Joseph Conrad: Biography and Works

• Joseph Conrad was born in Poland in 1857 and died in 1924.
• He was also known as Josef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski
• His family left Poland due to his father's political views.
• Conrad moved to Marseille, France at 17 to join the marine service.
• In 1878, he moved to England and worked as a seaman on British ships.
• In 1886, he became a British citizen.
• He later served as an officer in the British Merchant Navy.
• His travels to India, Borneo, Australia, and Africa inspired his writing.
• He retired from the navy in 1893 to become a full-time writer.
• English was Conrad's third language, after Polish and French.
• He was very fond of reading and fascinated by the sea
• English and French were his second languages -> he learnt them during his childhood

Writing Career

• His first novel, Almayer's Folly, was published in 1895.
• He faced financial difficulties and achieved commercial success about 20 years later.
• Best-known works: Heart of Darkness (1902), Lord Jim (1900), The Secret Agent (1907), and Nostromo (1904).
• His writing explored colonialism, morality, and the psychological depth of characters.
• Although not initially commercially successful, he gained recognition as a significant modernist writer.
• His novels represent the need of human beings to make important decisions
• he traveled to Africa, especially in Congo -> he held "The Congo diary" who is the raw material for his novel "Heart of Darkness"
• he used multiple points of view aiming at driving the reader's focus on the limits of writing, the inability to tell stories, the mystery around the meaning of human life and the nature of human consciousness

Narrative Techniques and Themes

• He is known for his experimental narrative style, featuring multiple narrators.
• His works often focus on individuals facing moral dilemmas, especially when traditional values collapse.
• He innovatively explored colonialism and human consciousness.
• His depiction of Africa in Heart of Darkness has been criticized for perpetuating Western stereotypes.

Heart of Darkness (1902)

• This novella follows Marlow's journey into the Belgian Congo to find Kurtz.
• Marlow discovers Kurtz has become ill and is worshipped by the native people.
• Kurtz embraces the savagery of the jungle and refuses to return to Europe.
• Kurtz dies on the journey back.
• Kurtz's final words, "The horror! The horror!" reflect on the darkness within himself and European imperialism.
• was published in 1899 on the scottish magazine Blackwood Magazine, which searched quality and appreciated conservatism
• Heart of Darkness is a novel (it deals with a multitude of themes), despite appearing as a novella (it is short)
• title is very interesting -> darkness refers to the exploitation of colonized Africa (in particular Congo); heart refers to Congo, which is in the middle of Africa
• It is based both on Conrad's experience and fiction
• the novel is divided in 3 parts

Colonial Critique in Heart of Darkness

• It portrays European colonizers as cruel and exploitative.
• Colonizers justify their actions by claiming to bring civilization to "savages".
• Colonization dehumanizes both the colonized and the colonizers, leading to moral corruption.
• The "civilization" brought by Europeans is shown to be hollow and corrupt.
• people thought that colonization brought civilization to wild and savage populations -> the book describes the dehumanizing impact of European colonialism in Africa

Dualism of Darkness and Whiteness in Heart of Darkness

• "Darkness" symbolizes Africa, the unknown, and the savage aspects of the human soul.
• "Whiteness" represents Europe and its supposed civility, but is associated with greed and exploitation (ivory).
• This dualism highlights the moral ambiguity and hypocrisy of colonialism.
• there is a dualism between darkness (unexplored regions of Africa and the mystery of human soul) and whiteness (civilized Europe and ivory)

Narrative Structure in Heart of Darkness

• Conrad uses two narrators.
• Marlow's account of his journey is framed by an anonymous narrator.
• This adds to the theme of ambiguity.
• The truth is filtered through two subjective perspectives.
• The non-linear structure and time shifts reinforce the complexity and uncertainty of the narrative.
• its narrative technique is innovative: there is the frame (narrator who passes the word to another one and reclaim it at the end of the story)
• the readers do not know who the first narrator is, so they do not know who to trust (reliability)
• the story breaks the chronological order -> the vision of time changes
• all in all, "Heart of Darkness" boasts a great degree of freedom

Chapter 1 of Heart of Darkness

• Marlow reflects on the historical presence of "darkness" in human experience.
• He compares it to the Romans' first encounter with the wilderness nearly two thousand years ago showing suffering and death.
• Marlow describes the soldiers' challenges: harsh environment, hostile savages.
• He imagines the emotional toll of facing the unknown, isolation, and danger.
• Marlow says that "efficiency" saves modern society from such despair.
• He critiques the Roman colonizers, viewing their actions as robbery and murder driven by the desire to take what wasn’t theirs.
• Marlow believes actions are given meaning by an underlying idea or belief, even if rooted in selfishness and violence.
• The chapter sets the tone for exploring colonialism, human nature, and the moral ambiguities of conquest.

Another Chapter of Heart of Darkness

• Marlow imagines a commander facing harsh environments filled with sandbanks, marshes, and savages.
• The commander faces little food or drink, only hardship and death, possibly hoping for promotion.
• A young citizen arrives in the wilderness hoping to improve his fortunes
• Overwhelmed by savagery, he feels trapped by its mystery and horror, surrendering to it with regret, disgust, and hate.

Another Chapter of Heart of Darkness

• Marlow arrives at a desolate power station during his upriver journey to find Kurtz.
• He sees broken machinery, decaying railway parts, and blasts from the cliff.
• He encounters chained black men, slaves working in harsh conditions.
• They pass him with a deathlike indifference, watched over by a soldier.
• Marlow notices broken drainage pipes and the futile work being done.
• He finds men in a grove, dying from disease and starvation.
• These men were brought from distant lands under contracts but are now shadows of their former selves.
• Marlow offers a biscuit to one man, whose vacant eyes reflect hopelessness.
• The man's strange white thread around his neck adds to their suffering's mystery.

Another Chapter of Heart of Darkness

• The narrator’s journey is delayed when their vehicle breaks down on an island.
• Kurtz becomes less confident and gives the papers fearing the manager will tamper with his belongings.
• Kurtz mutters phrases like "Live rightly, die, die..." as if rehearsing a speech.
• Kurtz says, “I am lying here in the dark waiting for death,” and his expression revealing pride, fear, and despair.
• Kurtz whispers, "The horror! The horror!" before dying.
• After Kurtz’s death, the manager’s boy announces it, and the narrator remains indifferent.
• The narrator reflects that Kurtz was remarkable for having something meaningful to say.
• Kurtz's final words encapsulate the horror of life’s darkness.

Explore the life and literary journey of Joseph Conrad, from his Polish roots and maritime adventures to his career as an acclaimed author. Discover how his travels and experiences shaped his novels, including Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim.