Heart of darkness door Joseph Conrad

A. The Story
1a.
Heart of Darkness
1b.
Joseph Conrad
2a.
This story takes place in the past.
I think it takes place around the 16th century.
Because Marlow wants as a young boy discover the white spaces on the map of Africa, so Africa wasn’t discovered whole. Because there were many ‘nigger’ slaves and they shoot elephants for their ivory. At our century those things are forbidden.
2b.
I think the story takes 2 years. Because Marlow and the others sailed for months and when Marlow get back in England and goes to Kurtz’ girl they say it was a year ago that Mr. Kurtz died.
2c.

The story take place in England and in the centre of Africa.
Mr. Kurtz who is lost was a rich man and many people has respect for him, Marlow who looks him is a bit rich and the people in Africa are very poor. It most take place in a country side in Africa. The last part take place in a city in England. Marlow who looks for the other man in Africa has a psycial problem, he thinks to much and with a wrong opinion.
Because Marlow must look for Mr. Kurtz in the centre of Africa and sees a lot of poor black people.
Because Mr. Kurtz has a lot more ivory than the other men at the Company, so the others were very jealous of him. And because he had a lot of ivory he’s a rich man.
3.
It goes about Marlow, and he is a seaman. He must go to Africa to look for a man, Mr. Kurtz who is important for England. Marlow goes to Africa to look for Mr. Kurtz and founds out de man is dead. His last were: “The horror! The horror!” As he is back he has a talk with the wife of the man and tells her what happened to her man. He says that his last word her name was to comfort her.
4a.
A.
Main characters: Marlow and Mr. Kurtz
B.
Marlow has got very good relationship with a lot of people. He is a good friend of Mr. Kurtz, so he heirs the money of him. He has also a good relationship with his manager. He is a man who can talk very good with people, this helps him with finding Mr. Kurtz and to comfort Mrs. Kurtz. He’s very emotional. Mr. Kurtz is a man who has a lot of money and respect of others. But he haven’t had a good relationship with the most people, so he’s abandoned from the Company. He has a good relationship with Marlow, so his money he heirs to him. In his mind he’s very weak, he always hear bad voices in his head. That point is why he goes dead.
C.

Marlow is the really main character because the reader follow him in his journey and you know how he thinks.
Mr. Kurtz is a main character because he is the one who Marlow is looking for, Marlow has also a lot of conversations with him.
D.
Marlow: “I heard a light sigh and then my heart stood still, stopped dead short by an exulting and terrible cry, by the cry of inconceivable triumph and of unspeakable pain.”
Mr. Kurtz: His last words were. “The horror, the horror”
4b.
Minor characters: Marlow’s aunt, Marlow’s assistants, Mrs. Kurtz, the manager, the manager’s assistants, the Russian, the people on the ship and in Africa (Mr. Kurtz’ men)
5a.
You will learn a lot of history in this book, because there is a lot of true things in this book, like slaves, hunting and old boats. You will also learn how people react to terrible things like death.
5b.
He want that we know how it was in the 16th century, that death is a difficult thing in human lives and of course the emotions of people on terrible moments and about terrible moments.
5c.
The good tension raising, you will know that death can be told in different ways.
5d.

“Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn’t touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror – of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision – he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath – ‘The horror! The horror!’”

B. Your Opinion

1a.
Marlow and Mr. Kurtz
1b.
Marlow is the main character and is a smart man. He wants to help people and has with many people a good relationship. He arranges things with talking not with using force. He also comfort Mrs. Kurtz with a good lie, so she is happy again.
Mr. Kurtz is a character who has did a lot of things bad in the past, but now he is a good and smart man. Only has problems with his mind. He hears bad voices, he and Marlow try to resolve this.
1c.
“I pulled myself together and spoke slowly. ’The last word het pronounced was – your name.’”
“He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision – he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath – ‘The horror! The horror!’”
2a.
Mrs. Kurtz and the manager (you don’t get much information about these characters.)
2b.
Mrs. Kurtz is a too emotional character, because her man has died a year and she is yet all over the time sad about it. Marlow must comfort her, he lies about his last words, but that helps to cheer Mrs. Kurtz up.
The manager is a man who does everything for money, like a manager at this century, he isn’t a bad character but he is a little rude.

