Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 1

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
FINAL PROJECT IN ENGLISH LITERATURE
﷽‫﷽ﷴ‬
HEART OF DARKNESS
BOOK REVIEW
Lecturer: Ms. Bach Linh Trang
Names of Group 7 Members & IDs:

Phan Mai Ngọc Huyền – 42.01.704.012
Mai Huỳnh Anh Thi – 4501751242
Khương Minh Hoàng – 4501751074
Đinh Thị Kim Anh– 4501701003
Đoàn Hoàng Phát – 4501751193
Phạm Hương Quỳnh – 44.01.701.130
Cù Bá Kính – 44.01.751.213
Trượng Thị Thu Thảo – 4501751240
Phan Nhật Thuỳ - 4501751251
Nguyễn Thị Thu Uyên - 450170118
Group Seven – HEART OF DARKNESS (Joseph Conrad) – Book Review
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
FINAL PROJECT IN ENGLISH LITERATURE
﷽‫﷽ﷴ‬
HEART OF DARKNESS
BOOK REVIEW
Lecturer: Ms. Bach Linh Trang
Names of Group 7 Members & IDs:

Phan Mai Ngọc Huyền – 42.01.704.012
Mai Huỳnh Anh Thi – 4501751242
Khương Minh Hoàng – 4501751074
Đinh Thị Kim Anh– 4501701003
Đoàn Hoàng Phát – 4501751193
Phạm Hương Quỳnh – 44.01.701.130
Cù Bá Kính – 44.01.751.213
Trượng Thị Thu Thảo – 4501751240
Phan Nhật Thuỳ - 4501751251
Nguyễn Thị Thu Uyên - 450170118
1
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3
1. INTRODUCTION 4
2. SUMMARY 5
2.1 SETTING 6
2.2 PLOT 7
2.3 EVENTS 9
2.4 CHARACTERS 12
2.5 CONFLICTS 18
2.5.1 INTERNAL CONFLICT 18
2.5.2 EXTERNAL CONFLICT 18
3. WHAT IS THE WRITING STYLE? 19
4. EVALUATION 20
4.1 HOW READABLE IS THE BOOK? 20
4.2 DID THE AUTHOR ACHIEVE HIS/HER GOAL? WHY? 20
4.3 WHAT IS THE AUTHOR'S POINT? GIVE SUPPORTING EVIDENCE TO
PROVE THIS? 21
4.4 WHAT IS MISSING OR NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED? 23
4.5 A COMPARISON BETWEEN HEART OF DARKNESS AND ITS ADAPTATION:
APOCALYPSE NOW 23
4.6 RELATE TO PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 25
4.7 IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING 25
5. CONCLUSION 26
REFERENCE 27
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We are grateful to Ho Chi Minh University of Education in general, and the English
Department in particular, for allowing us to participate in the English Literature module. This
is an intriguing program that helps us to see many unique features of literature, as well as the
strong relationship between literature and life, and to strengthen our critical thinking skills.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Bach Linh Trang, our English
literature instructor (Wednesday Class). She provided us with special lessons and assistance,
as well as the greatest possible settings in which to complete our assignments. Our work will
be finished completely and totally thanks to her. With this lesson, we are likely to recognize
the help of those we are studying. They have added various new comments and suggestions
to help us make our assignment the best it can be.
Last but not least, we would like to express our gratitude for the efforts of the
members of this group. Thank you for your close collaboration, excitement, and a plethora of
interesting points that have served as a solid foundation for this book review.
3
1. INTRODUCTION
By having read this work, we understand that Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of
Darkness, rose from modest beginnings to become a classroom staple through most of the
twentieth century. The inclusion of issues of racism and imperial enslavement within an
intriguing and enigmatic plot, illustrating methods that would inspire future masters,
guaranteed a prominent position for research. Regardless of the novel's flaws, and
irrespective of how secure we are in our moral superiority to the past, it is always a mistake
not to investigate and appreciate the past for what it was. We will supply you with a wealth of
relevant information to help you gain a deeper knowledge of this masterpiece as you read or
reread it.
It is crucial to look through the author’s background, Joseph Conrad - an English

novelist and short-story writer in Polish. His original name is Józef Teodor Konrad
Korzeniowski, (born December 3, 1857, Berdichev, Ukraine, Russian Empire [now
Berdychiv, Ukraine] - died August 3, 1924, Canterbury, Kent, England). Conrad's father,
Apollo Nalcz Korzeniowski, a poet, and ardent Polish patriot was one of the architects of the
parliament that managed the Polish insurrection against Russian rule in 1863. He was
captured in late 1861 and imprisoned in Vologda, northern Russia. His wife and four-year-old
boy accompanied him, and the harsh conditions worsened his wife's death from tuberculosis
in 1865.
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Conrad was appreciated for the extravagance

of his exposition and his renderings of perilous life
adrift and in colorful spots. However, his underlying
standing as a marvelous teller of bright experiences
of the ocean concealed his interest in the person
when confronted with nature's perpetual unconcern,
man's regular vindictiveness, and his inward fights
with great and fiendishness. To Conrad, the ocean
implied over all the awfulness of forlornness. In
1889, He started effectively looking for a method for
satisfying his childhood fantasy about making a trip
to the Congo. He assumed control over a steamship
in the Belgian Congo in 1890, and his experiences in
the Congo came to give the framework to Heart of Darkness.
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Heart of Darkness was first distributed in 1899 in sequential structure in London's

Blackwood's Magazine, a well-known diary of its day. The work was generally welcomed by
a to some degree bewildered Victorian crowd. It has since been called by numerous the best
short clever written in English. It depends on Conrad's firsthand insight of the Congo locale
of West Africa. Conrad was really sent up the Congo River to an internal station to protect an
organization specialist — not named Kurtz yet Georges-Antoine Klein - who passed on a
couple of days after the fact on board transport. The story is told in the expressions of Charlie
Marlow, a sailor, and separated through the considerations of an unidentified listening
storyteller. It is on one level about a journey into the core of the Belgian Congo, and on one
more about the excursion into the spirit of man. In 1902, Heart of Darkness was distributed in
a different volume alongside two different stories by Conrad. Numerous pundits consider the
book a scholarly extension between the nineteenth and twentieth hundreds of years and a
harbinger both of present-day abstract procedures and ways to deal with the subject of the
uncertain idea of truth, fiendishness, and profound quality. By giving the peruser an
obviously untrustworthy storyteller whose understanding of occasions is many times up in the
air, Conrad powers the peruser to take a functioning part in the story's development and to see
and feel its occasions for oneself. Initially given as a three-section sequential story in
Blackwood's Magazine to commemorate the thousandth version of the magazine. Heart of
Darkness has been generally re-distributed and converted into numerous dialects. In 1998, the
Modern Library positioned Heart of Darkness 67th on their rundown of the 100 best books in
English of the 20th century.
2. SUMMARY
Heart of Darkness is about Marlow, the captain of a ship, and his journey to meet
Kurtz. Marlow takes over his predecessor as a steamship operation thanks to his aunt’s help.
He decided to sign a contract at the headquarter of the company, he signed a contract. Then,
he got on a French steam ship to go to Africa. On the way to Africa and then up the Congo,
Marlow witnesses the tyranny of the Company’s rule. The native people have acted under
constraint and been miserable due to the Company’s brutal exploitation, which reflects the
darkness of imperialism. After reaching the Company Outer’s station, Marlow spent the next
ten days waiting for the caravan to conduct him to the Central Station. At that time, he met
the accountant and had a short conversation about a man called Kurtz. The accountant
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described Kurtz as a “first-class agent” and “remarkable person” who brought more ivory
than all others combined. After Marlow had arrived at the Central Station, he realized that his
ship has been sunk. Unfortunately, the repair process was slated to last several months. Then
Marlow met the Company’s manager, an enigmatic character, who told him more about
Kurtz. He heard about Kurtz’s current illness and the manager showed his great concern over
Kurtz’s health although later Marlow found that the Manager and the brickmaker prevented
him from sailing to the sea because of their fear of losing their position. Finally, Marlow got
the parts he needs to fix his ship, and he continued his journey to provide relief for Kurtz.
Marlow and his crew were surprisingly attacked by an unseen group of natives hidden in a
dense fog. The African Helmsman was died before Marlow frightens the natives with the
whistle. Not long after that, Marlow and his crew appeared at Kurtz’s Inner Station. Kurtz is
seen as an ill and bald man. The Russian said that Kurtz had broadened his mind and he was
the Supreme person who cannot be judged as normal people. True to his description, Kurtz
was like a God to the natives, which explained why he was the king in search of ivory. The
natives then disappeared into the woods after Kurtz had spoken to them. Marlow has been
revealed that the attack on the steamer was Kurtz’s plan in order to persuade others of his
death. At the same night, Kurtz went out of the window and Marlow looked for him. As a
result, Marlow found Kurtz crawling on fours toward the native camp. When he comes close
to Kurtz, Kurtz warned him to run, but Marlow convinced him to come back the ship. Kurtz’s
health went rapidly downhill, and he hand out a packet of letters and a photograph to Marlow.
Kurtz died, uttering his last words – “The horror! The horror!”. After returning to Europe,
Marlow carried out his final duty with Kurtz, which was a meeting with his fiancé. She asked
what his dying words had been, but Marlow could not say the truth because he knew those
words would bring her total despair. Therefore, he told her that Kurtz’s last word had been
her name.
2.1 SETTING
The majority of Heart of Darkness is set in the late nineteenth century in the Belgian-
controlled Congo Free State. At the time, Europe ruled vast empires all over the world at the
time, which meant that places like the Congo were subjected to horrific violence in order to
extract and export massive amounts of natural resources. In the Belgian Congo, traders
enslaved Africans to support the extraction of ivory for a rapidly expanding global market.
Marlow's journey into the Congolese interior gradually reveals the violence and greed of his
7
colleagues at the Company, the Belgian company for which he works. Despite the fact that
European empires were at their pinnacle, many Europeans were unaware of what happened in
the colonies. Marlow states this early in the novella:
Though framed by his childhood excitement at the prospect of exploration, Marlow's
discussion of the "blank spaces" on the map shows how the colonies appeared to those back
home in Europe to be places of obscurity and darkness.
Although the majority of the action takes place in Africa, Heart of Darkness begins
and ends on a boat on the River Thames, just outside of London. The narrator describes a
dark, ominous cloud that hangs over London in the novella's second paragraph: "The air was
dark... [and] seemed condensed into a mournful gloom brooding motionless over the biggest,
and the greatest town on earth." The emphasis on London's significance stands out forcefully
from the "mournful gloom" that has placed above it. The novella's final sentence, which
returns to the brooding darkness over the city, clarifies the narrator's irony.
2.2 PLOT
The exposition of the story starts with the four people, including Marlow, on a boat
on the Thames River. Marlow begins his narrative with his past adventures in the foreign
territory of the Congo when he went into Africa with his fellow sailors. Initially, he begins by
saying that “And this also’, said Marlow suddenly, ‘has been one of the dark places of the
Earth.”. Then he starts talking about the great warriors of the past before he starts his tale of
sea-faring in fresh water in Africa. After this, he goes into his story about his enduring trip to
Africa in which he learned the true nature of mankind. He starts sailing because he always
loved maps and traveling as a child. Marlow decided to try to go to Africa and fill the word of
darkness in the middle of the map.
There are two rising actions in the first two parts of the book.
For the first part, Marlow gets his chance to go to Africa when Danish Fresleven is
killed. Marlow describes the black people rowing the boat when he arrives. “Now and then a
boat from the shore gave one a momentary contact with reality. It was paddled by black
fellows. They had bones, muscle, a wild vitality, and intense energy of movement, that was as
natural and true as the surf along their coast. They wanted no excuse for being there. They
were a great comfort to look at.”. (Conrad, 1899, p. 79). It shows Marlow’s like for the black
natives. While there, he overhears others on the boat talking about Europeans having mental
8
and physical breakdowns in the environment of Africa. Marlow notices the natives’ cruelty:
“They were dying slowly–it was very clear. They wear not enemies, they were not criminals,
they were nothing earthly now…” (Conrad, 1899, p. 20). Marlow also meets the accountant
which shows the white privilege in that society. The accountant refers to Kurtz as “a very
remarkable man”, who is extremely charismatic and obtains more ivory than any other
official. Marlow must bring Kurtz back to civilization but it’s really dangerous, not to
mention cannibals. At the same time, a shed burns down and several other delays occur.
Regarding the second part, Marlow eavesdrops on the manager and his uncle’s
conversation with Kurtz. Figuring out that Kurtz went down the river to transfer the ivory to
the company, but turned back suddenly after traveling about 300 miles. The manager says not
to worry, but to instead trust “this”, as he gestures toward the jungle, to eliminate Kurtz.
Obviously, the Company wants to take down Kurtz. This puzzles other people, but Marlow
admires Kurtz. He says, “As to me, I seemed to see Kurtz for the first time…I did not know
the motive. Perhaps he was just simply a fine fellow who stuck to his work for its own sake.”.
(Conrad, 1899, p. 103). Before they arrive, a sudden rise in tension appears when the crew
members are attacked by the natives, and the cannibal helmsman is killed in the process.
The climax occurs in the third part when Marlow discovers that Kurtz abandoned
European morals and norms of behavior. When Marlow enters Kurtz’s compound, he
discovers the skulls of dead African mounted on pikes. Marlow believes that Kurtz “lacked
restraint in the gratification of his various lust.” (Conrad, 1899, p. 138). Kurtz’s depravity
makes Marlow disgusted, and he begins to think of him more as a ruthless if charismatic
savage with a “hollow core”. Finally, Marlow meets Kurtz. Kurtz attempts to escape but
Marlow quickly catches up to him and begins bringing him back from the jungle’s interior.
From this point to the upcoming Kurtz’s death, the emotional tension is at an all-time high,
leading to the climax.
The falling action happens when Kurtz and Marlow all leave aboard the steamer and
head home. Marlow’s mission is almost completed, and Kurtz dies really dramatically. As he
dies, a look of intense despair falls over his face. He mumbles his last words “The horror, the
horror”. Marlow figures that Kurtz realized the horror of human nature, and why the imperial
Congo is a mess of self-serving narcissists. Marlow returns to England and is confronted by
the company. He finds that he can’t relate the normal people anymore.
The resolution begins when Marlow finds Kurtz's Intended. When he meets the
fiancée, Marlow becomes aware that she is still fully grieving as though "he had died only
9
yesterday" (Conrad, 1899, p. 160). When Marlow witnesses how much the fiancé still loves
Kurtz and is unaware of what he did in Africa, he recognizes her complete naivety. While
Speaking about the greatness of Kurtz, she asks what Kurtz’s last words were, Marlow ends
up lying with the Intended that they were her name to spare her feelings and allow her to keep
Kurtz's memory intact. By seeing her, Marlow will be able to put Kurtz behind him, not let
him haunt himself, and move on with his life.
2.3 EVENTS
Aboard the Nellie

