The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

The story takes place in the Belgian Congo, and is about a seaman named Charlie Marlow, which considers himself a simple lazy type of man who works for a company. He's in the trade business. He sails for a living and the only thing he truly knows is the ocean, it's just about the only life he knows how to live. Charlie begins a journey to find this "legendary" Mr. Kurtz, who's known as the company's best agent in the business. He's considered as a prodigy.

Well, Charlie begins this quest by getting a steamboat that he uses. He encounters many problems along the way such as being attacked by the natives and traveling through shear darkness and horrible conditions. The natives threw spears at him and his crew, although he wasn't sure if they were poison-tipped. His boat sank and that had caused a slight setback to his calling. Marlow ventures the sea and discovers new values from within him. He begins to find himself all over again.

Marlow's crew is a special crew made up of different members including the pilgrims. They all get along just fine despite their differences, the obvious ones and not so obvious ones. In his journey he learns in depth of himself and he is extremely excited to talk to this Mr. Kurtz character because he's heard so much about him. He dreams of the conversation they'll have, but the people Charlie knows, tell him that you don't talk to him and that he'll talk to Charlie.

Charlie Marlow is faced with death and despair along the way. He figures out were Kurtz is, so he starts heading that way, down the coast. He encounters traders and other people of the like. Marlow finally reaches Kurtz, and Marlow realizes why this man is so worshiped and honored by everyone. Marlow takes a liking to Mr. Kurtz and realizes that his journey isn't over yet. "Mistah Kurtz-he dead."p112. "He was a remarkable man."p113. Kurtz dies by the end of the story and Marlow now his friend, must go and tell his loved ones what had happened to Kurtz.

Charlie Marlow was faced with the heart of darkness in the beginning and then again in the end. He saw Kurtz as a soul that was everlasting. All the pain and suffering Marlow faces and all the things he learns about himself on this journey can be considered as the heart of darkness. Also, "The offing (a nautical term meaning the stretch of sea visible from the shore or from an anchorage) was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky-seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness."p121.

Source: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Book.