1. Heart of Darkness
By Joseph Conrad

2. Colonialism vs. Imperialism
colonialism as practice and imperialism as the idea driving the practice
Imperialism: first identified with ancient Rome. Used in the late 1800s with an expansionist connotation (Conrad mentions the Roman empire on pg. 67)

3. Colonialism About the dominance of a strong nation over a weaker one
acquisition of the colonialist, by brute force, of extra markets, extra resources of raw material and manpower from the colonies
While committing atrocities against natives, the colonialist believes he is acting morally

4. Rationale for Colonialism
The colonized are savages in need of education and rehabilitation
The culture of the colonized is not up to the standard of the colonizer, and it’s the moral duty of the colonizer to do something about polishing it.
The colonized nation is unable to manage and run itself properly, and thus it needs the wisdom and expertise of the colonizer.
The colonized nation embraces a set of religious beliefs incongruent and incompatible with those of the colonizer, and consequently, it is God’s given duty of the colonizer to bring those stray people to the right path.
The colonized people pose dangerous threat to themselves and to the civilized world if left alone; and thus it is in the interest of the civilized world to bring those people under control.

5. Effects of Colonialism
Oppression: dehumanizes both oppressor and oppressed
Erosion of colonized culture
Rejection among the colonized of everything western
Advanced economy of land colonized

6. Post Colonialism
expose to both the colonizer and ex-colonized the falsity or validity of their assumptions
no culture is better or worse than other culture
Alienation: Colonialist is alienated in his own land, leading to trauma
Ambivalence toward authority: victory of the settler leads to ambivalence

7. Conrad’s Life
Novel based on personal experience: was a captain of a steam ship on the Belgian Congo
Part autobiographical, part imaginary
Sought to attack “the criminality of inefficiency and pure selfishness” of African colonialism
Marlow is perhaps Conrad himself

8. Structure and Style of Heart of Darkness
Framing narrative: brings up the question of memory
Most of the tale is being told aloud
Conrad grips us with his storytelling skills, but at the same time he does not strive to teach a lesson
Marlow has an ambiguous and uncertain moral position
Marlow is cynical and never reveals meaning, he continues to ask questions and suggest mysteries.

9. Structure Continued
“Russian Doll” effect: Kurtz is at the center of the story, Marlow, narrator, reader
Patterns of threes
Patterns of opposition: dark/light, inside/outside

10. Symbolism
Light vs. Dark: contributes to the ambiguous tone; depicts the moral uncertainty of the world: white is not necessarily good (ivory a symbol of greed), black not necessarily evil (suffering)
The River: Congo is the passageway to Africa, but also is a source of struggle for Europeans; Thames is a symbol for civilization

11. Themes The Absurdity of Evil: The world has ambiguous morality
The Hypocrisy of Colonialism: Africans were meant to be helped; instead they were oppressed.
Colonialism as a Source of Madness: madness results from a separation from one’s normal social context
 How does Conrad portray these themes?

12. Conrad’s Ambiguous “Lessons”
We must know evil – our own capacities for evil- before we can be capable of any good
We must always atone for any allegiance with the powers of darkness
As men, we are morally isolated from one another
Life is profoundly meaningless: Kurtz’s death is as meaningless as life

13. Freudian Reading Dreams are a clue to the inner workings of the mind
Marlow’s journey is like a dream
Theory of the Id: we are all brutes and savages on this level
Exploration of the dark recesses of the human mind
Kurtz as merely a “voice”: the voice of Marlow’s deepest psychological self?

14. Truth of Experience vs. Clarity of Ideas
Truths of the psyche and human soul are messy, vague, irrational, dark
Striving towards a recreation of our own dark hearts
Pg. 86: “He was just a word for me. I did not see the man in the name any more than you do. Do you see him? Do you see the story? Do you see anything? It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream…”