ENG 273: World Literature

  Born in Russia  Area that was part of Poland – thought of himself as Polish  Granted citizenship in England in 1886  Served as a Merchant Marine for France and England for nineteen years  Spent three years working for a Belgian trading company as a captain on a steamer in the Congo  Inspiration for Heart of Darkness

 Influential literary work  Controversial  Portrayal of Africa  Descriptions of natives  Adaptations  Apocalypse Now  1979  Set in Vietnam  Marlon Brando as Kurtz  Martin Sheen as the man sent to find Kurtz

 Charles Marlow tells the story of his time as a steamship captain in Africa  Motivation to take the trip  Horrible conditions he finds in Africa  His interest in and interactions with the mysterious Mr. Kurtz  Return to England

 Charles Marlow  Audience Members  The narrator, Lawyer, Accountant, Director  Company Officials  Doctor, Secretary, Accountant, Manager, etc.  Natives  Cannibals, slaves, attackers  Not really “characters”  Mr. Kurtz

 Colonialism  Racism  Barbarian versus civilized society  Dark versus Light  In nature  In civilization  In people  Natural world