Heart of Darkness is about the journey of Charles Marlow in the Congo River.

Marlow
is a seaman, and all his life he worked aboard a ship in the sea. When he was still
young he dreamt of piloting a steamboat in the rivers of Congo. And he did get a
job, to become a pilot of a steamboat in a large ivory trading firm working in the
Congo. The man that used to be in that position died because of a quarrel with the
natives. There at the Congo station he witnessed a lot of cruelty and barbaric acts
inflicted by Europeans. And made him think twice about his job. And he learned
about this Kurtz an accountant, revered by his remarkable work. He travels a
200mile trek across Africa, and eventually reaches the Central Station, where he
learns that the steamboat he is supposed to pilot sunk in the river and is yet to be
repaired. Frustrated, Marlow has to wait in the Central Station until his boat is
repaired.
There Marlow then meets the Manager and told him more about Kurtz. He learned
from the Manager that Kurtz is ill, and showed great concern of Kurtz health, and
that provisions must reach Kurtz. Although Marlow knew that he fears Kurtz is
eyeing on his position, and that he is responsible for wrecking the boat to keep the
supplies getting to Kurtz deep in the jungle. He overheard the Manager and his
Uncle, the leader of the El Dorado Exploration, a band of traders, saying let the
jungle do away with Kurtz.
After Marlows boat is finally repaired, he leaves Central Station accompanied with
the Manager, some agents, and a crew of cannibals to bring relief to Kurtz.
Approximately fifty miles below Kurtzs Inner Station, they find a hut of reeds, a
wood pile and an English book titled an Inquiry Into some Points of Seamanship.
Marlows boat was suddenly attacked by a shower of arrows. The whites fired rifles
into the jungle while Marlow tried to navigate the boat. Marlow feared that he may
never see this Kurtz, he thought that Kurtzs building may have been under attack
as well. They reached Kurtzs building with no fence but surrounded with posts with
balls, those balls were Natives heads. Kurtz have this Russian disciple called the
Harlequin approach the steamboat and tells Marlow that Kurtz is still alive. He
learned from the Harlequin that the natives do not want Kurtz to be taken that was
the reason why their boat was attacked. A group of natives approach him carrying
Kurtz on a stretcher taken inside the Harlequins Hut. Marlow approached Kurtz and
gave him letters. He noticed that Kurtz is frail, sick, and bald. After leaving the hut
he noticed a wild and gorgeous native woman who was Kurtzs mistress who later
planned an attack to stop Kurtz from being taken along with 1000 followers. The
whites pointed their rifles, but Marlow blew the whistle to scare the natives away
and avoid massacre, the followers retreated but the mistress did not.
At midnight, that same night, Marlow awakened to the sound of a big drum. He
inspects Kurtzs cabin, only to discover that he is not there. Kurtz tried to escape by
crawling away, the Harlequin revealed Kurtz hated the idea of being taken away and
he also ordered the attack on the steamboat. As they left from the inner station
aboard the steamboat Kurtzs health is fast deteriorating. At one point the
steamboat broke down and Kurtz gave Marlow a packet of letters and a photograph
for safe-keeping. Fearing that the manager will take them. Marlow complies. One
night after the breakdown, Marlow approached Kurtz, who is waiting for his death.

After reassuring that he is going to die, Marlow heard Kurtz whisper his final words
The Horror! The horror! Stricken by Kurtzs death Marlow almost considered
suicide. Kurtz was buried the next day on a muddy hole offshore.

Marlow returned to Europe, he visited Brussels and found himself aloof from the
sheltered Europeans around him. This was due to the kind of life he experienced in
the Congo. An unnamed representative of the Company visited Marlow and wanted
the papers that Kurtz had given to him. Marlow refused and gave the man the copy
of Kurtzs report on The Suppression of Savage Customs but with the postscript
Exterminate all the brutes torn off. Marlow met Kurtzs cousin who told him that
Kurtz was a great musician and a universal genius then Marlow gave him some
letters. Marlow thought it necessary to visit Kurtzs intended(fiance), whose
photograph Kurtz had given Marlow on the voyage home. She was dressed in
Mourning. She immediately thought of Marlow as trustworthy and sincere. She
asked for Kurtzs last word, Marlow hesitated and lied, saying The last word he
pronounced was your name. The intended sighed and wept. And the tale is over.
For me the darkness that was mentioned all throughout the book is greed, it makes
man reveal his dark nature, or according to the doctor scientifically interesting.
This greed was embodied by the character of Kurtz, he is the perfect example of a
man corrupted by greed and lusts. He was worshipped in the Jungle by both natives
and whites. He has established himself as a violent force ready to destroy whoever
disobeys his commands. But like every other King one cannot escape death. In his
postscript Exterminate all the brutes this does not only refer to the natives of the
Congo, but also to the men of Ivory, the brutes that deliberately sold their souls to
the Devil to acquire riches and dominate those who are incapable to fight back. The
Company wants Kurtz methods to stay secret, the absolute use of brute force to
accumulate an insurmountable amount of Ivory. They do not want Europe to know of
this man Kurtz and his methods. Kurtz was a man who succumbed to his darkness
and in his death bed realized what it has done to him. Marlow was there to
safeguard Kurtzs reputation.