Joseph Conrad

1
Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness
Introducing Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness
2
Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski Joseph
Conrad

• Chronology
• 1857
• Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski born December 3
  near Berdichev to Apollo Nalecz Korzeniowski and
  Evelina (Ewa) Bobrowska.
• 1862
• May 8, Apollo Korzeniowski exiled to prison camp
  in Vologda, Russia, accompanied by his wife and
  son.
• 1865
• June 6, Conrad's mother dies. Conrad in care of
  maternal uncle, Tadeusz Bobrowski.
• 1869
• Apollo Korzeniowski and son return to Cracow in
  February. Apollo dies on May 23. Conrad attends
  (sporadically) school in Cracow.
• 1873
• In May, Conrad leaves for a three-month-long stay
  in Switzerland and northern Italy. First view of
  the sea.
• 1874
• On October 14 leaves Cracow for Marseilles.

3
Conrad at 17
4
Joseph Conrad at Sea

• 1875
• Apprentice on the Mont-Blanc, bound for
  Martinique.
• 1876-1877
• From January to July in Marseilles
• from July to February 1877 on schooner
  Saint-Antoine to West Indies.
• 1877
• Acquires (with three other men) the tartane, the
  Tremolino which carries arms illegally to the
  supporters of Don Carlos, the Spanish pretender.
• 1878-1879
• In February attempts suicide by shooting himself
  through the chest. On April 24 leaves Marseilles
  on British steamer Mavis. On June 18 sets foot in
  England at Lowestoft. Serves as ordinary seaman
  on coaster The Skimmer of the Sea.
• 1883
• Passes mate's examination on July 4. Meets uncle
  Bobrowski at Marienbad. Mate on the sailing ship
  Riversdale.
• 1884
• Second mate on the Narcissus, bound from Bombay
  to Dunkirk.
• 1885-1886
• Second mate on the Tilkhurst August 19, receives
  British certificate of naturalization. November
  11, passes examination, receives his "Certificate
  of Competency as Master" first story, "The Black
  Mate," submitted to Tit-Bits.
• 1887
• First mate on Highland Forest. Hurt by a falling
  spar, hospitalized in Singapore (experience
  recalled in Lord Jim). Second mate on steamship
  Vidar (Singapore-Borneo).
• 1888
• On Melita (bound for Bangkok), then his first
  command on the baroque the Otago
  (Bangkok-Sydney-Mauritius-Port Adelaide).
  Experiences described in The Shadow-Line,
  Victory, "The Secret Sharer," "A Smile of
  Fortune," and other works.

5
From Seaman to Writer and Father

• 1893-1894
• Second mate on Adowa (London-Rouen-London).
• Ends his career as seaman on January 14, 1894.
• Uncle Bobrowski dies on January 29, 1894.
• In April Conrad sends Almayer's Folly to T.
  Fisher Unwin.
• 1894-1895
• Writes An Outcast of the Islands.
• 1896
• Match 24, marries Jessie George.
• 1897
• Completes The Nigger of the "Narcissus"
• friendship with R. B. Cunninghame Graham.
• 1898
• Son Alfred Borys born January 14.
• In October moves to Petit Farm, Kent.
• 1899
• In February completes Heart of Darkness.
• 1900
• Finishes Lord Jim.

6
Joseph Conrad and his son Borys
7
Travel and Critical Acclaim

• 1905
• Spends four months in Europe.
• 1906
• Spends two months in France. Second son John
  Alexander born August 2.
• 1907
• Children ill in France. Returns to Pent Farm in
  August. The Secret Agent.
• 1908
• A Set of Six.
• 1910
• In June moves to Capel House, Kent. Seriously
  ill.
• 1911
• Under Western Eyes.
• 1912
• 'Twixt Land and Sea, Tales.
• 1913-1914
• Chance. Writes Victory.
• Leaves for Poland in July 1914 meets Stefan
  Zeromski in Zakopane
• caught by the war in August escapes and returns
  to Capel House November 3.

8
Joseph Conrad and his family
9
War, Fame and Last Years

• 1915
• Victory. Within the Tides.
• 1916
• Borys fights on the French front.
• 1917
• The Shadow-Line. Writes prefaces for a new
  collected edition of his works.
• 1918
• Borys, gassed and wounded, is hospitalized in Le
  Havre.
• 1919
• The Arrow of Gold. Moves to Oswalds,
  Bishopbourne, near Canterbury, where he spends
  the last years of his life.
• 1920
• The Rescue.
• 1921
• Visits Corsica. Notes on Life and Utters.
• 1923
• Visits New York (April-June).
• Reading from his Victory at home of Mrs. Arthur
  Curtiss James, May 10.
• The Secret Agent, Drama in Four Acts (adaptation
  of the novel). The Rover.
• Laughing Anne, a play (adaptation of "Because of
  the Dollars").

