1. “The horror! The horror!” – Kurtz
2. “We live as we dream–alone.” – Marlow
3. “The mind of man is capable of anything–because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future.” – Marlow
4. “It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention.” – Marlow
5. “The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” – Marlow
6. “It was a continent of dark places.” – Marlow
7. “I don’t like work–no man does–but I like what is in the work, the chance to find yourself.” – Marlow
8. “The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky–seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” – Marlow
9. “I had no particular desire to enlighten them, but I had some difficulty in restraining myself from laughing in their faces, so full of stupid importance.” – Marlow
10. “The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.” – Marlow
11. “I don’t like work–no man does–but I like what is in the work, the chance to find yourself.” – Marlow
12. “Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn’t touched. I was fascinated.” – Marlow
13. “I let him run on, this papier-mache Mephistopheles, and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my forefinger through him, and would find nothing inside but a little loose dirt, maybe.” – Marlow
14. “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.” – Marlow
15. “I had to wait in the station for ten days–an eternity.” – Marlow
16. “I don’t like work–no man does–but I like what is in the work, the chance to find yourself.” – Marlow
17. “But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land.” – Marlow
18. “The mind of man is capable of anything–because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future.” – Marlow
19. “I had to wait in the station for ten days–an eternity.” – Marlow
20. “It is a place of darkness, Mr. Kurtz!” – Marlow
21. “The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us down towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress.”
Summary of the Book:
“Heart of Darkness” is a novella by Joseph Conrad, published in 1899. It is a story about Charles Marlow, a sailor who travels up the Congo River in Africa to meet Kurtz, a company agent who has reportedly gone rogue. Marlow’s journey up the river takes him through the heart of the African continent and into the depths of his own psyche.
As Marlow travels up the river, he encounters the brutality of colonialism and the savagery of the human soul. He also discovers that Kurtz has become a god-like figure to the local people, worshipped for his power and feared for his madness. When Marlow finally reaches Kurtz’s station, he finds a man on the brink of death, consumed by his own depravity and the darkness of the African wilderness.
“Heart of Darkness” is a powerful critique of imperialism and the dehumanizing effects of colonialism. It explores the darkness that lurks within the human soul and the corrupting influence of power. The novella has been widely regarded as a classic of modernist literature and has influenced generations of writers and artists.
22. “The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us–who could tell? We were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse.” – Marlow
23. “We live, as we dream–alone…” – Marlow
24. “It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention.” – Marlow
25. “All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz.” – Marlow
26. “The fascination of the abomination–you know.” – Marlow
27. “I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men–men, I tell you. But as I stood on this hillside, I foresaw that in the blinding sunshine of that land I would become acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly.” – Marlow
28. “I don’t like work–no man does–but I like what is in the work, the chance to find yourself.” – Marlow
29. “He struggled with himself, too. I saw it–I heard it. I saw the inconceivable mystery of a soul that knew no restraint, no faith, and no fear, yet struggling blindly with itself.” – Marlow
30. “The heart of an impenetrable darkness.” – Marlow
31. “I had to wait in the station for ten days–an eternity.” – Marlow
32. “Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings.” – Marlow
33. “It was as unreal as everything else–as the philanthropic pretence of the whole concern, as their talk, as their government, as their show of work.” – Marlow
34. “I had to wait in the station for ten days–an eternity.” – Marlow
35. “We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there–there you could look at a thing monstrous and free.” – Marlow
36. “The flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly.” – Marlow
37. “The horror! The horror!” – Kurtz
38. “They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force–nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others.” – Marlow
39. “The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy.” – Marlow
40. “The mind of man is capable of anything–because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future.” – Marlow
41. “The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us down towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress.” – Marlow
42. “I don’t like work–no man does–but I like what is in the work, the chance to find yourself.” – Marlow
43. “The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” – Marlow
44. “It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention.” – Marlow
45. “I remembered the old doctor–‘It would be interesting for science to watch the mental changes of individuals, on the spot.’ I felt I was becoming scientifically interesting.” – Marlow