1. Heart of Darkness An Brief Look at Conrad’s Life and Works, Themes and Motifs in Heart of Darkness, and Apocalypse Now

2. Joseph Conrad Born 1857 in Russian-occupied Poland Patriot father & family exiled in Russia 1862 Both parents dead of illness by 1869 Conservative uncle took him in

3. Joined French Merchant Marine at the age of 16 Kicked out due to his nationality & a suicide attempt Joined British Merchant Marine 1878 Left the sea & began writing 1894 Died 1924 & buried in Canterbury

4. Amayer’s Folly (1895) Amayer’s Folly (1895) Lord Jim (1900) Lord Jim (1900) Heart of Darkness (1902) Heart of Darkness (1902) Nostromo (1904) Nostromo (1904) Under Western Eyes (1910) Under Western Eyes (1910) Chance (1914) Chance (1914) Joseph Conrad’s Other Works

5. Heart of Darkness Background 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. Conrad had always dreamed of sailing the Congo Had to leave early for the job because the previous captain was killed in a trivial quarrel

6. One interpretation of the title: A literal journey into the “Dark Continent,” (the Heart of Darkness) as Africa was viewed by Conrad’s contemporaries

7. Africa and Imperialism

8. Congo in the 1890’s Inner Station

9. Heart of Darkness Background While traveling from Boma (at the mouth) to the company station at Matadi he met Roger Casement who told Conrad stories of the harsh treatment of Africans 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. He found his ship was damaged. Dysentery was rampant as was malaria; Conrad had to terminate his contract due to illness and never fully recovered

10. Heart of Darkness Conrad’s most widely read novel: It can be read... As Autobiography: The account of a journey up the Congo river that Conrad undertook in the early 1890’s. As Anti-colonialist/imperialist: An exposition of the brutality of Belgian colonial rule. (See King Leopold’s Ghost) As an Arthurian Quest. As Classical or Norse Mythology. As Christian Mythology (Dante) As Psychoanalysis: A Journey into the Self

11. Autobiography Conrad did, in fact, go up the Congo River in 1890 Like Marlow in the novel, he got the job to go to the Congo through his aunt. Like Marlow, he did not get along with the manager Like Marlow, he was sent to pick up an agent (named Klein) Like Marlow, he fell ill and nearly died

12. Anti-colonialist/Imperialist “The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. ”A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all like the whiff from some corpse.” In an essay Conrad calls the colonial exploitation of the Congo “the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience…” Conrad’s own words about colonialism:

13. Arthurian Quest: In the King Arthur myths a knight in shining amour goes on a quest, typically a quest for the holy grail. The quest usually involves a number of trials. Some of those are physical, but the toughest tests are usually spiritual, a test of moral fibre or personal integrity. The trials do not necessarily lead to wealth and fame, but equally often to insight and humility.

14. Classical and Norse Mythology

15. References to Greek and Norse Mythology and to the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Aeneid: The women in the Brussels office = the three Fates The Sepulchral City =Descent into the underworld of Odysseus and Aeneas The river =Styx and Lethe (Rivers in the underworld) The dying negroes =The lifeless shadows in the underworld The journey itself =the journeys of Odysseus and Aeneas

16. The novel has repeatedly been compared to Dante’s Divine Comedy. Dante also undertakes a journey to the underworld, to the Christian Hell. Other parallels: The river = snake = temptation The dying negroes = souls in limbo The Inner Station = the inner sanctum of Hell and Inferno Christian Mythology Dante (1265-1321) with his Divinia Commedia

17. Psychoanalytical superego ego id The part of the mind that represses and controls impulses (Governance/Policing: A civilizing effect) The part of the mind that controls but focuses impulses (Self-Expression/ Striving: A pioneering spirit) The instinctual, pleasure-seeking part of the mind (Can be degenerate, amoral, & disturbing): “But the wilderness had found him out early… and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating” More than 20 years before Freud published his tripartite division of the mind into Superego, Ego and Id, Conrad seems to use similar ideas.

18. Narrative Structure Framed Narrative Narrator begins, Marlow takes over, Narrator breaks in occasionally Marlow is Conrad’s alter-ego, he shows up in some of Conrad’s other works including Lord Jim Three main characters: The unnamed narrator Marlow Kurtz Also three stations, three interruptions to the narrative, etc. Marlow recounts his tale while he is on a small vessel on the Thames in London with some drinking buddies who are ex- merchant seamen.

19. A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness. The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.

20. Varied Interpretations Many different interpretations have been seen in this book: Some see it as an attack on colonialism and a criticism of racial exploitation Some see Kurtz as the embodiment of all the evil and horror of which humans are capable. Others view it as a portrayal of one man’s journey into the primitive unconscious where the only means of escaping the blandness of everyday life is by self degradation.

