Week 2 ppt-eng 1013-ma-1 yr
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The document provides an overview of Joseph Conrad's life, focusing on his journey as a sailor and his literary contributions, particularly the novella 'Heart of Darkness.' It discusses the themes, characters, and narrative style of the novella, highlighting its critique of imperialism and moral corruption. The document also includes a summary of the first part of the story, set against the backdrop of British imperialism along the Congo River.
Week 2 ppt-eng 1013-ma-1 yr
- 1. Week 2 An Introduction to heart of Darkness ENG 1013 Lecture by F A I S A L A H M E D Faculty of English, WUB
- 2. Lesson 1: Biography of Joseph Conrad • Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was born in Berdichev, Ukraine, on December 3rd, 1857. • Spoke Polish language – English was not his native language • Regarded as one of the masters of Modernism • Three most important works are – Lord Jim “Youth” & Heart of Darkness
- 3. Early Life of Conrad • In 1861 his family was exiled to Northern Russia as his father involved in politics. • In 1869, both of Conrad's parents died of tuberculosis . • Attended school in Kraków but he dreamed of the sea. in 1870's he joined the French merchant marines. • Made voyages to the West Indies and was involved in arms smuggling. • Eventually joined the British merchant navy and swiftly climbed the ranks. By 1886 he was commanding his own ship and was given British citizenship. • Conrad spent the next part of his life sailing all over the world. • sailed up the Congo River in Africa. In 1894 at the age of 36 Conrad finally left the sea behind him and settled down in England. Two years later he married an Englishwoman by the name of Jessie George, and it was with her that he had two sons.
- 4. Later Part of Conrad’s Life • Conrad spent the next part of his life sailing all over the world. • He sailed up the Congo River in Africa. • In 1894 at the age of 36 Conrad finally left the sea behind him and settled down in England. • Two years later he married an English woman by the name of Jessie George, and it was with her that he had two sons.
- 5. Last Part of Conrad’s Life: Continues writing… • After settling with family, Conrad still occasionally traveled, but for the most part he just wrote his novels, the first of which, Almayer's Folly, appeared in 1895. • Wrote Heart of Darkness in 1902 and Nostromo in 1904. Continued to write until his death, publishing his last novel, The Nature of Crime, in 1924. • He died August 3rd, 1924 of a heart attack.
- 6. Lesson 2: The Heart of Darkness • Genre: Novella • Written in England, 1898–1899; inspired by Conrad’s journey to the Congo in 1890 • Published in 1902 under J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. • Setting (Time): 19th Century, sometime between 1876 and 1892 • Setting (Place): Opens in Thames River, London, then in Belgian’s company offices in Congo, Africa. • Two narrators: Marlow (Captain) & a passenger on a pleasure ship. • Tone: ambivalent
- 7. Themes, Motifs & Symbols • Themes The hypocrisy of imperialism, madness as a result of imperialism, the absurdity of evil • Motifs Darkness (very seldom opposed by light), interiors vs. surfaces (kernel/shell, coast/inland, station/forest, etc.), ironic understatement, hyperbolic language, away from and back toward civilization • Symbols Rivers, fog, African women, French warship shelling forested coast, grove of death, severed heads on fence posts, Kurtz’s “Report,” dead helmsman, maps, “whited sepulchre” of Brussels, knitting women in Company offices, man trying to fill bucket with hole in it
- 8. Lesson 3: Synopsys & Introduction to Characters • Synopsis: Heart of Darkness centers around Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his journey up the Congo River to meet Kurtz, reputed to be an idealistic man of great abilities. Marlow takes a job as a riverboat captain with the Company, a Belgian concern organized to trade in the Congo. The white Europeans’ moral degradation and brutal behaviour towards the black African is represented by the major character Mr. Kurtz who established himself as King & God towards the uncivilized inhabitants of Congo.
- 9. Characters in Heart of Darkness 1. Marlow (the protagonist and narrator) 2. Kurtz (The chief of the Inner Station and the object of Marlow’s quest.) 3. General manager (The chief agent of the Company of Belgian colonizer in its African territory) 4. Brickmaker (whom Marlow also meets at the Central Station, is a favorite of the manager and seems to be a kind of corporate spy.) 5. Chief accountant 6. Pilgrims (The bumbling, greedy agents of the Central Station. They carry long wooden staves with them everywhere, reminding Marlow of traditional religious travelers.)
- 10. Other Characters 1. Cannibals (Natives hired as the crew of the steamer, a surprisingly reasonable and well-tempered bunch.) 2. A Russian trader 3. Helmsman (symbol of a lifeless man, a young man from the coast trained by Marlow’s predecessor to pilot the steamer.) 4. Kurtz’s African mistress 5. Kurtz’s Intended (Kurtz’s naïve and long-suffering fiancée, whom Marlow goes to visit after Kurtz’s death) 6. Aunt (Marlow’s doting relative, who secures him a position with the Company. She believes in Imperialism as a charitable activity) 7. The men aboard the Nellie (Marlow’s friends aboard the ship at the story’s open.) 8. Fresleven (Marlow’s predecessor as captain of the steamer. Fresleven, by all accounts a good-tempered, nonviolent man, was killed in a dispute over some hens, apparently after striking a village chief)
- 12. Lesson 4: Part 1 (Synopsys) • At sundown, a pleasure ship called the Nellie lies anchored at the mouth of the Thames, waiting for the tide to go out. Five men relax on the deck of the ship: the Director of Companies, who is also the captain and host, the Lawyer, the Accountant, Marlow, and the unnamed Narrator. The story begins with a past narration. • This train of thought reminds Marlow of his sole experience as a “fresh-water sailor,” when as a young man he captained a steamship going up the Congo River. • He recounts that he first got the idea when, after returning from a six-year voyage through Asia, he came across a map of Africa in a London shop window, which reinvigorated his childhood fantasies about the “blank spaces” on the map.
- 13. Lesson 4: Part 1 (Synopsys) continues… • Marlow recounts how he obtained a job with the Belgian “Company” that trades on the Congo River (the Congo was then a Belgian territory) through the influence of an aunt who had friends in the Company’s administration. • The Company was eager to send Marlow to Africa, because one of the Company’s steamer captains had recently been killed in a scuffle with the natives.
- 14. Part 1: Analysis • Marlow’s story of a voyage up the Congo River that he took as a young man is the main narrative of Heart of Darkness. Marlow’s narrative is framed by another narrative, in which one of the four (4) listeners to Marlow’s story explains the circumstances in which Marlow tells it. • For the narrator and his fellow travelers, the Thames conjures up images of famous British explorers who have set out from that river on glorious voyages. The narrator recounts the achievements of these explorers in a celebratory tone, calling them “knight-errants” of the sea, implying that such voyages served a sacred, higher purpose • The passengers on ship represent the glory of British establishment and European imperialism.
- 15. Glossary • “Whited sepulchre” of Brussels: In the novella, Matthew describes “whited sepulchres” as something beautiful on the outside but containing horrors within (the bodies of the dead); thus, the image is appropriate for Brussels, given the hypocritical Belgian rhetoric about imperialism's civilizing mission. A hypocrite (in figurative meaning)
- 16. Week-2 End of the Lesson