Finished: April 10, 2023
Why I read this
Since high school I had not recently read many of the “classic” literature books. However, after reading 1984 again last fall I found that I liked reading it and wanted to read more things like it. Maybe those teachers in high school knew something I didn’t about what made a good book. So dipping my feet in little by little I decided a great place to start would be with a rather short book that is consistently on every list of books you should read or have to know.
What I learned
First, the book starts with Conrad’s short story The Secret Sharer and since I have lost the habit of skipping sections in books I decided I might as well dedicate the hour or two it would take to read the fifty pages. The short story of the runaway sailor and his chance to find a captain he related to was interesting but not overly so for me. The thing I did find very interesting was the relationship between the stranger and the captain in how he was trusting almost immediately of this foreign person aboard his ship. I think it showed a lot about human nature where we will immediately and thoroughly trust someone that we think is like us, and even go to extreme lengths to help or protect them. The reverse question is also a good one. If someone is not like us, will we go to extreme lengths to not trust them. Honestly, with the history of humanity and our relationship with xenophobia I am not sure the answer is a good one…
Moving onto the title book I found that the hundred pages or so flew by easily. The vivid description of the Congo and the surrounding country, along with all of the various stakeholders in the colonization efforts of Africa, is a clear glass into another world, and unfortunately a world that actually existed. The sheer desperation and hardship that the Europeans in the region went through seems to easily outweigh the small benefits of an ongoing ivory trade, how could so many people deal with death and disease on this scale for some white bones?
There is so much symbolism and relevance to today’s world that it is hard to focus on any one thing to report back, but some things did stand out to me. One was that after learning recently that the Congo is actually an extremely deep river (over 200 meters in some spots) the descriptions of the river as a monstrous chasm that absorbs everything become ever more real. Additionally, knowing the modern state of Africa and the slow development of the region shows really how badly the European powers affected the heart of the region.
What I didn’t like
Call me simple, but honestly I wish that Marlow had revealed the depravity of Kurtz to his wife at the end of the book. I seem to always have slight problems with the ends of books like this and I know that it would ultimately change the feeling of the book, but I don’t feel that people should only be remembered for their good qualities. They should be judged by all who know them for all their actions and all their faults. But that question today is a very hard one. Should we enjoy the music of Michael Jackson after his abuses of children? Should we laugh at the comedy of Bill Cosby after his abuses of women? Should we celebrate a tyrant and a warlord as a philosopher and an explorer?
Questions I asked
Why are some clear villains throughout history almost idolized in the eyes of many? For example when people still discuss positively the orator skills of Adolf Hitler.
Are we responsible for the things we do in horrible situations? If so, to what extent?
What is Europe’s modern responsibility for the plundering of a continent?
My Favorite Quote
“Exterminate all the Brutes”
Kurtz
Books I liked like this one
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (for the historical portrayal of a dark period of human history)
Debt : The First 5000 Years by David Gerber (for the real economics and sociology of how something like the plundering of Africa could have happened)
Book Reviews for Mom 