Conrad of Montferrat

Joseph Conrad. He was born in Poland on December 3, 1857. Much of the writing of Joseph Conrad was centered around adventures at sea and trips to exotic places. His writing often has messages that are deeper than most stories. He attacks issues that he thinks are important. Conrad, himself, spent much of his youth at sea. After mastering sailing, Conrad was given command of merchant ships in the Orient and on the Congo. He later left the boating business and began to write (“Joseph…

In Joseph Conrad, novella, “Heart of Darkness”, there are quite a few types of darkness depicted. There is the literal darkness, due to nature, the darkness of ones skin, and most importantly the darkness of ones soul.. Conrad tells the tale of not only colonialism in Africa during 1890s, but how a journey deep into the jungle can ultimately bring out the potential “darkness” within anyones soul. The story itself centers around a man by the name of Marlow, who undertakes a journey up the Congo…

Conrad uses repetition to describe the scenery of the Congo as “silent” for most of the novel. He went from a place considered to be civil to a land where he has now come face to face with little to no sound. There are sounds in the Congo that Marlow is able to find relief in and there are also sounds which creates fear for him as well. Conrad uses irony through Marlow as he describes the jungle as “impenetrable” or unable…

himself in a land where the lack of a strong, united government has caused the men to revert back to a life that is “nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes)--one of the core ideas explored in the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. In Heart of Darkness, although Conrad depicts human nature as self-preserving as well as the need of a sovereign to maintain peace, just as Hobbes believed, he also highlights how devastating it can be to the human soul. Hobbes’ belief that humans, without any kind of…

In King Leopold's Ghost, Hoschild imparts to his pursuers the new story of King Leopold of Belgium's abuse of the Congo and the shocking wrongdoings submitted against mankind for practical and political reasons. The writer's objective in this book was to bring attention to what occurred. Hoschild demonstrates to us that a great deal of history as we probably are aware is that it is one-sided and white washed. Ordinarily history is wrote or observed by the individuals who are in control and their…

Two Sides of a Monsters Story. "There are two sides to every story and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle." Paul. J Alessi. “Beuwulf” is the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is recognized as one of the most important works of Old English literature. The poem was written in England between the eighth and the early eleventh century. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to as the "Beowulf poet". Scandinavia is the know setting for the poem. The poem…

The Archetypal Lens of Good vs. Evil in Heart of Darkness In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad focuses on the main characters of Marlow, the story’s narrator, who recounts his journey into the interior of the Congo, and Kurtz, an ivory trader, who is shrouded in mystery as Marlow is eager to meet him. Through the archetypes of the hero’s journey and shadow, both Marlow and Kurtz become deeply affected by their setting, which illuminates the theme of good versus evil. Throughout Heart of Darkness,…

Conrad colors the city of Brussels as a “whited sepulchre” (73). Oftentimes white is symbolic of goodness or purity, however, describing Brussels as a tomb indirectly shows the underlying darkness that affects Europe underneath the veneer of society and…

The novella Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad in 1899, which is set in the Congo, Africa in 1890. It is based on the narrator Charles Marlow travels to the Congo, in the heart of Africa to relieve a brilliant ivory trader named Krutz, who is working for the Belgium Government. While there is a complexity on British identity of Joseph Conrad, the role he played in the development of British literary history is significant. The writings of Conrad were not inherently English but…

Marlow meets the accountant, bookkeeper, for the trading post. The incorporation of an unimportant member of the company is telling. The accountant doesn’t do much for the story except for introduce Mr. Kurtz. Any character could have done this, but Conrad included the accountant to show how much importance was placed on the profit margin. The accountant is there to ensure the economic value of the project at all times. It is strange that one leg imperialism tries to stand on is bringing…