Heart of Darkness has got to be one of the most confusing books I have ever read. The story is pretty straightforward in my opinion, but the way the narrative frame changes back and forth gets pretty confusing. It reminds me of Catch 22, which severely hurt my brain. I do feel pretty lame compared to everyone else, because it seems like they’re all grasping it a lot more than I am while I just sit there like “uuhhhh yeah okay”.  I probably re-read each section at least twice, and still end up being confused and frustrated.               

                Other than that, I really like the message behind the book. The fact that the depravity of human nature leads us to commit savage acts is a very central theme of this novel. For me, this means the harvesting of ivory, something that in recent years has led to the extinction of the black rhino, and the endangerment of many other species. There is a lack of respect paid to exotic animals, and in many countries you can pay large sums of money to hunt them. While this does help the local economies, it’s still a very morbid thing to imagine.

                Now that I’ve gone off on a tangent, I’ll get back to the book. It’s confusing as hell and I’m a little frustrated, but in all I like where it’s going and think it’s extremely interesting and pretty cool.