The narrator retells the journey of Marlow along
the Thames, he went into the Heart of Africa.
The company
Marlow is hired by the Company to guide a
steamboat into the Congo in order to retrieve
Ivory. Marlow enthusiastically accepts the role
since he has always been captivated by the risks of
uncharted regions since he was a child.
Central station
Marlow arrives at the station, ready for his
excursion, but is tragically delayed three months
since his riverboat was involved in a terrible
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accident. He does, however, stumble across the name Kurtz while at the station. Kurtz is
widely regarded as the company's best employee.
Before the journey

Marlow seems to be sleeping and listens in on
the director and his uncle discussing Kurtz. He
discovers Kurtz is gravely ill. Kurtz is seen as a
threat by the two, and they wish him to perish in
the wilderness.
The journey to Kurtz’s Station

The manager, the Brickmaker, Pilgrims, and cannibals accompany Marlow on his adventure.
Marlow is frightened by the peaceful silence.
The inner station

To refuel, Marlow steers the riverboat into the
inner station. On his arrival, he is hailed by the
Russian, who is Kurtz's best buddy. The
Russian piques Marlow's interest in Kurtz.
Kurtz provides Marlow with the motivation to
keep on. Marlow admires Kurtz so much that he
thinks the only reason he exists is to meet him.
The Ambush
When the riverboat arrives at Kurtz's station, it is ambushed;
pandemonium ensues, and the pilgrims flee in terror. In the
captain's pilot box, Marlow and the helmsman conceal. The
11
helmsman reacts and tries to defend himself against the invaders, but he is killed by a spear.
Marlow is secretly saddened by his death.
Kurtz Station
When Marlow eventually meets Kurtz, he realizes that
the impression he has of him is wrong. Kurtz is
portrayed as a sack of bones. Marlow's obsession with
Kurtz is shattered when he realizes he is a regular guy.
Marlow wakes up about midnight the night before they
are to leave and discovers that Kurtz has vanished. He
decides to track down Kurtz for reasons he doesn't
understand. After all, this was his chance to go
exploring in the woods. He comes across Kurtz in the woods, not far away. Kurtz tries to
persuade Marlow to leave him by telling him about his ambitions to be great. Marlow, on the
other hand, isn't hearing Kurtz and is instead enthralled by the forest. He believes Kurtz is
meaningless at this point and considers murdering him in the woods, but instead brings him
back and returns him to the camp.
The death of Kurtz

