Archive for the ‘Heart of Darkness’ Category
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Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Friday, January 15th, 2010
or “that which lurks beneath the soul’s surface”
Sunset unfolds along the Thames River, bestowing the day’s final gilded caresses upon the bow of an old ship and the men who sit waiting for the tide. The luminescent skyline and haze-drenched shores incite the tired memory of one sailor, soon drawing out a bizarre tale set in the heart of the Congo. A story of racism, greed, human depravity, vain ambition, and the choices one makes on their own in the darkest regions of the soul. This, in essence, is Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
Told mainly through Marlow, an old, British seaman reflecting back upon his earlier years as a steamboat Captain in a time when the ivory boon was high, and the opinion of African natives unpardonable, Conrad’s novella is barely 95 pages long, and yet a verbose read. Our protagonist describes his venture for a trade shipping company as he travels up a river “resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country” to collect both ivory and a fellow by the name of Kurtz.
Kurtz’s enigmatic reputation precedes him (for the copious amounts of ivory he yields and the god-like influence he possesses over others, as well as his assured position of title within the company), and Marlow finds himself enrapt, nay—becoming obsessed, with the image of this man. As the swampy, protracted journey continues, Marlow’s absorption expands until, at last, in the afterward of a bloody raid on his ship from local natives, he meets Kurtz face-to-face. Or the creature that is left of him.
What Marlow discovers in Kurtz is more a ghostly fiend than a man. An individual who, though at one time was very similar to Marlow, has allowed his ambitious ideals and time away from “civilized society” to alter him into a debauched monster. A god among the local natives, he wields his position with fear and cruelty. In their few grim days together, Marlow comes to both loath and pity Kurtz—revolted by the man’s uncouth methods, yet identifying with the desires which have led him to use them.
It is Kurtz’s famous (and pathetic) cry of, “The horror! The horror!” which sums up the palpable flavor of the book. One wonders if his horror is due to the inability to fulfill his ambitions, or the realization that those ambitions have betrayed him. And what of Marlow’s response? Might his own ideology betray him as well?
Joseph Conrad does us the gut-wrenching service of challenging the conscience through graphic visuals and an inquiry into Marlow and Kurtz’s personal ethics. Considered semi-autobiographical, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness takes us readers on a journey into the jungles of our own souls, there to breed reflection and discomfort with the hope that we will somehow find our way back out—alive and perhaps even altered for the better.
What I liked:
- Conrad’s use of two 1st person POV characters to tell the story. Creative.
- His descriptions of characters and places are fantastic.
- The chew quality. Meaning, the more you reflect on the story, the more you take away.
- The psychological implications embedded throughout.
What annoyed me: The wordiness slows it down in places.
All right, dear readers, today’s query is simple. Have any of you read Heart of Darkness? Yes? No? Care to share your perspective on it?
What’s the mood noise of the moment? Evanescence: Lithium
Tags: book review, Evanescence Lithium video, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow and Kurtz
Posted in Book Reviews, Heart of Darkness, Literary Classics | 15 Comments »
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A Recipe for Man Soup
Monday, January 11th, 2010
I love to eat.
Especially while reading. Which means that, invariably, whatever I’m snacking on most often during a page-turner becomes associated with that particular book forever after in my mind. Such as Lord Peter Wimsey and eggs with toast and marmalade. Or The Secret Garden and Lemon Soufflé.
So what am I reading right now? Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. And what am I craving? Man Soup. Don’t ask, because in my more disturbed moments I’m likely to make some uncouth correlation to the cannibals in the book.
But, why, you wonder, is it called Man Soup? Well . . . because for the life of me I can’t pronounce the real name. Also, every man that eats it LOVES it. As do kids actually.
Anyhow, I’m going to make Man Soup this week and thought, what the hey—you might want some as well, Heart of Darkness or not. Thus, dear reader, I bequeath upon you the recipe for Man Soup in a Crock-Pot (as stolen from my beautiful cousin, Jenny, and her recipe box).
Oh–except before you read through it, you have to tell the rest of us what YOUR favorite treat is when reading a delectable story.
- 1 ½ cups dry Great Northern Beans *soaked and drained
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
- 1 ~ 28oz can plum tomatoes
- 2 cans (14 ½ oz each) chicken broth, or 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- A sprinkling of various seasonings (Basil, Italian seasoning, Oregano, Thyme, Parsley)
- 6 ounces ditalini or tubetti pasta (1 rounded cup)
- 5 oz spinach, washed and dried very well, tough stems trimmed and leaves cut into 1-inch wide strips
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Cook sausage until browned, breaking up with side of spoon. Transfer to crock-pot.
- Add oil to pan, add onions and cook until tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Transfer to crock pot.
- Add beans, broth, water, salt, and spices to taste.
- Cook 6-7 hours on LOW.
- About 1 hour to finish, add tomatoes.
- About 10 minutes to finish cook pasta. Do NOT add salt to water.
- Just before serving add spinach, and you can either add the pasta or put it in the bowls and serve the soup over it. Top with Parmesan cheese. (I find it works best to put the pasta in everyone’s individual bowls otherwise the pasta can get soggy when you reheat the leftovers.)
And for a faster, non-crock-pot version, simply follow the above instructions but using a pot on the stove and substituting 2 cans of Northern White beans for dried, and a ½ can of spinach for the fresh (and cut out the 2 cups of water). Cooking time is usually about 1 ½ hours start to finish.
What’s the mood noise of the moment? The Beejees: Stayin’ Alive
Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive
Uploaded by hushhush112. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.Tags: Beejees, cannibals, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, man soup, sausage soup recipes
Posted in Heart of Darkness, Reading Recipes | 22 Comments »