Heart of Darkness is about the journey of Charles Marlow in the Congo River. Marlow is a seaman, and all his life he worked aboard a ship in the sea. When he was still young he dreamt of piloting a steamboat in the rivers of Congo. And he did get a job, to become a pilot of a steamboat in a large ivory trading firm working in the Congo. The man that used to be in that position died because of a quarrel with the natives. There at the Congo station he witnessed a lot of cruelty and barbaric acts inflicted by Europeans. And made him think twice about his job. And he learned about this “Kurtz” an accountant, revered by his remarkable work. He travels a 200mile trek across Africa, and eventually reaches the Central Station, where he learns that the steamboat he is supposed to pilot sunk in the river and is yet to be repaired. Frustrated, Marlow has to wait in the Central Station until his boat is repaired.

There Marlow then meets the Manager and told him more about Kurtz. He learned from the Manager that Kurtz is ill, and showed great concern of Kurtz health, and that provisions must reach Kurtz. Although Marlow knew that he fears Kurtz is eyeing on his position, and that he is responsible for wrecking the boat to keep the supplies getting to Kurtz deep in the jungle. He overheard the Manager and his Uncle, the leader of the El Dorado Exploration, a band of traders, saying let the jungle “do away” with Kurtz.

After Marlow’s boat is finally repaired, he leaves Central Station accompanied with the Manager, some agents, and a crew of cannibals to bring relief to Kurtz. Approximately fifty miles below Kurtz’s Inner Station, they find a hut of reeds, a wood pile and an English book titled an Inquiry Into some Points of Seamanship. Marlow’s boat was suddenly attacked by a shower of arrows. The whites fired rifles into the jungle while Marlow tried to navigate the boat. Marlow feared that he may never see this Kurtz, he thought that Kurtz’s building may have been under attack as well. They reached Kurtz’s building with no fence but surrounded with posts with balls, those balls were Native’s heads. Kurtz have this Russian disciple called the Harlequin approach the steamboat and tells Marlow that Kurtz is still alive. He learned from the Harlequin that the natives do not want Kurtz to be taken that was the reason why their boat was attacked. A group of natives approach him carrying Kurtz on a stretcher taken inside the Harlequins Hut. Marlow approached Kurtz and gave him letters. He noticed that Kurtz is frail, sick, and bald. After leaving the hut he noticed a wild and gorgeous native woman who was Kurtz’s mistress who later planned an attack to stop Kurtz from being taken along with 1000 followers. The whites pointed their rifles, but Marlow blew the whistle to scare the natives away and avoid massacre, the followers retreated but the mistress did not.

At midnight, that same night, Marlow awakened to the sound of a big drum. He inspects Kurtz’s cabin, only to discover that he is not there. Kurtz tried to escape by crawling away, the Harlequin revealed Kurtz hated the idea of being taken away and he also ordered the attack on the steamboat. As they left from the inner station aboard the steamboat Kurtz’s health is fast deteriorating. At one point the steamboat broke down and Kurtz gave Marlow a packet of letters and a photograph for safe-keeping. Fearing that the manager will take them. Marlow complies. One night after the breakdown, Marlow approached Kurtz, who is waiting for his death. After reassuring that he is going to die, Marlow heard Kurtz whisper his final words “The Horror! The horror! Stricken by Kurtz’s death Marlow almost considered suicide. Kurtz was buried the next day on a muddy hole offshore.

Marlow returned to Europe, he visited Brussels and found himself aloof from the sheltered Europeans around him. This was due to the kind of life he experienced in the Congo. An unnamed representative of the Company visited Marlow and wanted the papers that Kurtz had given to him. Marlow refused and gave the man the copy of Kurtz’s report on “The Suppression of Savage Customs” but with the postscript “Exterminate all the brutes” torn off. Marlow met Kurtz’s cousin who told him that Kurtz was a great musician and a “universal genius” then Marlow gave him some letters. Marlow thought it necessary to visit Kurtz’s intended(fiancée), whose photograph Kurtz had given Marlow on the voyage home. She was dressed in Mourning. She immediately thought of Marlow as trustworthy and sincere. She asked for Kurtz’s last word, Marlow hesitated and lied, saying “The last word he pronounced was your name”. The intended sighed and wept. And the tale is over. For me the darkness that was mentioned all throughout the book is greed, it makes man reveal his dark nature, or according to the doctor “scientifically interesting”. This greed was embodied by the character of Kurtz, he is the perfect example of a man corrupted by greed and lusts. He was worshipped in the Jungle by both natives and whites. He has established himself as a violent force ready to destroy whoever disobeys his commands. But like every other King one cannot escape death. In his postscript “Exterminate all the brutes” this does not only refer to the natives of the Congo, but also to the men of Ivory, the brutes that deliberately sold their souls to the Devil to acquire riches and dominate those who are incapable to fight back. The Company wants Kurtz methods to stay secret, the absolute use of brute force to accumulate an insurmountable amount of Ivory. They do not want Europe to know of this man Kurtz and his methods. Kurtz was a man who succumbed to his darkness and in his death bed realized what it has done to him. Marlow was there to safeguard Kurtz’s reputation.