As the riverboat makes its way back to Civilization,
Kurtz summons Marlow and delivers him his
personal papers and paperwork, entrusting him with
the task of maintaining his image. Kurtz dies four
days later, but not before exclaiming, "the horror,
the horror."
The return
Marlow comes back to Brussels, but his life is no longer
ordinary. He is constantly reminded of the presence of evil. He
eventually locates Kurtz's fiancee and intends to hand over
Kurtz's personal papers to her.
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Meeting my intended
Marlow finds Kurtz's fiancee mourning over his death a year after he died. He admires her
grace and feels sorry for her misunderstanding of Kurtz's reality. She begins to inquire about
Kurtz, and Marlow responds by lying. He empathizes with and reflects on Kurtz's gloomy
situation and how it would destroy her. The last question she asked Marlow was what Kurtz's
final lines were. And he lies because he is incapable of repeating the dreadful truth. Instead,
he informs her that with his last breath, Kurtz called her name. She trusts him right away. The
narration suddenly comes to an end.
2.4 CHARACTERS
2.4.1 Marlow
Marlow is the main narrator and protagonist of the story. He is a round and dynamic
character. He is a thirty-two sailor working for the Belgian trading company. The only
appearance description of Marlow is that “he had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a
straight back, an ascetic aspect…” (Conrad, 1899, p 17). Marlow is philosophical,
independent-minded, slightly judgmental, and believes in the pursuit of knowledge and the
truth. He considers himself to be "straight than the rest of us" and believes that he is superior
to the rest of humanity. His arrogant attitude toward humanity causes him generally skeptical
of those around him. Although Marlow shares many of his fellow Europeans' prejudices, he
has seen enough of the world and has encountered enough despicable white men to be wary
of civilization and imperialism which are major themes in the book. Marlow is described as
an adventurous person who has a passion for learning and always seeks challenges. Although
Marlow is an arrogant, cynical, and obsessive man, he is still compassionate and selfless. It is
shown in some small detail such as when he tries to give a biscuit to a starving slave, or when
he returns to Europe to meet Kurtz's fiancé, he lies to her about what Kurtz's last words were
to keep his good image in her (despite he is an honest person). Moreover, he is shown to be a
smart, persuasive, inventive, contemplative man who has a gift for drawing his listeners into
his wonderful stories. In addition, as a young man, Marlow always explored the "blank
places" on the map, so initially, he is very intrigued by this journey. However, the trip there
exposed him to the dark reality and teaches him about the "heart of darkness" found in all
13
men (it may embody or hide in themselves) which some can overcome the evil (as Marlow
did), or others may be overcome by the evil itself (just as Kurtz). By the end of the story,
Marlow is almost unable to relate himself to European society anymore. He finds them petty
and irritating. He tells his story to the men aboard the Nellie to share with them that he has
learned about the truth of darkness in the human heart/nature— and the things that it is
capable of.
2.4.2 Kurtz
Kurtz is a mysterious figure because his personal traits are only known by what other
characters said. He is the incarnation of Europe, a God to the natives, and an assault on
European values. Such contrary symbols demonstrate that Kurtz is a complex character who
is both admired and hated, which interests Marlow and makes threats against the Company at
the same time. Some outstanding features of Kurtz can be listed as brutality and savageness.
However, in the end, before dying, he wrote in the pamphlet light “Exterminate all the
brutes”. Why did such a brutal man like him want to eliminate brutes at last? Because like
Marlow, Kurtz’s desire is to explore Africa and bring civilization to the natives. He wants to
be a beacon helping the natives come out of the dark. Yet, he soon gave up his moral and
meaningful ideas after experiencing the power of the jungle. Apparently, he established
himself as a God to the natives and took advantage of them, which seemed to be the most
efficient way of achieving his purpose. It can be predicted that he becomes the most supreme
in exploiting ivory, which is described in the Accountant’s words: “He is a remarkable
person. At the present, he is in charge of a trading post, a very important one, in the true ivory
country, at the very bottom of there. Sends in as much ivory as all the others put together.”
This filled men like the Manager with alarm because they were afraid of losing their position.
Besides, a considerable feature of Kurtz is that he does not care about his image and fear
what others think about him, which is completely contrary to the hypocrisy of the Company.
Kurtz represents the impulses harbored in the hearts of men everywhere.
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2.4.3 Russian trader (Harlequin)
Russian trader (Harlequin) is a supporting character. He is a sailor that arrives in the Congo
on a Dutch ship and ends up becoming a loyal companion of Kurtz. He is a boyish, naive
seaman who idolizes Kurtz and is devoted to Kurtz. This presents in the sentence "This man
has enlarged my mind". He also finds Kurtz's voice fascinating, shocking, and compelling.
He considered Kurtz as an incredible genius whose words and ideas are exceptionally
powerful. Though Kurtz threatened to shoot him over some small amount of ivory, the
Harlequin can only offer effusive praise of Kurtz's intellect, charisma, and wisdom. He even
nurses Kurtz back to health through two illnesses. About his appearance, he wears multi-
colored suits that make him look like a real jester. Throughout the story, it can be said that
Harlequin is the only white man who hasn't tried to 'take over the jungle. In one detail, the
manager and his uncle want to kill him and Marlow is kind enough to warn him to leave
before they actually do.
2.4.4 The narrator
The initial narrator of the novel is anonymous (besides Marlow- a second yet central
narrator). He is one of the five seamen aboard the Nellie upon the Thames River, who listens
to Marlow’s story and is retelling Marlow's story of his own trip down the Congo in search of
a mad man, Kurtz. Our narrator observes every detail since he is an outsider of the story.
Marlow's narrator changes six times over the progress of the novel, and each time his voice
changes, the unnamed narrator comments on Marlow or how he feels about Marlow's
storytelling to convey the mood of Marlow's storytelling. He has a bit of personality and
seems to understand Marlow quite well. In a way, this anonymous narrator may relate to
Marlow (in certain ways).
2.4.5 General Manager
The manager plays an important role in providing Kurtz’s information. The Manager is
responsible for the work in the Congo. He said to Marlow that Kurtz had been ill and showed
his great concern about Kurtz’s health. The manager is the one who wants to lengthen
repairing time because he wants to prevent Marlow from providing supplies to Kurtz. Due to
15
his fear of losing his current position, he hopes that Kurtz will die before Marlow arrives at
his place. In general, he embodies the hypocrisy of the Company and Imperialism.
2.4.6 Kurtz’s Intended
Kurtz's intended is a supporting character who is Kurtz's fiancé. She is fully on board and
aware of Kurtz's ideas and the colonization of Africa. Like the Harlequin, she is absolutely
devoted to Kurtz. Even years after his death, she still believes what a great man Kurtz really
was. She always praises Kurtz's words and examples and assumes that these things are filled
with Kurtz's noble purposes when he began his career in the Company. In the last part of the
novel, when Marlow visits her after Kurtz dies, he cries a lot as if Kurtz has just died
yesterday. She has even dressed in mourning for more than a year and still desires
information about how Kurtz spent his last days. Her loyalty is unwavering that Marlow
doesn't dare to tell her the real last words and instead tells her a lie about what Kurtz's final
words were her last name. Marlow seems not to want to break her wonderful memories of
Kurtz. She is the one (told by Marlow) to believe Kurtz's last words which are her last name.
Kurtz's fiancé represented many Europeans who believe in the greatness of men like Kurtz
without caring about their dark sides.
2.4.7 Brickmaker
Brickmaker is a supporting character who is the most trusted agent of the General Manager.
He is not as much of a brick maker because has never actually made a brick. He looks like a
spy who is a sly, lazy, selfish man and only cares about his own personal benefits. He
believes Kurtz as a threat since he only concentrates on his own advantages and supposes that
Marlow and Kurtz are somehow related within the company.
2.4.8 Chief accountant
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The chief accountant is a supporting character and only appears for a short time in the novel.
However, his role is important because it is represented the company's goals and methods. It
can be shown through he spends all day with his ledger in the middle of the jungle for the
importance of the company's profits. Regarding his appearance, he is always loyal to dressing
up in an immaculately white and spotless dress and keeping himself completely tidy despite
the heat of the Outer Station where he lives and works. Throughout his dressing habit, we can
assume that his desire for the company is "morally spotless" to the rest of the world. He is
very focused on his work and sensitive if there is any interruption during his work. One
typical example is that the accountant becomes enraged as a dying man is brought into his
hut, "The groans of this sick person... distract my attention. And without that it is extremely
difficult to guard against clerical errors in this climate" (Conrad, 1899, p. 70). If anyone
wants to distract him, they can be liable by mentioning "tallying the profits". Ironically, these
profits are intended to support the natives' life whom the Company is destroying. He is one of
the few colonials who is able to accomplish anything. He even trains a native woman to take
care of his wardrobe.
2.4.9 Pilgrims
Pilgrims are supporting characters who are greedy people of the Central Station. They all
want to be at a terminal so that they can trade for ivory and have a commission. They are only
motivated only by their self-interest. They hate the natives so much and treat them like
animals. These are the characters who open fire on the native in Section two. Marlow often
thinks that they are less humane and civil than the cannibals.
2.4.10 Helmsman
Helmsman is a young man from the coast trained by Marlow’s predecessor to steer the
steamer. He is a native crewman on Marlow's steamboat. He is a viable pilot, though Marlow
never considered him more than a mechanical part of the boat. When they nearly reach the
Inner Station, he is killed during an attack on the boat by a spear of natives hiding on the
riverbanks. Marlow throws his body into the river since he doesn't want the cannibals to eat
his Helmsmen.
17
2.4.11 The doctor
Before sailing to the sea, Marlow has to be examined by the doctor, as a usual procedure. The
doctor annoys Marlow because of his weird behavior, asking for measuring Marlow’s head to
carry out his research on European minds.
2.4.12 Kurtz’s mistress
Kurtz African’s mistress impressed Marlow with her stature and bright color dresses. She is
contrary to Kurtz’s Intended, who is naïve and gentle, protective and brave.
2.4.13 Fresleven
Fresleven, a Dane, is described as a tolerant, amiable, and quiet man. His death was caused
due to a quarrel with the chief of the village about some hens. Marlow took over Fresleven’s
position as captain of the steamer after his death.
2.4.14 The director of companies
The director of companies who is on the boat is Marlow’s captain and host. He satisfies the
way the ship is steered.
2.4.15 Marlow’s aunt
Marlow’s aunt, who has a close relationship with a wife of a company, is willing to help
Marlow get his job. She believes that imperialism brings civilization to savages. She is an
example for Marlow of the naivety and illusions of women.
18
2.5 CONFLICTS
2.5.1 INTERNAL CONFLICT
In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, the most grounded struggle is an internal

