1. Heart Of Darkness
Joseph Conrad

2. Joseph Conrad Born in 1857 in Poland Harsh childhood: Raised by uncle
age 3- dad imprisoned for revolutionary political affiliations
Age 8- mother dies of TB
Age 12- father dies of TB
Raised by uncle
Became a seaman/joined a British ship; captain of a Congo steamer
Visited the Belgian Congo: inspiration for H of Darkness; he suffered his own “darkness” after he returned home

3. Novel
Published in 1899
“interior, suggestively analytic, and highly psychological” (Norton Critical Edition)
Genre: frame narrative
main story is composed as a “frame” for shorter stories
Story within a story
Unnamed narrator establishes the position for the main story

4. The Congo Free State King Leopold II’s rule in 1885
Declared it his personal property in 1892
Allowed Belgian’s to take ivory without trade with natives
Traders became like K.

5. Themes
The ignorance and apathy of Europeans to the situation in the Congo
Ivory trade barbaric and no one took the time to realize
Questions morality of those who did know
The potential of “darkness” in humanity
Kurtz falls to greed and incivility
British colonists’ and Belgian trader’s abuse of the natives
Treatment of the natives along the journey

6. Characteristics of the world
City versus jungle; English versus natives; land versus water
Reverse paradigm: traveling from enlightened state to that of darkness of the human condition
Class difference between natives and other characters: clothing, mannerisms, language, expectations, education
Ivory trade prominent: nec. to “civilize” the natives
Bleak, dark, gloomy ( add two here )
Marlow becomes ironically aware of the depth of the darkness of the human condition

7. Main Char. Desire/ world affects?
Charles Marlow
Desires to “see the world”- ironic discovery
Intrigued by Kurtz; finds him mysterious and awe inspiring
Develops a need to see him
When M. meets K. he realizes K.’s barbarism + loss of humanity
Traveling downriver symbolic of birth, water = common literary symbol of baptism, BUT all in reverse: ironic (reverse paradigm)
“the horror” = truth behind human greed/ ability to treat other humans that way is “horrifying”

8. Char. Succeed or Fail?
M. succeeds in locating K. (literally) so he “sees the world” BUT does not understand him
Intent was to discover why K. had such a reputation and following—this does not happen
“the horror” is that K. has created and also is the greed and savagery in the Congo BUT this is not what M. admits to K.’s wife= M. tells “white lie” (his heart of darkness?)
If does not tell truth about K. demise to wife, then the possibility of stopping it from happening again lessens