 1857 : Joseph Conrad was born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in Ukraine into a Polish family. Conrad's father, a writer best known for patriotic tragedies, and a translator from French and English, was arrested by the Russian authorities in Warsaw for his activities in support of the uprising against the Tzar and was exiled to Siberia.

 1865 : His mother died of tuberculosis, as did his father four years later (1869), leaving Conrad orphaned at the age of eleven. Young Conrad was placed in the care of his uncle, a more cautious figure than his parents.  1874 : Conrad travelled to France and begin a career as a sailor at the age of 17. This came after Conrad was rejected for Austro-Hungarian citizenship, leaving him liable to be drafted in the Russian army.

 1878 : Conrad lived an adventurous life, becoming involved in gunrunning and political conspiracy and had a disastrous love affair, which plunged him into despair. After a failed suicide attempt, Conrad took service on his first British ship and learned to speak English at sea.  1886 : Became Master Mariner and a British citizen, officially changing his name to "Joseph Conrad."

 1894 : At age 36, Conrad left the sea to become an English-language author. His first novel, Almayer's Folly, was published in  1896 : Married an Englishwoman, Jessie George, with whom he had two sons.  1923 : Conrad declined the offer of a British knighthood, on the grounds that he already possessed a (hereditary) Polish one.

 1924 : Joseph Conrad died August 3, of a heart attack, and was buried at Canterbury Cemetery in England under the name of Korzeniowski.

 Heart of Darkness has been considered for most of this century not only as a literary classic, but as a powerful indictment of the evils of imperialism. It reflects the savage repressions carried out in the Congo by the Belgians in one of the largest acts of genocide committed up to that time. Heart of Darkness has become one of the most widely read works by Conrad. It provoked controversy for its depiction of Africa and Africans and its perspective on women.

 DEFINITION: Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. This is either through direct territorial conquest or settlement, or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of these other entities. The term is often used to describe the policy of a nation's dominance over distant lands, regardless of whether the nation considers itself part of the empire. The "Age of Imperialism" usually refers to the New Imperialism period starting from 1860, when major European states started colonizing the other continents.

 DEFINITION: A frame story (also frame tale, frame narrative, etc.) is a narrative technique whereby a main story is composed, at least in part, for the purpose of organizing a set of shorter stories, each of which is a story within a story -- or for surrounding a single story within a story.  Framed Narrative in Heart of Darkness:  Narrator begins - Marlow takes over - Narrator breaks in The reader narrator Charlie Marlow

Full Title - Heart of Darkness Author - Joseph Conrad Type of work - Novella (between a novel and a short story in length and scope), Frame Narrative Genre - Symbolism, colonial literature, adventure tale, almost a romance in its insistence on heroism and the supernatural and its preference for the symbolic over the realistic Time and place written - England, 1898–1899; inspired by Conrad’s journey to the Congo in 1890

Narrator - There are two narrators: an anonymous passenger on a pleasure ship, who listens to Marlow’s story, and Marlow himself, a middle-aged ship’s captain Point of view - The first narrator speaks in the first- person plural, on behalf of four other passengers who listen to Marlow’s tale. Marlow narrates his story in the first person, describing only what he witnessed and experienced, and providing his own commentary on the story. Setting (time) - Latter part of the nineteenth century, probably sometime between 1876 and 1892 Setting (place) - Opens on the Thames River outside London, where Marlow is telling the story that makes up Heart of Darkness. Events of the story take place in Brussels (the Company’s offices), and in the Congo, then a Belgian territory (Outer Station, Central Station, Inner Station).

Outer Station Inner Station Central Station

THEMES Darkness Primitive Impulses (Kurtz, previous captain, etc.) Cruelty of Man (Kurtz and Company) Immorality/Amorality (Kurtz) Lies/Hypocrisy Marlow chooses Kurtz evil versus Company’s hypocritical evil Imperialism/Colonization Cruelty of Man Hypocrisy Greed Exploitation of People Madness as a result

SYMBOLS Rivers Fog Women (Kurtz’s Intended, his African mistress) Severed heads on fence posts Maps “whited sepulchre” of Brussels Knitting women in Company offices FORESHADOWING Permeates every moment of the narrative— mostly operates on the level of imagery, which is consistently dark, gloomy, and threatening

PROTAGONIST- Marlow MAJOR CONFLICT - Both Marlow and Kurtz confront a conflict between their images of themselves as “civilized” Europeans and the temptation to abandon morality completely once they leave the context of European society. RISING ACTION - The brutality Marlow witnesses in the Company’s employees, the rumors he hears that Kurtz is a remarkable and humane man, and the numerous examples of Europeans breaking down mentally or physically in the environment of Africa. CLIMAX - Marlow’s discovery, upon reaching the Inner Station, that Kurtz has completely abandoned European morals and norms of behavior FALLING ACTION - Marlow’s acceptance of responsibility for Kurtz’s legacy, Marlow’s encounters with Company officials and Kurtz’s family and friends, Marlow’s visit to Kurtz’s Intended