I'll make an attempt, but in order to do so, I feel I must mention one other habit my wife gets irritated by. More often than not, if I'm introduced to something new and interesting (to me, at least), I'll do my best to research as much as I can in what time I have available. This has only gotten worse by some unknown magnitude since I started carrying a smartphone in my pocket.
Heart of Darkness, when taken at face value, is not the best book in the world. It's plot is laborious at times; Marlow's narration is difficult to follow as his sentence structure defies nearly all conventions of grammar, and it's hardly filled with anything that could be considered suspenseful. I found it very boring my first read through, and that's coming from someone who loves Moby Dick.
But my moral issues professor in college, the one who assigned this book to me, later showed me why this book is important. Heart of Darkness, in my mind, is one of those perfect examples of how easily we can walk away with very little gained if the subtext is never addressed. So much is going on in this relatively short story, and it's written in a way that forces you to miss it. You have to take your time. You have to question and research. You have to be curious.
I recently watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives" and immediately freaked out. After a few days of decreasing, internal panic, I started looking more into it and found a very insightful review from someone who's job it is to promote healthier, albeit mostly vegetarian, eating. This individual wrote a wonderful explication of the film breaking it down minute-by-minute and questioning all the references provided. People like this help us to see the man behind the curtain and remind us that presentation can blind us all to easily.
That's what Heart of Darkness does for me. It encourages me look for the curtain and pull it back myself. Now I just need to research the author of the critique. Life is fun.
Joseph Conrad
Artist: Jack Coughlin