conflict that is most conspicuously displayed in Marlow and Kurtz. Both Marlow and Kurtz
face a contention between their pictures of themselves as "enlightened" Europeans and the
impulse to abandon morality totally once they leave the context of European culture.
Marlow manages the consistent clash of what he was educated about and what he
observes in and about Africa. His process shows a wide range of parts of human life
differentiating from the lessons of Europe. Marlow appears to show compassion toward
individuals of the Congo. However, he likewise shows his contrary perspectives, in the
manner in which he portrays specific parts of individuals. Somehow or another he is
dehumanizing them, by alluding to them as articles rather than people. There is as yet one
more fight inside him, he sympathizes with one of the perishing men, who is a little boy. He
expresses agony for this kid to the point of giving him his bread. Albeit each of his lessons
show these individuals as not even comparable to a creature in his experiences he starts to see
mankind in these individuals.
2.5.2 EXTERNAL CONFLICT
Character with character

Marlow, the protagonist, is a smart guy who is anti-imperialism, but because he was
part of the engineering group, his captain sent him out to Africa along the Congo Bay after
one of the steamships' men was murdered by a native American. But Marlow had no idea.
When Marlow arrives in Congo Bay, he meets a man named Kurtz.
Kurtz used to be a "Universal Genius," but the longer he spent in the Congo Bay of
Africa researching Native Americans, the more insane he became, and he became one of the
Natives himself. Then Marlow becomes obsessed with Kurtz and attempts to return him to
Europe. People around Marlow began pressuring him to learn more about Kurtz. "When I
asked who Kurtz was, he said he was a first-rate agent," (Conrad, 1899, p. 37) "He is a very
remarkable person," he says. (Conrad, 1899, p. 37) With suspicions, Marlow engages on a
journey to learn more about Kurtz. After that, he explores that there was a rumor about Kurtz
that he needed to know. "Its leader, Mr. Kurtz, was ill. I was hoping it wasn't true. Mr. Kurtz
19
was... I was tired and irritable." (Conrad, 1899, p. 43). Kurtz is soon revealed to be "The
Chief of the Inner Station," (Conrad, 1899, p. 47). After learning more about Kurtz, he sets
out to find him and engages in a conversation with him, which quickly devolves into an
argument.
Character with society
In 1890, Marlow went on an adventure to the Congo Bay of Africa, where he was
surrounded by imperialism and Native Americans who were insane but only appeared during
the day and night. Marlow was mostly surrounded by pilgrims, and he encountered cannibals
along the way. (Conrad, 1899, p. 61) Marlow was primarily in a situation where he never
expected to be the one to notice that he was around people who were mentally crazed in the
mind, people who killed just to kill, and people who used to be average people but had turned
into savage beasts. He became acquainted with imperialism. He witnessed African American
slaves being beaten nearly to death and hung for their wrongdoing. Even some of the slave
women were raped while he was in charge. After his adventure to meet and speak with Kurtz,
he returned home with all of this on his mind. He couldn't return to the person he once was
because he was mentally and emotionally scarred by what he had returned from. He couldn't
keep track of what was going on in the society of the African Congo Bay.
3. WHAT IS THE WRITING STYLE?
Conrad writes in a descriptive style that works really well. Rather than using
unnecessary detail that bogs down the narrative, he selects the proper details to bring the
story to life. Conrad already has a dark sense of humor, which adds to the accessibility of the
otherwise somber story. When he hopes, out of vanity, that he does not seem as unappealing
to the cannibals as the travelers do.
Conrad's decision to portray this story as a framing story gives the impression that the
reader is hearing to a sea story instead of reading books. This option additionally enables the
narrator to give a comment on the story and on Marlow, which should not be overlooked
because Conrad is the storyteller in the end.
20
Conrad can use this strategy to guide the readers on how to investigate the story (if the
narrator is true and credible, that is) without imposing too much writerly interference. With
this work, Conrad created an intricately knit, mentally complicated novel, which is a
monument to his exceptional writing ability.
4. EVALUATION
4.1 HOW READABLE IS THE BOOK?
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is not a straightforward novella in which its