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(No Transcript)
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Posthumous Publications

• 1925
• Suspense (incomplete). Tales of Hearsay.
• 1926
• Last Essays.
• 1928
• The Sisters (written in 1896 incomplete.)
• 1936
• Jessie Conrad dies December 6. Buried near her
  husband at Canterbury.
• 1978
• Alfred Borys Conrad, the elder son of Conrad,
  dies on November 13.

Excerpted and condensed from Adam Gillon, Joseph
Conrad. Boston Twayne,1982.
12
Imagery

• J.M.W. Turner, Approach to Venice, 1844.

13
Heart of DarknessNorton Critical Edition, page 8
The day was ending in a serenity of still and
exquisite brilliance. The water shone
pacifically, the sky without a speck was a benign
immensity of unstained light, the very mist on
the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant
fabric hung from the wooded rises inland and
draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only
the gloom to the west brooding over the upper
reaches became more sombre every minute as if
angered by the approach of the sun. And at last
in its curved and imperceptible fall the sun sank
low, and from glowing white changed to a dull red
without rays and without heat, as if about to go
out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of
that gloom brooding over a crowd of men.
14

• Positive Diction
• Mood and Tone
• The day was ending in a serenity of still and
  exquisite brilliance. The water shone
  pacifically, the sky without a speck was a benign
  immensity of unstained light, the very mist on
  the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant
  fabric hung from the wooded rises inland and
  draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only
  the gloom to the west brooding over the upper
  reaches became more sombre every minute as if
  angered by the approach of the sun.
• And at last in its curved and imperceptible fall
  the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed
  to a dull red without rays and without heat, as
  if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by
  the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of
  men.

15

• Positive Detail
• and Imagery
• The day was ending in a serenity of still and
  exquisite brilliance. The water shone
  pacifically, the sky without a speck was a benign
  immensity of unstained light, the very mist on
  the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant
  fabric hung from the wooded rises inland and
  draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only
  the gloom to the west brooding over the upper
  reaches became more sombre every minute as if
  angered by the approach of the sun.
• And at last in its curved and imperceptible fall
  the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed
  to a dull red without rays and without heat, as
  if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by
  the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of
  men.

16
J.M.W. Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed (1844)
17

• Negative Diction
• Mood and Tone
• The day was ending in a serenity of still and
  exquisite brilliance. The water shone
  pacifically, the sky without a speck was a benign
  immensity of unstained light, the very mist on
  the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant
  fabric hung from the wooded rises inland and
  draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only
  the gloom to the west brooding over the upper
  reaches became more sombre every minute as if
  angered by the approach of the sun.
• And at last in its curved and imperceptible fall
  the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed
  to a dull red without rays and without heat, as
  if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by
  the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of
  men.

18

• Negative Detail
• and Imagery
• The day was ending in a serenity of still and
  exquisite brilliance. The water shone
  pacifically, the sky without a speck was a benign
  immensity of unstained light, the very mist on
  the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant
  fabric hung from the wooded rises inland and
  draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only
  the gloom to the west brooding over the upper
  reaches became more sombre every minute as if
  angered by the approach of the sun.
• And at last in its curved and imperceptible fall
  the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed
  to a dull red without rays and without heat, as
  if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by
  the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of
  men.

19
James Abbot Whistler, Nocturne
20
Structure Frame Narrative

Marlow
Narrator
Joseph Conrad
21
Heart of DarknessNorton Critical
EditionNarrative Voice

• Between us there was as I have already said
  somewhere, the bond of the sea. Besides holding
  our hearts together through long periods of
  separation it had the effect of making us
  tolerant of each others yarnsand even
  convictions(Page 7).
• His remark did not seem at all surprising. It
  was just like Marlow. It was accepted in
  silence. No one took the trouble to grunt even,
  and presently he said very slow (Page 9).

22
Heart of DarknessNorton Critical
EditionMarlows Voice

• I was thinking of very old times, when the
  Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years
  agothe other dayLight came out of this river
  sinceyou say Knights? Yes but it is like a
  running blaze on a plain, like a flash of
  lightning in the clouds. We live in the
  flickermay it last as long as the old earth
  keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday.
  (Page 9)

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Techniques of Characterization

• What characters do
• What characters say
• What others say about them

24
Characterization through Voice

• Between us there was as I have already said
  somewhere, the bond of the sea. Besides holding
  our hearts together through long periods of
  separation it had the effect of making us
  tolerant of each others yarnsand even
  convictions(Page 7).
• His remark did not seem at all surprising. It
  was just like Marlow. It was accepted in
  silence. No one took the trouble to grunt even,
  and presently he said very slow

• I was thinking of very old times, when the
  Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years
  agothe other dayLight came out of this river
  sinceyou say Knights? Yes but it is like a
  running blaze on a plain, like a flash of
  lightning in the clouds. We live in the
  flickermay it last as long as the old earth
  keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday.
  (Page 9)

25
Diction and Imagery in Heart of Darkness

• Diction creates Tone. Detail Indicates Imagery.
• Directions For each of the following excerpts
  from Heart of Darkness
• List the diction that creates the tone and
  describe the tone and its implications
• List any detail that creates an image, or at
  least a potential image
• Explain why this image would be significant in
  this text.
• Write all of this on a separate piece of paper,
  one per group. Do not write on your copy of the
  assignment.

