Video SparkNotes: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness summary 

When you're too lazy to even read the sparknotes

i listened to the audio book, i read every chapter summery, and i watched this video. i will literally do everything but read this book

You know a book is confusing when you can't even follow the sparknotes summary

The animator of these series should write graphic novels

I'm a Black African, Nigerian to be precise, and The Heart Of Darkness is my favorite of all time. I deliberately avoided it because of what many African and western intellectuals said. About it being racist and what not but I will say the following things. 1.the Book was published in 1899 so we all know what the attitudes were then. 2. Marlo is definitely not racist. He expressed allot of empathy for the Black Characters in the story and endearing terms like "beautiful" & "peaceful" etc are used to describe his observations of them. 3. Africa was indeed dark, especially the Congo and considering the Cannibalism,Human Sacrifice etc that was going on... if you take modern 21st century Africans to the Setting the book describes,they'd probably have worse views than Marlo,Kurtz,The Russian and Conrad himself all combined. 4. It's a book about the Human Condition. The Darkness within us all, our susceptibility to Power and the tendency in us all to pave the road to Hell with our good intentions. So let's get over all the grievance-mongering and let's enjoy this great book with it's wonderful lessons all races can learn from and enjoy. Peace !

The narrator didn’t talk about the best part. When Marlo told his Fiancé that Kurtz’s last words were her name. Her eyes light up and she jumps jubilantly in pure ecstasy. It disturbs Marlo as he realizes it’s the exact same love the tribal members expressed in their devotion. A link between civilized and uncivilized.

ap lit is not lit

There is a deeper theme to this book: it is that an individual not being able to understand himself & mankind not being able to understand the universe.

Anyone else here because they didn't read the stupid book and they have an essay about it tomorrow?

I’m trying to watch the video but I keep scrolling through the comments seeing people who had suffered as I currently am

Fun fact: In "King Kong - Skull Island", Tom Hiddleston's character is named Conrad after Joseph Conrad, to emphasize the anti-colonialist themes of the film.

To describe Heart of Darkness as being about imperialism is seemingly like describing Star Wars as being about space travel. It's the backdrop, not the subject matter.

I just finished reading "Heart of Darkness." To boil down this incredible, complicated, profound, soul-searching work to "it's about imperialism" is a travesty. It's about you and it's about me,

I find this funny; the only reason I'm watching this is because the book was so short but long enough that I couldn't read it before the test so I watched this. Otherwise the book I had was about 70 pages so I don't know why anyone wouldn't just sit down and read it since it really only took me about three hours. Overall I skimmed the book first, then carefully analyzed it a second time, then finally I read it normally a third time. Then I watched this and compared it to what I knew. Surprisingly there is still plenty of information I didn't catch when I was reading and this still is a big help. I would recommend to those who haven't read the book yet to watch this about three times then read the book normally and I would think you would find the book much easier to understand if it was confusing. It may be short but there is a great amount of info in it. Oh and about the video and the speaker summarizing it. Very well done, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your summery and thought it meshed together very well therefore letting me easily follow along.

"It’s impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. " -Colonel Kurtz, 5th Group Special Forces Apocalypse Now(1979)

You know it's a bad year already when this book is on my final exam... and the summary doesn't even do it justice. This book is like oatmeal, just plain oatmeal... no sugar and no spice.

Joseph Conrad's native language was Polish. He learnt English in his 20s. He wrote in an exquisitely clear fashion. At 0:10:00, I was shocked to see that this book is available into "modern English translation". To which I gasp my final "the horror!, the horror!"

A very heavy book.

It’s called “Heart of Darkness” not “The joys of enslaving SubSaharans”, so enough with this search for outrage over racism.

That book inspired hell well to make Apocalypse now . I think this describes the inner unbalance of consciousness , the subconscious, the ego , the dark self [ the primitive one] and it's journey of how humans are capable of doing things regardless of the initial assumption when the dark self consume

Who’s here in 2020 ap lit?