structure is tortuous. The misunderstanding does not attribute to the theme of racism or
colonial exploitation, or dense, erudite prose as the matters all lie in the formatting, which is
poorly organized. Hence, readers are likely not to make head or tail of the course of its
contents, especially who was speaking, Marlow, the narrator, the lawyer, the women, or some
other guys? Also, Conrad utilized a framed narrative technique with an unknown narrator
retelling Marlow’s voyage tale, which Marlow told to him on the deck of the cruising yawl
Nellie. In the original text, Marlow’s words, which were composed of the large bulk of the
story, are placed in regular, double quotation marks. Dialogue from other characters reported
by Marlow is in single quotation marks, which look like apostrophes. Most frustratingly, new
speakers are not explicitly pinpointed at the outset of a new paragraph, which is the
convention today. For many readers, these unconventional formatting choices baffle those
who keep track of who is speaking.
4.2 DID THE AUTHOR ACHIEVE HIS/HER GOAL? WHY?
I believe that Conrad did achieve his goal because it was to immerse readers in the
world of imperialism. The novel tackles the atrocities of Western colonialism, portraying it as
a phenomenon that taints not only the places and peoples it abuses but also those who
advance it in the West. Despite a lukewarm reception at first, Conrad's semiautobiographical
narrative has now been one of the most thoroughly studied works of British literature.
Despite this, Heart of Darkness has stood the test of time, and it is now regarded as a
Modernist masterpiece that is closely involved with postcolonial reality.
21
4.3 WHAT IS THE AUTHOR'S POINT? GIVE SUPPORTING EVIDENCE TO

PROVE THIS?
Heart of Darkness ended when Marlow finished telling his story. He silently set
himself apart from the rest of the crew, leaving everybody, including readers, with thoughts
and contemplation. Joseph Conrad's intention is very clear, that anyone, after reading this
novel, should have their own interpretation of the meaning behind the story.
Before reaching and discovering the deeper, more profound implications of the novel,
the more surface-level should be approached first. Throughout the entire story, the
colonialists who came to explore and exploit the wild land of Africa are depicted very
straightforwardly. Men from the civilized European society, in a strange far land, away from
the obligation of law, principle, and virtue that they were taught in their homeland, can do
literally everything. They exploited the natives, loafed around doing meaningless things,
mistreated their fellow Europeans, and even committed monstrous and inhumane actions.
A nigger was being beaten nearby. They said he had caused the fire in some way; be
that as it may, he was screeching most horribly. I saw him, later, for several days, sitting in a
bit of shade looking very sick and trying to recover himself; afterward, he arose and went out
— and the wilderness without a sound took him into its bosom again. (Conrad, 1899, p 36)
I remember we came upon a man-of-war anchored off the coast. There wasn’t even a shed
there, and she was shelling the bush. It appears the French had one of their wars going on
thereabouts. Her ensign dropped limp like a rag; the muzzles of the long six-inch guns stuck
out all over the low hull; the greasy, slimy swell swung her up lazily and let her down,
swaying her thin masts.
There hasn’t been a drop of medicine or a mouthful of invalid food for months here.
(Conrad, 1899, p 20) He (Kurtz) was shamefully abandoned (by the company). A man like
this, with such ideas. Shamefully! Shamefully! - and there it was, black, dried, sunken, with
closed eyelids—a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and, with the shrunken
dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth, was smiling, too, smiling continuously at
some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber. (Conrad, 1899, pp. 96-98)
Because in the wild untamed land the main purpose is to survive and exploit as much
as possible the wealthy resources of the colony. There is no room at all for idealism, mercy,
or tenderness. The images of these men are Conrad's criticism of imperialism. He implies that
imperialism is responsible for the corruption in morale and humanity of the colonists. The
22
‘Suppression of Savage Custom’ was more or less a hypocritic excuse for benefits and power.
The chief accountant at the Company’s station was a typical example of the greedy profiteer,
who couldn't care less about his own men and do his best to make himself full and wealthy.
I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment I
took him for a sort of vision. I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket,
snowy trousers, a clean necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled,
under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand. He was amazing and had a penholder
behind his ear. (Conrad, 1899, pp. 26)
The evil of imperialism is just one example of the darker facet of human society.
Throughout history, everywhere, every time, people always use something like ‘enlighten the
dark parts of the earth’, or ‘defending democracy’ as fancy, righteous excuses for war and
exploitation. A large portion of the population is selfish, only cares about themselves, and is
ready to do anything, regardless of morale and honor, to defend their own benefit and gain
more. People like Marlow’s aunt are perceived as naive and unrealistic. While people like
Kurtz, initially wanted to help the native Africans to advance and become civilized, in the
end, were abandoned by their own fellows. His Company might seem to show their respect
and admiration toward him, but in reality, they more or less viewed him as a tool to collect
ivory. Without help and sympathy from people around, he was slowly driven mad and
committed atrocities. Kurtz is a prime example of when a society takes lightly the importance
of ideal, honor, and virtue, despairs are built up by dissatisfactions and miseries,
accumulating into desperation. And all the evils in the world are always the result of
desperate actions and hopelessness.
Heart of Darkness, despite its depressing theme, also leaves the readers with a beacon
of hope within the darkness of society. At the end of the novel, Marlow passed Kurtz’s last
words to his intended. It was not ‘The horror! The horror!’ that Marlow told her, but he lied
that Kurtz spoke out her name. Was Marlow wrong to lie, to conceal the horrible truth, to
conjure an illusion about the goodness of colonialism and imperialism? To answer this
question, the practical purpose of the lie Marlow made must be compared to the practical
reason behind the savagery and corruption of men in the colony of Africa. In the far, wild,
and untamed land, morale and virtue can protect men from the danger stalking behind the
23
deep forest, why bother to keep them. In contrast, when Marlow returned to his homeland,
within the safety and hopefulness of the civilization, why bother to keep the horrible truth
that would serve no purpose but haunt him and Kurtz’s intended for the rest of their life.
4.4 WHAT IS MISSING OR NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED?
Modernism opposed realism's goals and tactics, claiming that the inner self-
represented the actual more precisely than the outer world, as demonstrated by Joseph
Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Moreover, realism claimed to accurately and succinctly depict
the world. Conrad's novel, on the other hand, denies this, instead of exposing language's
inability to express a complete reality. Marlow's character, as well as his story, are both
unfinished in Heart of Darkness. He's resigned to employing negative modifiers and repeating
inexact words since he's forced into imprecise language. He is unable to communicate his
story properly, and he admits that his telling is inadequate.
4.5 A COMPARISON BETWEEN HEART OF DARKNESS AND ITS