2c.
“’We shall always remember him,’ I said, hastily. ‘No! She cried. ‘It is impossible that all this should be lost – that such a life should be sacrificed to leave noting – but sorrow.’”
The manager takes Mr. Kurtz ivory, when they pick up Mr. Kurtz. But they know Mr. Kurtz was going to be dead, so then they had all the ivory.
3a.
I didn’t feel much emotions when I read this book. When you think back you feel emotions, then you know why things happened and you feel the emotions of sorrow and happiness.
3b.
You feel the emotion sorrow, why Mr. Kurtz died and when he scream the words horror you feel also a bit scared and when Marlow was going to tell Mrs. Kurtz what happened, you felt the whole story again with all the madness.
You feel the emotion happiness when Marlow and Mr. Kurtz find each other, then you think the story is going to his end with a “happy end.” That is not true and at the end of the book you feel again happiness. Because for Marlow is everything good, because Mrs. Kurtz understand him and you can live normal, the rest of his live.
3c.
“Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn’t touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror – of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision – he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath – ‘The horror! The horror!’”
“Marlow ceased, and sat apart, indistinct and silent, in the pose of a meditating Buddha. Nobody moved for a time.

4a.
“Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn’t touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror – of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision – he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath – ‘The horror! The horror!’”
4b.
In this part of the book comes the clue of the book. In this part Marlow and Mr. Kurtz has talked to each other and it likes all oke, but then Mr. Kurtz is gone and Marlow goes to look for him. When he find him it look all very strange. Then Mr. Kurtz says his last words; ‘The horror! The horror!’ Then he died.
4c.
This is the best part of the book because in this part the clue of the book is there. Here Marlow find really out what is going around Mr. Kurtz and find out how weak Mr. Kurtz really is. Then came the legendary words “The horror! The horror!” So this book has a open end because you don’t know why he said it. At the end of the book when Marlow is by Mrs. Kurtz then Marlow said something else then what happened here, because the real story is a creepy one.
5a.
The writer has succeed in conveying the message to me. Because the part when Mr. Kurtz died and says his last words is a so good writen part that you remember it. Then at the end of the book, you have that part (I have told just about) in your mind and then Marlow says a whole other story to Mrs. Kurtz of it. So because of that the writer has succeed in conveying the message to me.
5b.
He makes his message clear owing made the part to Mr. Kurtz very long and interested to read. Then came the words; “The horror! The horror!” So you remember it and then he makes the part with Mrs. Kurtz so long that it looks important. You can skip that part and make the book to an end. But because he has make that part, he makes his message clear. You can tell dead in different ways.
5c.

This message is very important in the book, because so Marlow has no problems with Mrs. Kurtz and can goint to live normal the rest of his live.
This message can be usefull, because it tells that you don’t have always said the true. So in some ways it can be usefull to lie, that can help you and the other.
6a.
What means the words “The horror! The horror!” and why says Mr. Kurtz them?
What is going to happen with Marlow after this journey?
Why has you written this book?
6b. Because Mr. Kurtz said this words when he died, but nobody knows why he said it and what the meaning of the words is. As you know it, you have the clue of the book and the book has no open end more then.
Marlow has done this journey, but why? Helps it him in the rest of his live, or not. Is he going again to Africa or sailing.
It’s a book were is many written about. So there are many other people who has a reaction about this book. There is so much in the book unclear, so why has he written it.

C. The Summary

1. The auditor is on the Nellie. This was a boat. He was going to begin to sail on a river to the heart of Africa. Marlow is also on the boat. He tells a story to the auditor and others. He explains why he went to Africa in the first place, because he uses to be a seaman. His reason was that when he was a child, there where white spaces on the map of Africa. He wanted to discover these places. But after a few years most of these spaces where filled in with names, rivers and colonies. Still, he wanted to go there. His aunt gave him an opportunity.

