On the Same Boat

I wish I had read more of the reviews before diving into “Heart of Darkness,” by  Joseph Conrad.  The novel seemed just seemed too allusive and dark to me. The book definitively is both dark and allusive, but I didn’t completely understand why. I just wasn't connecting with the book. After a few pages in I decided to quickly assess what the book was all about I looked up the plot overview on spark notes, but it didn’t seem to cover what I wanted to know.  

I understood what was being told, but I was curious to know the WHY? Why had the author chose to focus in on this somewhat odd seaman Marlow to write a book about? I would have loved to sit down with Joseph Conrad and ask him personally all my why questions about his sultry novel; however, I came across my own personal gold mine of reviews! 

If I had only read the context of the book before plunging in it would have made so much more sense! I found a review on Amazon that cleared up why Joseph Conrad wrote about Marlow. It is very possible that Joseph Conrad was simply writing about his own endeavors with a few detail changes. He CONNECTED with his own "fictional character." I then found myself reminiscing on the times I had connected with Marlow as well. 

Marlow is compassionate about his profession, and is even willing to put himself in daunting situations to attain his goals. He is not speaking in his native tongue in a job interview, but in French! Although I have no desire to be a seamen I have found myself in various situations just like this. I made the connection! 

I along with many others felt that Conrad's voice was the voice of Marlow, and he was heavily influenced by the racism circulating at that time. 

This blunt racism and even sexism initially made me cringe, but through reading the reviews on goodreads I feel like I have come to better understand who Marlow and Joseph Conrad truly are.