ADAPTATION: APOCALYPSE NOW
Apocalypse Now (1979) is a film adaptation of the novel Heart of Darkness (1899)
and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. There are a lot of changes in the setting, character
backgrounds and many other details in order to make the movie appealing and fit to the
medium of the modern era. These changes, however, manage to stay true to the overall
structure as well as the theme of the original novels. Below is the list of differences between
the adaptation and the novel.
In the adaptation, the setting of the story is changed in both time and place. Heart of
Darkness took place in the continent Africa during its colonial period. The main character
journeyed up the Congo River. Apocalypse Now on the other hand, took place in Vietnam
during the Vietnam War and the main character also journeyed up a river, in this case, the
Nung.
The backgrounds of characters are, therefore, also changed to fit with the setting. First, the
novel Heart of Darkness was an autobiography and was told by Charlie Marlow. He worked
for a Belgium company and his main objective was to deliver ivory to Kurtz. In Apocalypse
Now, the main character’s name is changed to Benjamin Willard. He was an American
24
officer who was given order to find and murder Kurtz. Second, there are also differences in
Kurtz’s background between novel and movie. Novel Kurtz also worked for the Belgium
company. Beside his main job is to collect ivory, his initial intention also includes the attempt
to ‘Suppress the Savage Custom”. However, instead of enlightening the natives African, he
was corrupted by them and was eventually driven to madness and savagery. Kurtz in the
movie was a US officer, who betrayed his nation’s military and formed his own army. Third,
there are also many other supporting characters that were changed to fit the Vietnam War
setting.
There is a notable change at the climax of Apocalypse Now. In the novel, after
Marlow found Kurtz, he dragged him out of his hut and tried to bring him back to
civilization. Kurtz attempted to escape back to the wilderness, with his native African who
worshiped him as god. Marlow stopped him, witnessed him dying and listened to his last
words. In the movie, when Willard discovered Kurtz’s military camp, he was captured and
tortured. Later Kurt set Willard free and allowed him to wander around the camp. Kurtz tried
to preach Willard about war, about humanity and civilization. Willard took his chance to end
Kurtz's life and also recorded his last words.
Another difference is the methods used to tell the story are also different from one
another, that is language and visual. Each method has its own unique way to convey the
story’s message. The novel depicts the darkness in mankind through sense and feeling while
the movie takes advantage of its visual storytelling and depicts straightforwardly the image of
that darkness.
Despite many differences, the film adaptation manages to stick with the framework of
the novel. Both follow the typical hero's journey structure, that a man, in this case, Marlow
and Willard, ventured out to fulfill their duty. During the journey in the wild and dangerous
land, they witnessed the horrors that changed them, made them different from what they were
before. The overall theme of the novel is also maintained in the adaptation that is corruption,
civilization versus savagery, darkness in the heart of mankind.
Apocalypse now is a very successful adaptation of Heart of Darkness. The movie is able to
maintain the core message of the novel, while taking liberty to make some adjustments in
order to fit with the modern context.
25
4.6 RELATE TO PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
The novel deeply reflected what was called white supremacy in the minds of a large
segment of the people who exploited the people of the colonies. Specifically, this is the way
some British people see and treat people living in slavery in past Africa in particular and the
entire population of colonial countries around the world. Those who think they are equal,
with the slogan of enlightening the colonial tribes, have falsely and blatantly attacked the
indigenous peoples who have lived in Africa for generations. In addition, they erode the
resources, minerals, and labor of these poor unarmed people.
Through reading the work, I felt very impressed and deeply upset when connecting
that story to the historical stories of Vietnam's struggle with the imperialists many years ago.
At that time, my country was also one of the nations that were tortured and exploited by the
unruly colonialists. They competed to spread information that the Vietnamese people were
barbarians in order to bring troops to invade my homeland. Many generations of heroes of the
Vietnamese nation have sacrificed and fought for national independence and against the scum
and brutal domination of colonialists and semi-national cliques.
Moreover, I was also deeply moved when I learned that this could be seen as a kind of
work denouncing the crimes of the rulers in the former colonial countries. The work also
depicts successfully the change of mentality of white people themselves when they are
increasingly degraded by frenzy, fear, money, and physical desires. So, I realize that there
were many citizens all over the world understanding the futility of war, and they also
protested against the government of their own country to protect innocent people with literary
works.
In conclusion, I appreciate the work of Joseph Conrad as he is brave enough to write
such a realistic masterpiece reflecting the darkest side of humans. As a young generation born
in Viet Nam - a country that was once colonized, I feel sympathetic with the native people in
Africa. I hope that war will end forever and there is no place that should bear the pain of war.
4.7 IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING
If we could change something in any scene in this work. We want to change that we
would ask Marlow to tell Kurtz's wife the whole truth about his trip that happened. For
example, Kurtz is an ivory dealer who wants to bring civilization to Africa and enlighten the
indigenous people. However, Kurtz failed and went mad after that. The novel shows the thin
26
line between the civilized and the wild. Kurtz's wife is shown in the story as some of the
Heart of Darkness female characters as innocently sheltered from the horrors of the world,
which is a state Marlow hopes to maintain. At the end of the story, Kurtz was unable to
survive the journey, and Marlow who had to return home to share the news with Kurtz's
fiancée. When she asked about Kurtz's last words, in the cold light of the modern world,
Marlow couldn't tell the whole truth and instead was how Kurtz lived in the heart of the forest
and how he died. More than that, we want Marlow to tell Kurtz's wife that Kurtz called her
name many times in his final moments before he left this dark world. Although she knows
that when Marlow says this, it will only remind her that the deceased is her husband Kurtz,
and she will feel much more miserable because her love for the man she loves has turned
corrupt and cruel. We feel immense admiration and appreciation for the great love they have
for each other. However, Kurtz's fiancée needs rest, serenity, less negative emotions, and
stops suffering in her love for Kurtz after he leaves her. We hope that everything will be
made clear at the end of the work because she is Kurtz's wife, and she has every right to
know all the facts about her husband. We hope that it will be a good way for her to forget
about Kurtz and find a better and happier new life in the future.
5. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Heart of darkness was arguably one of the fabulous masterpieces of all
time. We highly recommend this novella for those who have a penchant for psychoanalysis
and post-colonial history as Joseph Conrad subtly links character traits and historical events
with true stories revolving around European colonial rule in Africa. Furthermore, what
renders the story intriguing is that Joseph Conrad utilized countless sensory words. This
really demonstrates the reality he attempted to put the readers into the course of the story, in
which racism, Negrophobia, and exploitative propensity were rife during the era of Western
colonialism. The novella is the hallmark of sarcastic contradiction, which introduces a society
ruined by the beliefs of hypocritical imperialists on the pretext of civilizing the savages where
the black people were constantly dehumanized and maltreated. For this reason, it leads to the
tremendous moral erosion of human nature and may have a malign influence on every person
if one blindly goes after ill-gotten gains regardless of their sound motives, which is
highlighted by the novelist’s exquisite writing style. However, because of Conrad’s
complicated flowery language use, many readers may find it confusing to fully comprehend
the message of the work.
27
Nevertheless, we believe Heart of Darkness successfully reaches out to every stratum

