Student Question
Identify the plot elements in Heart of Darkness, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.
Quick answer:
In Heart of Darkness, the exposition shows the protagonist, Marlow, on a ship. The rising action is when Marlow learns of the natives' discontent with the Europeans. The climax occurs when Marlow discovers Kurtz and his unconventional mode of living among the natives. The falling action is when Marlow sees Kurtz dying aboard a boat en route of the Congo, and the resolution is Marlow's visit to Kurtz's widow.
Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness begins on a boat outside of London. The chief protagonist is Marlow, who works for an ivory trading company. The setting shifts to the African Congo, which had been a Belgian territory during the late-nineteenth century. Marlow takes a boat to visit Kurtz, who has been in charge of an inland portion of this African territory.
The rising action surrounds Marlow's realization that the natives are exploited and unhappy with the European company in charge of the territory. The climax is when Marlow finally encounters Kurtz at his outpost in the Congo. At this point, Marlow has heard much of Kurtz and his popularity and efficacy as a leader and exporter of ivory. When Marlow sees him, he realizes that Kurtz is worshipped by the natives and even seems to have a mistress from among the native women.
The falling action is...
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composed of Kurtz's disenfranchisement and his subsequent trip downriver from Kurtz's station in the Congo alongside Marlow. Kurtz dies on this trip, and Marlow is left with a few of his papers and a photograph of whom Kurtz called his "Intended." The resolution sees Marlow's return to Europe and his visit to Kurtz's widow (i.e., his "Intended").
What are the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution in Heart of Darkness?
The exposition of Heart of Darkness occurs in the frame story. Marlow, on board the Nellie, tells of how as a child and young man he longed to explore. His aunt helped him get a job in the Belgian Congo, believing the European colonizers going there were helping to humanize and "civilize" the native population.
In the rising action, Marlow arrives in the Congo, where he quickly finds that the Europeans are doing anything but treating the natives kindly. He soon learns of the larger-than-life Kurtz, who brings in more ivory for the company than anyone else and is rumored to be ill. Marlow travels by boat down the Congo to find him. He is attacked when he arrives at Kurtz's station but is able to retrieve the ill man, who is worshipped by the natives as a god.
The climax occurs when Kurtz dies, his final words being, "The horror! the horror!"
In the falling action, Marlow returns to Europe. People visit him, trying to get Kurtz's papers: a company official, a "cousin," and a journalist. Finally Marlow goes to see Kurtz's fiancée, who believes Kurtz was doing noble work in the Congo. Not wanting to disillusion her, Marlow tells her Kurtz's last words were her name.
The resolution brings us back to the frame story, where Marlow explains that his experience led him to see into mankind's heart of darkness.