Heart of Darkness is the story of English sailor Marlow’s journey towards the center of Africa, and his quest to discover the mysterious Kurtz; as told by Marlow to an unnamed narrator, who relays the tale from the framing device of a ship waiting for the turn of the tide.

Although the distinction between narrator and author should always be considered, Conrad has created an emphatic buffer between himself and the views of Marlow. Whilst Marlow’s observations and deductions are often racist it does not follow that the import of the novella is racist also. But perhaps Conrad’s measured distance gives an idea of how he expected to be received.
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