Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a late 19th-century novella set along the Congo River, offering a powerful critique of imperialism. The story follows Charles Marlow, a seaman who journeys inland to find the enigmatic ivory trader Kurtz, only to witness the brutal greed and violence masked as civilization. It opens aboard the Nellie, a yawl on the Thames, where Marlow reflects on the river's symbolic ties to history and empire. His voyage evolves into a philosophical quest, exposing the illusions of European colonialism and the darkness within the human soul. Through vivid imagery and moral ambiguity, Conrad reveals the savagery hidden beneath the surface of so-called progress.