21. Heart of Darkness Themes & Motifs Darkness and Light Primitive vs. Civilized Good vs. Evil (but look also for reversals of this!) Lies/Hypocrisy (Marlow chooses Kurtz’s evil versus the company’s hypocrisy) Imperialism/Colonization: Cruelty, greed, exploitation in the guise of “civilizing” the natives (nb.: Eliot’s “The Hollow Men”)

22. Role of Women Three female figures (Marlowe’s aunt, Kurtz’s African mistress, “the Intended”) Each embodies a distinct role Physical connected to Psychological: Barriers (fog, thick forest, darkness, obscurity) Rivers (connection to the past, parallels time and the journey)

24. Review of Criticism Paul O’Prey: "It is an irony that the 'failures' of Marlow and Kurtz are paralleled by a corresponding failure of Conrad's technique--brilliant though it is--as the vast abstract darkness he imagines exceeds his capacity to analyze and dramatize it, and the very inability to portray the story's central subject, the 'unimaginable', the 'impenetratable' (evil, emptiness, mystery or whatever) becomes a central theme." Paul O’Prey: "It is an irony that the 'failures' of Marlow and Kurtz are paralleled by a corresponding failure of Conrad's technique--brilliant though it is--as the vast abstract darkness he imagines exceeds his capacity to analyze and dramatize it, and the very inability to portray the story's central subject, the 'unimaginable', the 'impenetratable' (evil, emptiness, mystery or whatever) becomes a central theme." James Guetti complains that Marlow "never gets below the surface," and is "denied the final self-knowledge that Kurtz had." James Guetti complains that Marlow "never gets below the surface," and is "denied the final self-knowledge that Kurtz had."

25. Review of Criticism Conrad, writing in 1922, responds to similar criticism: "Explicitness, my dear fellow, is fatal to the glamour of all artistic work, robbing it of all suggestiveness, destroying all illusion. You seem to believe in literalness and explicitness, in facts and in expression. Yet nothing is more clear than the utter insignificance of explicit statement and also its power to call attention away from things that matter in the region of art." Conrad, writing in 1922, responds to similar criticism: "Explicitness, my dear fellow, is fatal to the glamour of all artistic work, robbing it of all suggestiveness, destroying all illusion. You seem to believe in literalness and explicitness, in facts and in expression. Yet nothing is more clear than the utter insignificance of explicit statement and also its power to call attention away from things that matter in the region of art." Marlowe, the narrator, describes how difficult conveying a story is: "Do you see the story? Do you see anything? It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream--making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream-sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible, which is the very essence of dream...No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one's existence--that which makes its truth, its meaning-- its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream--alone..." Marlowe, the narrator, describes how difficult conveying a story is: "Do you see the story? Do you see anything? It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream--making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream-sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible, which is the very essence of dream...No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one's existence--that which makes its truth, its meaning-- its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream--alone..."

26. Review of Criticism Marxist: You can see Heart of Darkness as a depiction of, and an attack upon, colonialism in general, and, more specifically, the particularly brutal form colonialism took in the Belgian Congo. Marxist: You can see Heart of Darkness as a depiction of, and an attack upon, colonialism in general, and, more specifically, the particularly brutal form colonialism took in the Belgian Congo. the mistreatment of the Africans the mistreatment of the Africans the greed of the so-called "pilgrims" the greed of the so-called "pilgrims" the broken idealism of Kurtz the broken idealism of Kurtz the French man-of-war lobbing shells into the jungle the French man-of-war lobbing shells into the jungle the grove of death which Marlow stumbles upon the grove of death which Marlow stumbles upon the little note that Kurtz appends to his noble-minded essay on The Suppression of Savage Customs the little note that Kurtz appends to his noble-minded essay on The Suppression of Savage Customs the importance of ivory to the economics of the system. the importance of ivory to the economics of the system.

27. Review of Criticism Sociological/Cultural: Conrad was also apparently interested in a more general sociological investigation of those who conquer and those who are conquered, and the complicated interplay between them. Sociological/Cultural: Conrad was also apparently interested in a more general sociological investigation of those who conquer and those who are conquered, and the complicated interplay between them. Marlow's invocation of the Roman conquest of Britain Marlow's invocation of the Roman conquest of Britain cultural ambiguity of those Africans who have taken on some of the ways of their Europeans cultural ambiguity of those Africans who have taken on some of the ways of their Europeans the ways in which the wilderness tends to strip away the civility of the Europeans and brutalize them the ways in which the wilderness tends to strip away the civility of the Europeans and brutalize them Conrad is not impartial and scientifically detached from these things, and he even has a bit of fun with such impartiality in his depiction the doctor who tells Marlow that people who go out to Africa become "scientifically interesting." Conrad is not impartial and scientifically detached from these things, and he even has a bit of fun with such impartiality in his depiction the doctor who tells Marlow that people who go out to Africa become "scientifically interesting."

