1. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899)
African Realities and Background

2. First Response Activity
For each of the words on the next several slides, record the FIRST words or phrases that come to your mind, without talking to others. These will give you an idea of your prior knowledge and opinions as we begin to read and discuss Heart of Darkness.

3. DARKNESS

4. LIGHT

5. CIVILIZATION

6. HUMANITY

7. MANNERS

8. AFRICA

9. LONDON

10. Response In a group of four, discuss your first responses.
What are the similarities and differences among your first impressions?
What responses were surprising to you?
Be prepared to share your findings with the class.

11. Joseph Conrad’s Life
Born Josef Teodore Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski, in Podolia, Ukraine, in 1857
Became a British merchant sailor and eventually a master mariner and citizen in 1886
Traveled widely in the east
Took on a stint as a steamer captain (1890) in the Congo, but became ill within three months and had to leave

12. Heart of Darkness Inspiration
After a long stint in the east had come to an end, he was having trouble finding a new position.
With the help of a relative in Brussels he got the position as captain of a steamer for a Belgian trading company, which was a dream of his.
Had to leave early for the job because the previous captain was killed in a trivial quarrel

13. Heart of Darkness Inspiration
While traveling the length of the Congo River, Conrad saw some of the most shocking and depraved examples of human corruption he’d ever witnessed.
He was disgusted by the ill treatment of the natives, the scrabble for loot, the terrible heat and the lack of water.
He saw human skeletons of bodies left to rot - many were bodies of men from the chain gangs building the railroads.
Dysentary was rampant as was malaria; Conrad had to terminate his contract due to illness and never fully recovered.

14. The Scramble for Africa (Late 1800s)
The Berlin Conference: 14 European countries met to divide the African continent
Many Europeans viewed colonization as a duty to “civilize” Africa.
Rudyard Kipling popularized the idea in the poem “The White Man’s Burden.”
As a result, Europeans developed many inaccurate stereotypes about Africans to justify the greed and destruction behind colonialism.
The Congo “Free” State

15. Africa during the 19th Century
France: most colonies in west Africa Great Britain: colonies in the east and south Germany: one colony in each of the four regions Portugal: Guinea Bissau in West Africa and Angola and Mozambique in Southern Africa Belgium: Congo/Zaire Italy: Eritrea and part of Somalia Spain: Equatorial Guinea Not colonized: Liberia, Ethiopia

16. Congo in the 1890’s
Inner Station

17. Immediate Impacts of Colonialism
Europeans exploited Africa’s resources and people
Millions were sold into slavery or died from harsh working conditions
Environmental concerns were ignored
European model of government introduced often contrary to the traditional cultures
Colonial boundaries combined historical African enemies
European religions introduced

18. Impacts Still Seen Today in Africa
Illiteracy/Lack of education
Foreign debt
Lack of industries
Disease (cholera, malaria, AIDS)
Germany and Belgium aggravated tensions between Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda; war erupted in 1990s

19. Interpretations of Heart of Darkness
Some see it as an attack on colonialism and a criticism of racial exploitation.
Some see the character Kurtz as the embodiment of all the evil and horror of the capitalist society.
Others view it as a portrayal of one man’s journey into the primitive unconscious to escape the blandness of everyday life.

20. Heart of Darkness Themes and Motifs
Primitive Impulses
Cruelty of Man
Immorality/Amorality
Lies/Hypocrisy
Colonization (Belgian Company)
Greed
Exploitation of People

21. Heart of Darkness Themes and Motifs
Role of Women
Civilization exploitive of women
Barriers (fog, thick forest, etc.)
Rivers (connection to past, parallels time and journey)

22. So what’s the right answer?
It could be all of them. During your reading, you will decide how to interpret Heart of Darkness.

23. Websites Consulted