Joseph Conrad

Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Conrad and his protagonist narrator Marlow in Heart of Darkness describe a fear, a fear of forgetting. They are both afraid of forgetting the journeys and pasts. They have both experienced things many in that era and even in today’s era could never have dreamt of, travelling throughout the Congo. Just how does Conrad’s Heart of Darkness relate to the spirit of the age? How Conrad’s Heart of Darkness relates to the spirit of the age is that Conrad, along with his…

Joseph Conrad had dreamed of traveling to Africa since childhood. Unfortunately, his trip to Africa in 1890 was described as less of a dream, and more of a nightmare. Conrad reflected his experiences while writing his short novel Heart of Darkness. The novel follows a sailor’s employment for a Belgian trading company and his journey up the Congo River. The sailor, Marlow, encounters intense brutality and cruelty towards the natives forced into work for the Company. As Marlow searches for the…

Conrad’s descriptions of the native people has become one of the most prevalent conversations surrounding his novella. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, although published at the tail end of the 19th century, is one of the…

In the novella, The Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, Marlow recounts his tale of his adventures into the deepest part of the African continent. As a citizen of London, Marlow views Africa as a dark place as it differs from Europe physically and socially. Throughout Marlow’s tale in search of Mr. Kurtz, the author exemplifies the differences between a civilized society that is Europe and the savagery in the deepest parts of Africa. The continents of Europe and Africa are complete opposites.…

In The Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad depicts and partially denounces European imperialism in the Congo region of Africa. The Company, an ominously named Belgian ivory trading firm, inflicts a variety of racist cruelties upon native peoples in the area. The mistreatment and slavery are driven by prejudice and xenophobia but are carefully concealed under a guise of aid, with deceptive claims that their presence and practices are helping to civilize the savages. In truth they are the result of…

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is one of the most known novels in English literature. The story begins when Marlow, who works for a Belgian company, went on a journey to the heart of Africa as a steamship captain. Through his journey, he heard the name of Kurtz for the first time. Then the name repeated many times which made Marlow, who is our narrator in addition to another unknown narrator, interested to know about Kurtz. Kurtz works for the company as an ivory trader in the Congo which was…

William Shakespeare once said “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin” (Shakespeare Act 3. Scene 3. Line 175). Every aspect of life on Earth is dictated by the natural realm. This concept rules in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. In the novella Conrad depicts the jungle as an all powerful force to be reckoned with. Heart of Darkness serves as a reminder of natures ultimate supremacy over man. The supremacy of nature in Heart of Darkness is established through Marlow’s language used to…

Throughout Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz’s last words help Marlow formulate a revering demeanor towards Kurtz, which leads him to establishing his own mindset about the maliciousness of imperialism and assist Marlow in understanding what Kurtz had seen. Imperialism was a hot discussion throughout Marlow’s time period, and Marlow never genuinely looked into it. However, his point of view towards imperialism changes when he meets Kurtz and listen to his last words. Kurtz’s words not only…

The Fascination in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad around the time of 1899. Apocalypse Now is a film inspired by Heart of Darkness and was released in 1979. Similar themes are displayed in both the film and novella. One main theme that they both have in common is “the fascination of the abomination” (Conrad, 7). Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now explore the theme of “the fascination of the abomination” through the setting of…

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is set in the African Congo, where white Europeans have gone to reap the treasures of Africa and ‘civilize’ the natives there. However, instead of the “delightful mystery” (59) Charlie Marlow, the novel’s protagonist, expected, he finds 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…