"But the contact with pure unmitigated savagery, with primitive nature and primitive man, brings sudden and profound trouble into the heart. To the sentiment of being alone of one's kind, to the clear perception of the loneliness of one's thoughts, of one's sensations--to the negation of the habitual, which is safe, there is added the affirmation of the unusual, which is dangerous; a suggestion of things vague, uncontrollable, and repulsive, whose discomposing intrusion excites the imagination and tries the civilized nerves of the foolish and the wise alike."
Conrad has an amazing ability to describe something horrendous, dark and disturbing with beautiful language and intense imagery. He also has a deep understanding of the complexities of the human mind, the savage as well as the civilized. In this piece, he tells the story of two men who are sent to a site within the forests of the Congo, a site that has little to no value or interest to their Director. He simply wants to get rid of them for a while. These two men are thrown into a completely different environment, one in which their civilized ways are of no use to them. The utter darkness, the unfamiliarity of this site strikes fear into these mens souls, shakes them up. They feel immediately the savage nature that surrounds them. They are repulsed by this, cling to their sanity and civilization, to each other as the only familiar and safe place to be. But as time wears on, they are slowly eaten away by the darkness surrounding them, begin to lose their control, and show signs of that wild, bestial nature that Conrad believes exists in us all. An animalistic nature, one of instinct and survival.
It's funny, because when I had to read Heart of Darkness and watch the movie Apocalypse Now in high school, I was bored out of my mind, didn't understand a word he was saying. Now, after watching and reading of the utter cruelty and evil that was committed upon the peoples of the Congo...now, I understand and appreciate Conrad's writing and analysis. Maybe it's time to give Heart of Darkness another read.
0 comments:
Post a Comment