Conrad of Montferrat

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…

Therefore, he did not see “benevolent project” to civilize the natives, it was a “civilized” effort to use Africans as tools. Although, Marlow really saw was the damage that lead to the breaking of the white man’s soul. “A sentimental presence” (Conrad 8) not a feeling, but a knowledge that it was an unselfish believe that…

In Joseph Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness, the main character Marlow, a young Englishman, leaves home with the intention of becoming a steamboat captain, but eventually starts on a quest perusing Kurtz, a famous and charismatic ivory trader who is known for his eloquence. While he succeeds, his journey led him into the heart of darkness, and is changed for the worse and is left with a corrupted moral compass. However through facing Kurtz, he saw the evil within himself and was able to change. While…

Joseph Conrad did not fluently speak English until his late teen years, however he outshone the written English language, with several of his works having been modified into film. Conrad went through a tough life as a child, and when he was only three, his father was imprisoned Warsaw for his believed radical political relationships until the family was banished to northern Russia in 1861. In 1869, Conrad's parents died due to tuberculosis, and he was led to live with his uncle in Switzerland.…

There are numerous credible facts that clearly prove why “Heart of Darkness” should be taught in schools across America. Joseph Conrad had the sheer audacity to describe exactly what he saw in the congo with great detail and meaning. With Conrad’s experiences and morals, this novel establishes itself as a very noteworthy and informative piece of work. This book should be taught in high schools, preferably upper level AP courses, with extremely careful reading and lengthy discussions. Nothing in…

In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Marlow and Kurtz are tremendously similar, but their slight differences set them apart. Both Marlow and Kurtz traveled far into the Congo, leading them closer to darkness. But, where Marlow chooses restraint, Kurtz chooses to the temptation of the wilderness. Furthermore, both Marlow and Kurtz view the native people as unequal. Kurtz, driven by an obsessive goal decides to become their leader. Finally, as the story progresses Marlow finds telling lies to be…

The novels Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad can be considered commentaries on the themes of discrimination, obsession, exploration, and the result of the lack of understanding and responsibility. Both novels are written in a framed narrative form, comprehensive of the views, thoughts, and values of contrasting characters. Both Shelley's character, Victor Frankenstein, and Conrad's portrayal of European colonists reflect how overruling obsession can result in…

beings, the easiness of manipulation of the mind, particularly women, and reminds us that each act toward civilization is an act in barbarism at the same time. The most common interpretation that can be pulled from the title Heart of Darkness is that Conrad refers to periods in which the continent of Africa was not fully explored and so the journey of Europeans pushing deeper into Africa were…

If Kurtz had died with the Intended’s literal name on his lips rather than, “the horror, the horror” (Conrad 69), conclusions about Heart of Darkness would be vastly different. In the event that this had happened, Kurtz’s journey to Africa would have been for nothing because he would not have gained the self-knowledge that is required of that of a mythic hero. The Intended considers being Kurtz’s last thought before his death to be a triumph, displaying the shallowness and ignorance of the…

In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, both authors demonstrate a form of moral ambiguity. Each author’s moral ambiguity is slightly different which is understandable do to the two different cultures each author is presented. In the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the main character, Marlow, proves himself to be morally ambiguous because he is willing to go on his European expedition to Africa yet he seems to despise the events he sees there in…