So here's a hot take: Far Cry 3 is Heart of Darkness from the perspective of Kurtz. What I'm about to say was probably not intended by the game's developer, especially given that Far Cry 2 was an actual adaptation of HoD, but I'm gonna take a stab at it anyway. The vague nature of Kurtz's backstory leaves his transition from "civilized" to "savage" leaves a lot to the imagination, and I believe that Kurtz's understanding from industrialized England was so out of touch with his surroundings that he HAD to adapt or die. This is the position that Jason found himself in after being abducted by the pirates of Rook Island and then rescued by the Rakyat. He begins to think about solutions that make sense to his first-world background, but having not the means or the support to think about this for more than a minute Jason is immediately pressed into the natives' turf war against the pirates. He is forced to submit to the violent ways of the Rakyat, as Kurtz began executing "rebels" and competitors. The prophecy that casts Jason as a great warrior and leader even reflects Kurtz's appearance to the African natives as a deity. Jason's friends are essentially Marlowe, the link back to his prior understanding as a "civilized" person that tries to bring him home, but is kept somewhat out of the picture until the end. Jason's choice whether to leave Rook Island with his friends or join the Rakyat for good is Marlowe's confrontation with Kurtz outside the African camp; Jason choosing to return home represents the death of the warrior, as HoD ended, but Jason killing his friends and taking his position within the Rakyat is the alternate ending in which Kurtz alerts the tribe and Marlowe is killed. So this whole theory is full of holes, but the root is that Kurtz's change of character before the arrival of Marlowe is forced and understandable; in a situation where madness and violence reign, becoming the warrior is the new normal.

Who was the artist who illustrated this summary? I really liked his art and it's somewhat familiar somehow, I think I may have seen his art in some graphic novel maybe.

I really enjoyed my honors class until I had to read and write about this novel....

Oh my god thank you so much, it makes so much sense now. I have never had so much trouble reading something for class, and then my AP Lit & Comp online gives me this and I wanna cry

nope, read the first 20 pages twice, still had no idea what was happening. read all the sparknotes, got a general good idea for the plot, but still confused. This has now helped a lot.

So do you feel like a hero yet? Something you are not?

Nostromo is another book by Conrad that is very good. Fun fact Nostromo is also the name of the ship in the 1979 movie, Alien.

In 3 years nearly 185 thousand people had the exact same as me- to watch this video instead of actually reading the book!

try reading it a second time, that helped me a lot. Also imagine that someone is telling you the story rather than just reading the text like an ordinary book

Just finished reading this. I will, most assuredly, be reading this again at one point or another. It was enjoyable, albeit a little over my head, reading the descent into darkness that Marlow finds himself on.

This feels like it could be a really good movie but the book is so boring

Comment on my behalf, it is Marlow and not the Manager who estimates that it will take 3 months to fix the boat, the Manager certainly does not "urge Marlow to hurry". On the contrary, the Manager has no desire to get to Kurtz quickly as he wants to take Kurtz' position.

I personally love this book. It was the book that inspired the movie "Apocalypse Now" and the video game "Spec-ops The Line"

How could such a small book be so boring

read the book and was really confused at parts. this is great for visualising. i’d recommend people who haven’t read the book yet to watch this, because you already know the whole plot from the premise. man goes into the heart of darkness. no twists here folks

I watched the video to compare my own notes after reading and ejoying the book several times. Especially having watched Apocalipsys Now the insights into human nature, western civilization and ritualistic cultures are fascinating. The amount of comments from people seemingly unable to understand or even finish the book is worrysome to say the least. Saddening would be a better word.

i think that true, there are racial themes accurate to that of the time period, but the actual focus is about a man who is highly regarded by society turned into the utter savage/ visceral human base. It makes me really ponder the idea of the true depths of human despair and the perceptions from those whom have not experienced it.

Getting really weary of everything being labelled racist.

Fucking kids reading adult books. “They trespassed upon my thoughts. They were intruders whose knowledge of life was to me an irritating pretense, because I felt so sure they could not possibly know the things I knew. Their bearing, which was simply the bearing of commonplace individuals going about their business in the assurance of perfect safety, was offensive to me like the outrageous flauntings of folly in the face of a danger it is unable to comprehend. 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.” - Joseph Conrad So relevant when reading the comments.

