Heart of Darkness can sometimes seem to the reader like an incredibly dark, depressing story that paints realization in a very negative light. Did...

You are very right in thinking that Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a depressing story; indeed, by the end of the novella, it's easy to regard the whole human race with mistrust and suspicion. However, I think that simply saying the book is depressing is doing it a disservice (at least to some extent).

For me, the aspect of Heart of Darkness that was most engrossing was its intense exploration of human nature. I...

You are very right in thinking that Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a depressing story; indeed, by the end of the novella, it's easy to regard the whole human race with mistrust and suspicion. However, I think that simply saying the book is depressing is doing it a disservice (at least to some extent).

For me, the aspect of Heart of Darkness that was most engrossing was its intense exploration of human nature. I see the whole story as an extended metaphor for the exploration of human identity and the individual psyche. Marlowe's trip up the river becomes a journey back into the primordial essence of humanity, and as he moves farther from civilization, we learn more about the origins of our species. Granted, much of Marlowe's revelations are depressing and disturbing (Kurtz's disheveled life is especially distressing to read about), but I don't see this depressing nature as the dominant tone. Instead, I see the story as almost a scientific dissection of the energies, influences, and essences that make up human nature. In fact, I actually find the story exciting, albeit in a somewhat distressing, demented way.

It's worth noting at least one potentially uplifting element, however: during the course of Marlowe's journey, it becomes apparent that most of the natives are actually more civilized than the supposedly civilized Europeans. For instance, the native cannibals working on Marlowe's riverboat show remarkable restraint by respecting the Europeans and essentially choosing to starve, rather than offend the white men's cultural sensibilities. While this gesture might not seem like much (they're basically deigning to not eat the white men, after all), it is remarkably civilized when one considers that the white settlers don't think twice about enslaving and murdering the natives. I find this subtle social commentary relatively uplifting, as it handily subverts the established racial hierarchy of Conrad's time.