Heart of Darkness describes a steamboat voyage up and down the Congo River by a British sea captain named Charles Marlow, who is commissioned to fetch a renegade ivory collector called Kurtz. On the trip Marlow witnesses scenes of shocking abuse, culminating in his encounter with Kurtz. Even while Africa and its people remain opaque to Marlow, the hunt for Kurtz becomes a haunting journey of self-discovery and a spectacular indictment of European imperialism. This complex meditation on colonialism, civilization, and corruptibility has enthralled readers for more than a hundred years and inspired dozens of adaptations, including Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now (1979).
Table of Content
HEART OF DARKNESS
Afterword by Ulrich Baer
Conrad’s Letter to Roger Casement
Geography and Some Explorers
Biographical Timeline
About the author
Ulrich Baer holds a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Yale, and is University Professor at New York University. He has been awarded Guggenheim, Getty, and Alexander von Humboldt fellowships in recognition of his work. Among his books are Rainer Maria Rilke’s The Dark Interval, Spectral Evidence: The Photography of Trauma, We Are But a Moment, and What the Snowflakes Get Right.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
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