Scarica Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness e più Dispense in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! JOSEPH CONRAD Heart of Darkness Heart of darkness is a novel by Conrad, inspired from his journey to the Congo. This is a story of colonialism, in particular Conrad became disgusted by the belgian colonialism.. Here we can see the LITERARY IMPRESSIONISM typical of Joseph Conrad : he never describes a situation as a whole, he only tells particulars, information is never told directly ✔PLOT AND STRUCTURE The story is told as a flashback by an ANONYMOUS first person narrator, who reports what Marlow tells about his journey in Congo. When the story starts the narrator is on a sailing boat on the river Thames with Marlow and other three mariners. Once he arrives in Congo he remains astonished by ruthless treatment of the natives and destruction of the environment. Here he hears about Kurz, the company’s accountant. During his journey inland in order to find Kurz, Marlowmeets a man who adored K, he tells Marlow that K has enlarged his mind but he also talked about his thirst for ivory. At the end of the journey he finally meets Kurz, who’s seriously ill. He was carried to Europe by Marlow’s boat, but he died while travelling. After Kurz’s return to Europe the country has deeply changed. At the end of the novel the five initial characters are still on the boat on the Thames and the first-person narrator seems to be the only one to have understood the meaning of Marlow’s experience ✔THE DARKNESS INSIDE HIMSELF: This is a criticism against European colonialism as well as a process of self-knowledge. A very strong theme is the hypocrisy of white people regarding their mission to “civilise” Africa, but the truth is that THE HEART OF DARKNESS IS IN EUROPE and European civilization darknesses the white heart of Africa. The further he goes into the heart of Africa, the more he learns about Kurz and then he finally understands himself. This novel has “filters” considering the narration : 1) memory→ this memory is a flashback, a journey made from the author when he was young → is RECONSTRUCTED 2) there aremany narrators→many points of view 3) he uses the language of “SENSE DESCRIPTION” → he uses senses to describe something 3) descriptions areMULTI-FACETEDMarlow will never go back to Africa, that place is too scary and not understandable, also he will never look at Europe the same way he used to do. ✔HYPOCRISY OF IMPERIALISM: HOD explores the issues surrounding imperialism in complicated ways. During his journey he encounters scenes of torture, cruelty, and near-slavery. At the very least, the incidental scenery of the book offers a harsh picture of colonial enterprise. The impetus behind Marlow’s adventures, has to do with the hypocrisy inherent in the rhetoric used to justify imperialism. The men who work for the Company describe what they do as “trade,” and their treatment of native Africans is part of a benevolent project of “civilization.” Kurtz, on the other hand, is open about the fact that he does not trade but rather takes ivory by force, and he does not hide the fact that he rules through violence and intimidation. His perverse honesty leads to his downfall, as his success threatens to expose the evil practices behind European activity in Africa. However, for Marlow as much as for Kurtz or for the Company, Africans in this book are mostly objects. Africans become for Marlow a mere backdrop, a human screen against which he can play out his philosophical and existential struggles. Their existence and their exoticism enable his self-contemplation. This kind of dehumanisation is harder to identify than colonial violence or open racism. ✔MADNESS AS A RESULT OF IMPERIALISM:