Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

We have all heard the expression of Heart of Darkness and many of us have heard some take on the phrase " the horror." Many of us do not know that the phrase itself comes from one of the darker characters in literature, Kurtz, in this Conrad classic. Telling the tale of a steamer captain sent into the depths of black Africa to find and if need be retrieve an ivory hunter named Kurtz.

Kurtz has gone around the bend, mad with isolation. Much of the story in 2011 might be considered objectionable. The depiction of the natives of Africa is not complimentary. The book ends on the note Heart of Darkness, Kurtz dies telling of the horror, and when his love is visited by the narrator after his return to England. She wants to know the last word Kurtz spoke. Showing his humanity and breaking his pledge he tells her that his last words were of her. She knew that to be the case and in the end the pledge to be truthful means less than his desire to not be part of the horror.

This book is hard to write about, in truth not a great deal happens. Still it is worth knowing and reading. This book, even today, has merit.