The Narrative In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness '

At first glance, it seems deceptively incongruous to assume any explicit degree of corresponding resemblance between the three given forms of narrative media, but upon closer examination, a number of similarities and understated analogies emerge, despite the stark contrast in the overall tone, setting and characters. By comparing these works on the basis of their shared deployment of identifiable narrative techniques, disregarding criticisms based on character development, plot and authorial intent, focusing instead on the importance of the implied author, the narrator’s role, and the construction of the narrative, it becomes easy to see how the structures of a framed first person narrative, an episodic graphic novel and an interactive twine-game, are all linked.

On the most elemental level, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is an adventure-thriller chronicling the experiences of the captain of a steam-vessel traversing along the Congo River in Central Africa. The protagonist, Charles Marlowe is employed by an ivory trading company to locate and establish contact with Mr. …show more content…
It is also possible to understand the necessity of the harsh dehumanization that makes so many readers uncomfortable. Arguably the most famous criticism of Heart of Darkness is by the celebrated Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, who considers it to be incredibly offensive, propagating xenophobia and positioning Africa as the polar opposite of “civilization” represented by Europe. Despite being valid and warranting sympathy, Achebe’s criticism disregards the fact that the purpose of that brutal voice is to highlight the disturbing issue of the dismissal of entire sections of the human race as homogenous and disposable. The brutality is essential to initiate overt questioning of the morality of the prevalent