Setting

=The Congo= //Heart of Darkness// takes place along the Congo River in Africa. The river and jungle are the main components of the setting that hold a major influence over the characters and events of the story. The jungle is such a strong presence in fact, that it is almost treated as a real person. Early on in the novel for instance, Marlow looks into the jungle at night and wonders who will tame who first: the humans or the jungle? In addition to that, it is said that the jungle whispered to Kurtz, causing him to give in to his darkest temptations and become what he is by the novel’s end. The tribal atmosphere and savagery of the African natives also add to this dark atmosphere as well. The largely unknown terrain only further brings forward the uncertainty often found in modernist novels. Being a new place for them to explore, it becomes more dangerous, which adds to the excitement. Africa is shown throughout the novel as being a place that is unenlightened. It is in the dark, so to speak, about the laws and government of men, and shown as a place full of savage barbarism and violence. Often times the natives are shown as degenerate savages that are mere skeletons of men. Aside from the jungle and wild areas, the story also takes place at the several stations that the British had put up in Africa as refuge. The stations are generally run down and lacking any sort of supplies at all. They are far isolated from each other; the further into Africa they reach, the more isolated they are from the last. All of these factors share a common purpose, as they are essentially what cause Kurtz’ transformation from an aspiring and successful ivory trader to a deranged cult leader.