whose station brought in more ivory than all the other
stations combined. He asked Marlow to tell Kurtz that everything at the Outer Station was
satisfactory and then hinted that Kurtz was being groomed for a high position in the
Company's Administration.
The day after this conversation, Marlow left the Outer Station with a caravan of sixty men for
a two hundred-mile "tramp" to the Central Station. (The men were native porters who carried
the equipment, food and water.) Marlow saw innumerable paths cut through the jungle and a
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