28. Review of Criticism Psychological/Psychoanalytical: Conrad goes out of his way to suggest that in some sense Marlow's journey is like a dream or a return to our primitive past--an exploration of the dark recesses of the human mind. Psychological/Psychoanalytical: Conrad goes out of his way to suggest that in some sense Marlow's journey is like a dream or a return to our primitive past--an exploration of the dark recesses of the human mind. Apparent similarities to the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud in its suggestion that dreams are a clue to hidden areas of the mind Apparent similarities to the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud in its suggestion that dreams are a clue to hidden areas of the mind we are all primitive brutes and savages, capable of the most appalling wishes and the most horrifying impulses (the Id) we are all primitive brutes and savages, capable of the most appalling wishes and the most horrifying impulses (the Id) we can make sense of the urge Marlow feels to leave his boat and join the natives for a savage whoop and holler we can make sense of the urge Marlow feels to leave his boat and join the natives for a savage whoop and holler notice that Marlow keeps insisting that Kurtz is a voice--a voice who seems to speak to him out of the heart of the immense darkness notice that Marlow keeps insisting that Kurtz is a voice--a voice who seems to speak to him out of the heart of the immense darkness

29. Review of Criticism Religious: Heart of Darkness as an examination of various aspects of religion and religious practices. Religious: Heart of Darkness as an examination of various aspects of religion and religious practices. examine the way Conrad plays with the concept of pilgrims and pilgrimages examine the way Conrad plays with the concept of pilgrims and pilgrimages the role of Christian missionary concepts in the justifications of the colonialists the role of Christian missionary concepts in the justifications of the colonialists the dark way in which Kurtz fulfills his own messianic ambitions by setting himself up as one of the local gods the dark way in which Kurtz fulfills his own messianic ambitions by setting himself up as one of the local gods

30. Review of Criticism Moral-Philosophical: Heart of Darkness is preoccupied with general questions about the nature of good and evil, or civilization and savagery Moral-Philosophical: Heart of Darkness is preoccupied with general questions about the nature of good and evil, or civilization and savagery What saves Marlow from becoming evil? What saves Marlow from becoming evil? Is Kurtz more or less evil than the pilgrims? Is Kurtz more or less evil than the pilgrims? Why does Marlow associate lies with mortality? Why does Marlow associate lies with mortality?

31. Review of Criticism Formalist: Formalist: Threes: There are three parts to the story, three breaks in the story (1 in pt. 1 and 2 in pt. 2), and three central characters: the outside narrator, Marlow and Kurtz Threes: There are three parts to the story, three breaks in the story (1 in pt. 1 and 2 in pt. 2), and three central characters: the outside narrator, Marlow and Kurtz Contrasting images (dark and light, open and closed) Contrasting images (dark and light, open and closed) Center to periphery: Kurtz->Marlow->Outside Narrator->the reader Center to periphery: Kurtz->Marlow->Outside Narrator->the reader Are the answers to be found in the center or on the periphery? Are the answers to be found in the center or on the periphery?

32. Modernism Heart of Darkness was published in the Late Victorian-Early Modern Era but exhibits mostly modern traits: Heart of Darkness was published in the Late Victorian-Early Modern Era but exhibits mostly modern traits: a distrust of abstractions as a way of delineating truth a distrust of abstractions as a way of delineating truth an interest in an exploration of the psychological an interest in an exploration of the psychological a belief in art as a separate and somewhat privileged kind of human experience a belief in art as a separate and somewhat privileged kind of human experience a desire for transcendence mingled with a feeling that transcendence cannot be achieved a desire for transcendence mingled with a feeling that transcendence cannot be achieved an awareness of primitiveness and savagery as the condition upon which civilization is built, and therefore an interest in the experience and expressions of non-European peoples an awareness of primitiveness and savagery as the condition upon which civilization is built, and therefore an interest in the experience and expressions of non-European peoples a skepticism that emerges from the notion that human ideas about the world seldom fit the complexity of the world itself, and thus a sense that multiplicity, ambiguity, and irony--in life and in art--are the necessary responses of the intelligent mind to the human condition. a skepticism that emerges from the notion that human ideas about the world seldom fit the complexity of the world itself, and thus a sense that multiplicity, ambiguity, and irony--in life and in art--are the necessary responses of the intelligent mind to the human condition.

33. Apocalypse Now Apocalypse Now is a film that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall and Marlon Brando Apocalypse Now is a film that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall and Marlon Brando This film was based on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. This film was based on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Coppola takes the story to Vietnam. Captain Willard (Marlow) is sent on a mission to kill Colonel Kurtz who has gone renegade Coppola takes the story to Vietnam. Captain Willard (Marlow) is sent on a mission to kill Colonel Kurtz who has gone renegade