Joseph Conrad

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Joseph Conrad
Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski
Joseph Conrad
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• Biographical Facts
• b. 1857 in Poland
• Only child of Apollo and Ewa Korzeniowski,
  members of Polish aristocracy

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• 1861 father, intellectual, writer, and Polish
  patriot at a time when Poland was part of the
  Russian Empire Apollo arrested for revolutionary
  activities family is exiled to Russia harsh
  climate causes hardships and illness (TB)
• 1865 Conrads mother dies in Chernigov, Russia
  father, because of his own poor health, allowed
  to relocate with seven-year-old son in Austrian
  Poland

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• 1869 father and son move to Krakow, where Apollo
  dies eleven-year-old orphaned child becomes ward
  of mothers brother Tadeusz Bobrowski, apparently
  a kindly man

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Because doctors recommended a seaside environment
for Josephs health, he moved to France. As a
young man Conrad lived on his uncles funds and
made several sea voyages as a sailor.
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1874-77 Teenage Conrad goes to Marseilles, where
he enters French merchant marine during these
years he completes a number of voyages to the
Caribbean and in 1877 he may have engaged in some
gunrunning on behalf of Spanish rebels.
Marseilles, France
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1878 In February Conrad is presumed to have shot
himself in the chest, an incident that for years
was disguised as a duel. Was this a drastic
reaction to an unhappy love affair?
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• More adventuresat the age of 17 Conrad had
  signed on his first English shipserved on 18
  different vesselsworked up the ranks second
  mate, first mate, finally to captain
• In addition to smuggling guns, Conrad at one
  point had to run his ship aground to avoid
  capture for smuggling.

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• Lost all his money gambling in Monte Carlo

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• When he was second mate on a ship, it caught fire
  and sank the crew survived in open boats until
  they reached land
• Conrad became a British citizen

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1890 Conrad was in Belgium Congo as part of a
European trading company but left before the
year ended. He apparently was weakened by
malaria and his psychological and moral senses
were shaken by his witnessing the exploitation of
the natives in Africa
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Despondent about working opportunities and
earning small wages, Conrad began writing his
first novel Almayers Folly.
The book, which received favorable critical
notice, describes the turmoil and adventures of
his early years at sea.
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It is interesting to note that at this point in
his life Conrad was conversing daily in Polish,
writing letters in French, and thinking in
English as he worked on the manuscript of
Almayers Folly!
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Conrads middle years were peaceful and
relatively uneventful. In 1896 he married Jessie
George and the family rented a farm in Kent
(England). The Conrads had two sons Borys and
John.
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Apparently Conrad was not especially close to his
sons because of his aloof personality. Personal
troubles included bouts of severe illness as well
the anguish of writing. His writing was, however,
critically well received. Conrad supplemented the
family income by writing short adventure fiction
for popular magazines.
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• Conrad
• had eight books published in his lifetime
• declined a knighthood in 1924
• died of a heart attack August 7, 1924, after
  years of ill health
• buried in Canterbury, England

Canterbury, England (Kent)
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• Conrad as an author
• Four major contributions to England and to world
  literature
• His unique style
• The additions of new settings and genre to the
  world of literature
• Creation of the psychological story
• Creation of political fictionspy novel, espionage

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Conrad created excitement by putting the emphasis
on the interior lives of his characters.
Conrads work represents a remarkable feat
because he was already an adult by the time he
had learned to read and speak English.
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His work is also remarkable for the writers
precise descriptions of exotic settingshowever
the plot tends to be slow-moving.
In Conrads era, the writings of Sigmund Freud
and other psychological theorists opened new
aspects of the human personality.
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Heart of Darkness was written in the years prior
to World War I and represents a transition
between Victorian literature and the Modern
British literature of the post-war era.
Popular Victorian adventure writers included
Rudyard Kipling and H.R. Haggard, who took
readers into exotic locales usually associated
with the far-flung locations of the British
Empire.
In novels such as Heart of Darkness, events are
filtered through the perceptions and minds of
characters who are changed by what they see and
experience.
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The result in the writings of Conrad is that much
of the action is internal or psychological, which
was to be more typical of Modern post-war British
literature. Symbols to look for Darknessconsid
er multiple meanings Voyageanother journey
theme this is a quest but what type of quest?
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Fogliteral and figurative (impaired perception,
lack of understanding)
This lack of clarity of understanding is also
more Modern than Victorian.
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Knitting womenwho are these females? Vegetationn
ote the references and associations with death
Rivetsrepresent civilization how effective are
they?
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Bookleft beside a stack of firewood whose is
it? Watch for it Jungleisolation, animalistic
side of mananything else?
Snakesrecurrent symbol used mostly
metaphorically linked to biblical image of
original sin
Structure Framed narrative with shiftsbe alert
for change in narrative voice or change in
time/place Also be alert for IRONY
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Themes of the novel?
Be alertwhat does the story have to say about
evil, about humankind, about exploitation of
others?
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What does the title mean? Heart of Darkness
(Think about more than one explanation.)