He got a job to maintain different stations at the river in Africa. He worked for the Company. He had to stay quite a long time at one place because his steamer was broken. Marlow was a captain. When he was at this place, at a head-station, he found out how the whites destroyed the wilderness and how they ill-used the ‘niggers’. He heard a lot of a certain man called ‘Mr. Kurtz’, who used to work for the Company and who had more ivory than everyone at the Company. They had abandoned him because he wanted to keep the ivory for himself. Everyone was very jealous of him.


One day, when Marlows steamer was fixed, he got an order to go to Mr. Kurtz to take him away from his station because he was ill. He got a crew, thirty black men, and a manager and three other white men also travelled with him. They sailed for months. When they were very close to Kurtz’ station, they were attacked by a lot of black people. They killed the black assistant of Marlow, but were scared away with a rifle. When they arrived at the station the manager and his assistants went to Kurtz’ house. Marlow stayed at the steamer. He met a Russian who admired Kurtz and worked for him. He talked about his intelligence and great adventures and his great speech. He said that everyone who heard Kurtz would admire him. Marlow really wanted to talk to Mr. Kurtz.

The manager and other men carried Kurtz out of the house on a stretcher. The Russian left the place, and went to the wilderness to disappear forever. When the manager and his crew came out of the house, they were suddenly surrounded by thousands of black people who were ready to attack. They wanted to protect Kurtz, because they admired him too. Kurtz sat up and commanded them to go. They obeyed. Kurtz ivory was brought to the steamer, too. In a hut on the steamer Kurtz talked to Marlow. At night, when Marlow looked at the stretcher, Kurtz was gone. Marlow found him lying in the grass near by the steamer and he carried him back. Kurtz was dying. He gave his documents, letters and a picture of his girl to Marlow. Then he died.
His last words were: “The horror! The horror!”

When Marlow arrived back in England he went back to Kurtz girl to give her the documents and letters and her picture. Kurtz had been dead for one year now, but she was still mourning. They talked about Kurtz. She wanted to know what his last words were. Marlow said it was her name. He couldn’t tell the truth because ‘t would have been too dark – too dark altogether.’

2.
Part 1: Marlow (main), Marow’s aunt (minor) and the people on the ship (minor)
Part2: Mr. Kurtz (main)
Part3: the manager (minor), the manager’s assistants (minor), Marlow’s assistants (minor) and the Russian (minor)
Part4: the people in Africa – Mr. Kurtz men (minor)
Part5: Mrs. Kurtz (minor)
3.
Part1: Marlow is introducing and telling why he’s going to Africa.
Part2: Marlow is working for a Company and found out who Mr. Kurtz is.
Part3: Marlow and a manager with their men are looking for Mr. Kurtz. When they find his place, Marlow is talking to a Russian who works for Mr. Kurtz and admires him.
Part4: They has found Mr. Kurtz and his black admires are gone. Marlow is talking to Mr. Kurtz. Then in the night Mr. Kurtz is gone, when Marlow find him Mr. Kurtz is dying, his last words were: “The horror! The horror!”

Part5: Marlow is going to Mrs. Kurtz to cheer her up and he said that Mr. Kurtz’ last word her name was to reassure her.

4.
My summary is one page A4, because the book has only 111 Pages.

5.
I had a lot of expectations. Because my father had advised this book to me, because I want a thin book and he said it was a good book. When I read the backside of the book, I thought that it will be a action book, because they must look for someone who is important. I thought that that will be the end of the book. When I reading in the beginning I don’t understand everything and that was annoying. Then later in the book I understand most of the things and perceived that when they found Mr. Kurtz it wasn’t the end of the book. Then came the last words of Mr. Kurtz, then your head is shaking, you don’t understand why he said it. That likes a good open end. But the story goes further. The end I don’t understand in the first time. What has it with the story, nothing you think. That part was reading well. So it not ending I expected. It has a open end and an part that don’t make sense. I hoped that Marlow goes furter on investigation to find out what Mr. Kurtz really was his last years and what the words: “The horror! The horror!” means. Now it had a open end there are many others who write about this book. What they think about it.

6.
I liked the book, because it is a very well writen book, who is also very exciting. The book was pretty difficult to read, especially in the beginning, but I understand it. The book is short, but in that short time there is much happen. It’s a exciting book, because there is a lot of action. As Marlow and the manager and their men came by Mr. Kurth house their will be many killed. So it’s a very good book.