1. Heart of Darkness Published 1902 Written by Joseph Conrad Novella 1st appeared as 3 part series in a magazine Part of “Western Canon” - influential in shaping western culture

2. Setting England (at beginning and end) and Africa (in the middle, bulk of the novella) Unnamed area which mostly likely represents the Congo Free State and the Congo River

3. Style Frame narrative (like Frankenstein) Story within a story Unnamed narrator (in England) recounts Marlow’s (the main character) story of his journey into Africa

4. Characters Marlow: main character, Englishman, hired by Belgium trade company as ferryboat captain in Africa; employed to transport ivory down river; must bring “crazy” Kurtz back to civilization Kurtz: ivory trader, from Belgium company; becomes corrupt, induces natives to worship him; known throughout the congo land; becomes an insane tyrant

5. Themes Good vs. evil Darkness Racism Black vs. white Colonization as destruction Hypocrisy of imperialism What it means to be civilized Man and the natural world Fate/freewill Is there a HOD lurking within all of us??