26

• Now when I was a little chap I had a passion
  for maps. I would look for hours at South
  America, or Africa, or Australia and lose myself
  in all the glories of exploration. At that time
  there were many blank spaces on the earth and
  when I saw one that looked particularly inviting
  on a map (but they all look that) I would put my
  finger on it and say When I grow up I will go
  there. The North Pole was one of these places I
  remember. Well, I havent been there yet and
  shall not try now. The glamours off. Other
  places were scattered about the Equator and in
  every sort of latitude al over the two
  hemispheres. I have been in some of them
  andwell, we wont talk about that. But there
  was one yetthe biggestthe most blank, so to
  speakthat I had a hankering after.
• True, by this time it was not a blank space
  any more. I had got filled since my boyhood with
  rivers and lakes and names. It had ceased to be
  a blank space of delightful mysterya while patch
  for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had
  become a place of darkness. But there was in it
  one river especially, a mighty big river that you
  could see on the map, resembling an immense snake
  uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at
  rest curving afar over a vast country and its
  tail lost in the depths of the land. And as I
  looked at the map of it in a shop-window it
  fascinated me as a snake would a birda silly
  little bird. Then I remembered there was a big
  concern. A Company for trade on that river. Dash
  it all, I though to myself, they cant trade
  without using some kind of craft on that lot of
  fresh watersteamboats! Why shouldnt I try to
  get charge of one. I went on along Fleet Street,
  but could not shake off the idea. The snake had
  charmed me (12).

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(No Transcript)
28
Congo Free State (Belgian Congo) in 1890s
29

• True, by this time it was not a blank
  space any more. I had got filled since my
  boyhood with rivers and lakes and names. It had
  ceased to be a blank space of delightful
  mysterya while patch for a boy to dream
  gloriously over. It had become a place of
  darkness. But there was in it one river
  especially, a mighty big river that you could see
  on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled,
  with its head in the sea, its body at rest
  curving afar over a vast country and its tail
  lost in the depths of the land. And as I looked
  at the map of it in a shop-window it fascinated
  me as a snake would a birda silly little bird.
  Then I remembered there was a big concern. A
  Company for trade on that river. Dash it all, I
  though to myself, they cant trade without using
  some kind of craft on that lot of fresh
  watersteamboats! Why shouldnt I try to get
  charge of one. I went on along Fleet Street, but
  could not shake off the idea. The snake had
  charmed me (12).

30
Diction and Imagery in Heart of Darkness

• Diction creates Tone. Detail Indicates Imagery.
• Directions For each of the following excerpts
  from Heart of Darkness
• List the diction that creates the tone and
  describe the tone and its implications
• List any detail that creates an image, or at
  least a potential image
• Explain why this image would be significant in
  this text.
• Write all of this on a separate piece of paper,
  one per group. Do not write on your copy of the
  assignment.

31

• One thing more remained to do -- say good-bye
  to my excellent aunt. I found her triumphant. I
  had a cup of tea -- the last decent cup of tea
  for many days -- and in a room that most
  soothingly looked just as you would expect a
  lady's drawing-room to look, we had a long quiet
  chat by the fireside. In the course of these
  confidences it became quite plain to me I had
  been represented to the wife of the high
  dignitary, and goodness knows to how many more
  people besides, as an exceptional and gifted
  creature -- a piece of good fortune for the
  Company -- a man you don't get hold of every day.
  Good heavens! and I was going to take charge of a
  two-penny-half-penny river-steamboat with a penny
  whistle attached! It appeared, however, I was
  also one of the Workers, with a capital -- you
  know. Something like an emissary of light,
  something like a lower sort of apostle. There had
  been a lot of such rot let loose in print and
  talk just about that time, and the excellent
  woman, living right in the rush of all that
  humbug, got carried off her feet. She talked
  about 'weaning those ignorant millions from their
  horrid ways,' till, upon my word, she made me
  quite uncomfortable. I ventured to hint that the
  Company was run for profit.

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Hints for Diction and Imagery in Heart of
Darkness

• Directions For each of the following excerpts
  from Heart of Darkness
• Summarize the paragraph to be sure you get the
  gist of it.
• List the diction that creates the tone and
  describe the tone and its implications
• You may want to categorize the diction. Not
  every word is significant, so this helps you find
  the patterns.
• List any detail that creates an image, or at
  least a potential image
• You could categorize the details also. Once you
  have identified the categories, you can recognize
  major images.
• Explain why this image would be significant in
  this text.
• Write all of this on a separate piece of paper,
  one per group.