Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness: Style 1 key example

Part 1
Explanation and Analysis:

The most distinctive stylistic features in Heart of Darkness include Conrad’s rich but brief sensory descriptions, intentional use of ambiguity, and deliberate distortion of time. All of these elements help him bring the reader along on Marlow’s journey. While the novella does have a distinct narrator besides Marlow, nearly all of it consists of Marlow telling other sailors his story in his own voice. As a result, the rhythm of human speech dominates the novella. Like a real human storyteller, Marlow speaks in short, loosely connected phrases, which he often organizes into long, plodding sentences. For instance, he describes approaching the Company’s Outer Station by recalling:

At last we opened a reach. A rocky cliff appeared, mounds of turned-up earth by the shore, houses on a hill, others with iron roofs, amongst a waste of excavations, or hanging to the declivity.