Lord Jim, Heart Of Darkness And The Secret Agent Essay

Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad is dramatic tale of an arduous trek into the darkest part of Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. The story follows the protagonist Marlow, an English marine merchant, as he travels through the African jungle up the Congo river in search for a mysterious man named Kurtz. Through Marlow's narration, Conrad provides a searing indictment of European colonial exploitation inflicted upon African natives. Through his use of irony, characters, and symbolism in the novel, Conrad aims to unveil the underlying horrors of colonialism. By shedding light on the brutality of colonialism in Heart of Darkness, Conrad shows that European values have been irrevocably eclipsed by darkness.

He have been in Polish in exile, and having experience of working with revolutionists and espionage agents in Switzerland and Marseilles, Conrad is well-educated, sophisticated, intelligent, and talented to be familiar with the tactics and rationalizations used by political agitators and terrorists. Furthermore, he had become tantalized with the twilight world of international political activity in London.

Similarly, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness explorers an actual Imperial narrative. This novel traverses morality in the inverse of the aforementioned allegorical reading of Dracula, as the protagonist goes from imperial England to the Congo. The protagonist of the novel, Marlow, goes up the Congo River in search of a highly reputable ivory trader named Kurtz. Prior to his spiral into insanity, Conrad describes Kurtz as a man of “promise”, “greatness”, a “generous mind”, and a “noble heart” (2008-9). Hearing of this reputable Victorian man, Marlow sets out to meet him, only to discover that these descriptors no longer fit the man he finds in the heart of the Congo, even if they ever truly fit him at all. As Marlow describes Kurtz at the start of

Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, was written in 1899, near the end of the imperialism of Africa. Far from European civilization, the imperialists are without rules and ransacking Africa in search ivory and glory. One of the most significant themes in Heart of Darkness is the psychological issues catalyzed by the lawlessness of the jungle. Due to the breakdown of societal convention, the characters of Heart of Darkness are exposed to not only the corruption of imperialism, but the sickness of their minds.

Written in the late 1800’s, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a novella about one man’s travel into the Congo Free State by way of the Congo River. The title “Heart of Darkness” actually holds two different meanings. Heart of Darkness is both a metaphor for a psychological “dark side” of man, and an allusion to Africa. The title suggests both a physical and mental reference.

What makes Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness more than the run of the mill adventure tale, is its moral complexity. By the end of the novel, we find a protagonist who has immense appreciation for a man who lacks honest redemption, the mysterious Mr. Kurtz. It is the literal vivaciousness and unyielding spirit of this man, his pure intentionality, which Marlow finds so entrancing and which leaves the reader with larger questions regarding the human capacity. Therefore, Heart of Darkness is profoundly different given its character complexity and ambiguous narrative technique which ultimately deliver home a message of the complex motivations and capabilities of mankind.

Throughout the brilliant novel, Conrad

     Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a story about a man named Marlow and his Journey into the African Congo. By reading the novel and understanding all the imagery Conrad has inserted, we can get a better understanding of the

Joseph Conrad was a very influential writer during the 19th century. Conrad was of Polish decent; however, he was granted rights as a legal British citizen even though he did not speak fluent English until his twenties. Conrad was also a sailor experiencing many different voyages, which changed his outlook on life. One example of a voyage that changed Conrad's outlook on life was visiting the Congo, and witnessing the horrors of slavery. According to Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, “ Conrad’s life at sea and in foreign ports furnished the background for much of his writing “ . I find Joseph Conrad to be interesting because his writing was very anti-heroic, dark, and inspired by his real life experiences.

In Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, he tells the story of an adventure from Europe to Africa during the 1800’s. The narrator, Marlow, tells the majority of the story and all about his adventures while traveling to the Congo River. Many critics have commented on the novella since it was published in 1899, stating that Conrad was a racist, but there are many other things also wrong with the way he writes the short story. Despite the fact that the novella was written during a time period when only upper-class white males had rights, Heart of Darkness emphasizes the differences in races and sexes. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is filled with many male characters and very few women.

Born December third, 1857 in Berdichev, Ukraine, Joseph Conrad was a part of the noble Polish class. His parents, Apollo and Evelina Korzeniowski, were polish patriots who colluded against oppressive russian rule; consequently, they were apprehended and sent to live in the russian province of Vologda with the only four-year-old joseph. Conrad’s parents would die several years later, leaving him to be raised by an uncle in Poland. After receiving private school in Krakow, the now sixteen-year-old Conrad left Poland and traveled to the port city of Marseilles, France, where he began his years as a mariner.

Joseph Conrad was born in December 3, 1857 in Berdichev, Ukraine. His parents, Joseph and Evelina, often fought against Russian control. As a result, they were captured and sent to Vologda, Russia. They died couple of years later and Joseph was sent to live with his uncle. When he was 16, he left home for Marseilles, France, where he became a mariner. Several years later, he joined the British marine. During this 16 year period, Conrad was able to travel around the world, and his experiences were later used in his writings. In 1985, he started his literary career. During this time, he wrote many famous novels, such as Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness. In August 3, 1924, Joseph Conrad died from a heart attack.

Heart of Darkness was written by Joseph Conrad in 1902. Before it was published it appeared in a 3-part series in Blackwood’s magazine. The story tells of a detailed incident when Marlow who takes over the assignment of the captain of a ferry-boat travels into the darkness. He was employed by the Belgian Trading company. Marlow is employed to transport ivory downriver; however while doing his job, he comes across a person called Kurtz to whom he has to give the ivories after he have collected them. Kurtz is a very reputed man throughout the region and is known by everyone. The novella starts as the main character Marlow at the Thames River in the evening with several other people and starts telling the story about how he entered into the

beginning of the 20th century. As psychologists, such as Sigmund Freud and William James, began to question the rationality of mankind, many writers began to break from traditional writing styles. Joseph Conrad used various elements that broke away from the society normal style as well. He had a impressionistic writing style that was innovative for his time. In Conrad’s story, the setting provides the frame for our main character, “Marlow’s”, story. Marlow is a man who signs

Joseph Conrad is a master of the English language and human thought alike, his written work serving as living evidence of how well Conrad’s mind allowed him to construct such powerful imagery and word play from a language that he had not fully grasped himself until he was an older man. Originating in Polish Ukraine, Conrad was born in 1857 as a young man who dreamed much further than those living in his society, to leave his village to become a sailor and see all parts of the world. His family was very against this idea, as he would likely never be welcomed back to his home country. Leo Gurko discusses in the second chapter of his book, The Two Lives of Joseph Conrad, that his family was very regularly trying to talk Conrad out of being a sailor, as the country was in need of young working men and it would have been a betrayal to leave for his own interests, yet it did not stop his ambitions. This only drove him further towards the man he would one day become, Marlowe. Conrad’s extensive knowledge of language is a large part of what allowed him to be able to travel, his understanding of French was essential for working alongside the Belgians in the Congo( Gurko 71). His love for Shakespeare, which had been introduced to him at eight years old by his father (Lynn Alexander), would lead him to study and understand the English language. His experience in the Congo along with his obsession of the English language built the base for what would be later transformed into his a