of society in many countries with its significant message. It is the symbol of contemporary
delusion in which groundbreaking deeds could compromise human integrity and dignity.
Also, this novella really begs the question “What is true civilization“? Will the inequality be
wiped out for many years to come? We really have a strong conviction that this novella can
serve as a precious lesson for humanity's crisis as it could indeed provoke nail-biting
discussion, coupled with its lingering matters of racial inequality, and discrimination.
REFERENCE
Cerny, A.(2012). Heart of Darkness: Significant Events. WordPress.

https://heartofdarknessproject.wordpress.com/significant-events-2/
Heart of Darkness: Writing Style | Joseph Conrad. (n.d.). Homework Online Study Guides.
https://www.homework-online.com/heart-of-darkness/writing-style.html#:~:text=by
%20Joseph%20Conrad
Heart of Darkness: Book Summary. (n.d.). CliffsNotes.
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/h/heart-of-darkness/book-summary
Heart of Darkness: Character List. (n.d.). CliffsNotes.
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/h/heart-of-darkness/character-list
Heart of Darkness: Character List. (n.d.). SparkNotes.
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/heart-of-darkness/characters/
Is the lady in Heart of Darkness Kurtz's wife? (2022). Study.com.
https://study.com/academy/answer/is-the-lady-in-heart-of-darkness-kurtz-s-wife.html
Matthews, I.(2022). Heart of Darkness Timeline. Study.com.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/heart-of-darkness-timeline.html
Similarities and Differences Between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now (2020).
Literature Essay Samples. https://literatureessaysamples.com/similarities-and-
differences-between-heart-of-darkness-and-apocalypse-now/
The Limits of Narrative in in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. (n.d.). 123 Help Me.
https://www.123helpme.com/essay/The-Limits-of-Narrative-in-in-Joseph-18569
Wasney, M. (2021). Heart of Darkness. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Heart-of-Darkness
28
Zecena, E. (2013). Heart of Darkness Timeline. Prezi. https://prezi.com/s91hxkc0juwu/heart-

of-darkness-timeline/
WORK DISTRIBUTION
N CONTENT DETAILED PERSON IN CHARGE
o
1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Phan Mai Ngọc Huyền

2 INTRODUCTION Phan Nhật Thùy
3 SUMMARY Setting Trượng Thị Thu Thảo
Plot Nguyễn Thị Thu Uyên
Events Đinh Thị Kim Anh
Characters Phạm Hương Quỳnh
Nguyễn Thị Thu Uyên
Conflicts Phan Nhật Thùy
Trượng Thị Thu Thảo
4 WHAT IS THE WRITING STYLE? Khương Minh Hoàng
5 EVALUATIO How readable is the book? Đoàn Hoàng Phát
N
Did the author achieve his/her goal? Khương Minh Hoàng
How
What is the author's point? Give Cù Bá Kính
supporting evidence to prove this?
What is missing or needs to be Đinh Thị Kim Anh
included?
A comparison of the book & others Cù Bá Kính
on the same subject or the movie
What do you like best about the Phan Mai Ngọc Huyền
book? What do you like least about
it? Why? Relate to your personal
experiences if possible.
If you could change something, what Mai Huỳnh Anh Thi
would it be? Why
29
6 CONCLUSION Đoàn Hoàng Phát

Mai Huỳnh Anh Thi
7 REFERENCE Mai Huỳnh Anh Thi
8 CHECK GRAMMAR, PLAGIARISM AND DESIGN Phan Mai Ngọc Huyền
Khương Minh Hoàng
30

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HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

FINAL PROJECT IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Lecturer: Ms. Bach Linh Trang

Names of Group 7 Members & IDs:

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

FINAL PROJECT IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Names of Group 7 Members & IDs:

3. WHAT IS THE WRITING STYLE? 19

It is crucial to look through the author’s background, Joseph Conrad - an English

Conrad was appreciated for the extravagance

Heart of Darkness was first distributed in 1899 in sequential structure in London's

Aboard the Nellie

Before the journey

The journey to Kurtz’s Station

The inner station

The death of Kurtz

2.4.3 Russian trader (Harlequin)

2.4.4 The narrator

2.4.5 General Manager

2.4.6 Kurtz’s Intended

2.4.8 Chief accountant

2.4.11 The doctor

2.4.12 Kurtz’s mistress

2.4.14 The director of companies

2.4.15 Marlow’s aunt

2.5.1 INTERNAL CONFLICT

In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, the most grounded struggle is an internal

2.5.2 EXTERNAL CONFLICT

Character with character

Character with society

3. WHAT IS THE WRITING STYLE?

4.1 HOW READABLE IS THE BOOK?

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is not a straightforward novella in which its

4.2 DID THE AUTHOR ACHIEVE HIS/HER GOAL? WHY?

4.3 WHAT IS THE AUTHOR'S POINT? GIVE SUPPORTING EVIDENCE TO

4.4 WHAT IS MISSING OR NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED?

4.5 A COMPARISON BETWEEN HEART OF DARKNESS AND ITS

4.6 RELATE TO PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

4.7 IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING

Nevertheless, we believe Heart of Darkness successfully reaches out to every stratum

Cerny, A.(2012). Heart of Darkness: Significant Events. WordPress.

Zecena, E. (2013). Heart of Darkness Timeline. Prezi. https://prezi.com/s91hxkc0juwu/heart-

1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Phan Mai Ngọc Huyền

6 CONCLUSION Đoàn Hoàng Phát

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