Conrad's Heart of Darkness Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, relies on his knowledge of history in order to describe its protagonist, Charlie Marlow, and his struggle. Marlow's feeling in the novel, as he goes to the Congo, rests on how he visualizes the effects of what is going on around him. Meaning that his attitude will be change during his experiences and his thoughts will change with everything that he learns. Marlow's "change" as caused by his exposure to the historical period in which he lived is important to his views of the situation, especially with his view of Kurtz. Marlow is asked by "the company", the organization for whom he works, to travel to the Congo river and report back to them about Mr. Kurtz, a top notch officer of theirs. When he sets sail, he doesn't know what to expect. When his journey is completed, this little "trip" will have changed Marlow forever. Heart of Darkness is a story of one man's journey through the African Congo and the "enlightenment" of his soul. It begins with Charlie Marlow, along with a few of his comrades, cruising aboard the Nellie, a traditional sailboat. On the boat, Marlow begins to tell of his experiences in the Congo. Conrad uses Marlow to reveal all the personal thoughts and emotions that he wants to portray while Marlow goes on this "voyage of a lifetime". Marlow begins his voyage as an ordinary English sailor who is traveling to the African Congo on a business trip. He is an Englishman who has never been exposed to any alternative form of culture similar to the one he will encounter in Africa, and he has no idea about the drastically different culture which exists out there. Throughout the book, Conrad, via Marlow's observations, reveals to the reader the naive mentality shared by every European. However, after only a short period of time in the Congo, he realizes the ignorance he and all his crew have. We first recognize the general nave ...