This was the first book I read that my teacher told me to read Sparknotes... haha if that gives an insight into the complexity of the book

It's not racist to assume some cultures are more advanced than others. If the people acting like savages on the riverbank were white I believe he would have made the same judgement. Some people can't tell the difference between race and culture.

I study in the English department in Athens and this book was really thought-provoking. I read in the comments that many expected to find a more exciting plot and a climax in it but I think the purpose of the book is philosophy, to raise questions about race and civilisation, which is quite remarkable If we think when it was written!

okay... "and his blood gets all over Marlow's shoes"...? Wow. Couldn't have said that more warmly than you sir narrator.

This book made its own Archetype. Only things like Hamlet usually do that. Heart of Darkness vs. Moby Dick is one of the best Literary Fights you could ever Fight. The horror. The horror.

The idea of civilized savagery was also touched upon by George Romero in Night of the Living Dead where the human (civilized) survivors are brutally and savagely exterminating the zombies (cannibals) in massive burn piles. Romero said in an interview that he often depicted the humans as the bad guys instead of the zombies. It’s interesting I say this since zombies have a connection with west African voodoo from Haiti, itself a colony that descended into madness caused by colonialism.

Alot of ignorant comments out there. This is a good book.

Heart of Darkness is written from Joseph Conrad's perspective of How white people seen themselves at that time as highly and mighty ! Marlow is not a racist but marlow is showing facts of Europeans view at that time , The book for me is an ironical book ( what he is saying it he means the opposite ) people have to read between the lines to know the real meaning of this Masterpiece " Heart of Darkness "

“Arguably racist” that Marlowe recognizes the primal impulse in himself that he sees native tribal Africans people exhibiting? I spose I Should not be surprised

Heart of darkness is a lot more than “imperialism.” Bad way to start this video.

I just can’t see where people in this comment section are coming from I loved this book it’s themes about humanity were ahead of its time probably my favorite book ever

@Lynn Turman: Please don't waste your pity on me. Just because I'm an English major does not mean I'm required to enjoy all books. Again everyone has their own writing styles which they enjoy. To say all people are going to like Shakespeare, Dickens and Blake like I do would be preposterous. And since you loved the book so much that you feel the need to belittle anyone who does not, let me ask you why you are watching the SparkNotes video summary?

WOW... ...It sounds JUST LIKE the movie “Apocalypse Now” with Crazy Colonel Walter E Kurtz but set in Vietnam.

i think its called frame narration. at the beginning of the book Marlow is narrating and at the end Marlow is narrating but throughout the book it changes.

Wow listening to this after playing spec ops and I see where and how the devs were inspired from this and apocalypse now

If you have come to this video because you’re in high school and you were supposed to have read this book for a test tomorrow but didn’t, this video will allow you to fake it enough that you can probably pull off a passing grade. But in any event know this, this video has almost nothing whatsoever to do with what “Heart of Darkness” is about.

Oh my jesus I read the book and when I was done, I couldn't really figure out what the plot was. Then I looked on here. Thanks sparknotes. :)

I recommend you the book Heart of Darkness: Search for the Unconscious by Gary Adelman. I found it way more interesting than Conrad's, and it makes more easy a second reading.

it sux that AP Lit classes have to ruin great books like conrad, Locke, Miller, ect. but making the students do bullshit busy work. I feel like students would appreciate these books a lot more if they read them with their own conviction, rather than the pressure of annotation, essay writing and book reports.

Thank you so much for this video!! It really helped me to understand what was going on, especially towards the end of the novella.

Spec ops the line, anyone?

If I remember correctly the novel character Kurtz was a megalomaniac, his evil coming from placing himself above others & thinking that living in the jungle was a valid excuse for throwing away morals.

I found this summary really helpful to watch before reading the text. The illustrations gave me something to visualize and reference while reading. Thanks!

The whole semester I didn’t read the book and my exam is tomorrow and here I’m

Attention students: This commentator has missed the point of the book. All that can be said it that he probably read the book

Thinking this book is boring doesn't make someone stupid. I'm an English Literature major and I can honestly say that I found this book dull and painful to read. Everyone has their own preferred styles of writing; liking or disliking something does not measure intelligence.

