Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

Theme Social Issues Heart of Darkness is classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the 100 best novels and part of the Western canon. Marlow a man who has spent his life at sea tells the story of a journey up the River Congo which changed his life. His journey upriver to find Kurtz the charismatic head of a colonial trading station takes him into the very heart of Africa and leads Marlow to question both Kurtz s dubious methods and his own very nature. Conrad s dark and powerfully evocative tale is a compelling study of inner conflict and a devastating critique of European imperialism.