Doing a plot analysis really doesn't do the story justice. The sheer descriptive brilliance of the writing makes even the mundane an ethereal experience

ABS - Jakes put it best when he says: "It's a book about the Human Condition. The Darkness within us all, our susceptibility to Power and the tendency in us all to pave the road to Hell with our good intentions. So let's get over all the grievance-mongering and let's enjoy this great book with it's wonderful lessons all races can learn from and enjoy. Peace!"

I have to disagree with the ending commentary on this. "Everyone looks bad but Marlow, who is just commenting on what he sees" isn't exactly accurate. The reason his companion pointed out that the city they're traveling to is like the darkness of the Congo, is to point out the flaws in Marlow's narration. Marlow doesn't understand that there's darkness within everyone, which is something Conrad wanted the readers to pick up on with the help of Marlow's audience. We're supposed to get the idea that Marlow is an unreliable narrator because he chooses to protect Kurtz. His decision to lie about Kurtz's last words proves he sees white people as the victims of imperialism. He saw Kurtz as a victim of Africa, not the other way around. Marlow is ignorant to the true dangers of imperialism, thinking the worst part about it all is that it makes white men go crazy. That's what is so inherently racist about this novel.

I can't even pay attention to this vid because the story is so boring. HELP

I like how apocalypse now did a bullet through the chest in replace of a arrow on the boat.

GODDAMN!!! EVEN THE SPARKNOTES FOR THIS BOOK ARE BORING!!! There is seriously no saving this book. T_T Not only is it racist, colonialist bullshit, it's also sadistically dull. I hope Conrad knows his book has been torturing students for over a century now.

Very well done summary of the classic novella "Heart of Darkness." What kind of program was used to do the artworks? Those are really well done too.

it is said that Kurtz was the based on Leon Rom who was the administrator of congo free state.

I came here because of Spec Ops The Line

“We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember, because we were traveling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign-and no memories. [The earth seemed unearthly.] 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” - “Heart of Darkness” [Conrad, 32]

I am so glad I found this video. I am sitting an examination tomorrow and one of the texts examined is this one. It's so huge to study it from Norton Anthology. So, what's best than watching this? :D

The only good thing to come out of this was Apocalypse Now.

I actually found the book to be interesting

this is the most boring book, i cant even stay focused on the video uggggghhhh

Great concise summary. Nothing will replace the mood via diction... but this video provides some great illustrations and a great support to students who are totally lost by the plot.

"The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

thank you .... perfect way for story telling

The future idiots of America will be squawking: "Heart of Darkness is about Imperialism," as if anyone who takes literature seriously would ever say such a thing.

More summary videos please! We need this more in 2021

To best understand the human heart of darkness, dispassionately witness the events of life. Then it's natural to not want to associate with those lost in cultural entrancement.

It left out most of the book!

I would love if someone reads the full audiobook with illustrations for each scene. That way I can complete many audiobooks. I feel many are like me and this is a good RU-vid channel idea. I would have done it myself, but I am neck deep into my job and do not have enough spare time to pursue that idea.

My right ear really enjoyed this video.

Colonialization had many ugly sides. To draw the conclusion that it was altogether disgusting and harmful appears to be quite short-sighted, though, since many advantages elements were brought to remote regions, etc. (people who are only looking for hostility don't need to comment, since I won't react to that.)

Rider Haggard. Conrad's plot was largely based on Haggard's actual experience.

Before we meet Marlow, isn't there and un named "narrator"?

I have heard that Apocalypse Now sort of follows this story.

He didn't find the job right away. He tried for awhile then asked the women of his family to help. His aunt finds him the job by talking him up real big, and that affects the way he his treated by others in the company.

I wish i had this when i was in high school. We had to read the cliff note books lol.

You're neither. You're an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a payment.

the movie "Apocalypse Now" has some common points with this novel

Thank you !! You really helped me out here!!

Thank you for the help. I'm gonna read it again anyway. This is so beautifully written. I now understand how it is considered one of the most important literary piece in history.

Notice how apocalypse now used heart of darkness characters in a brilliant way that defined the movie and made it a classic. The horror the horror.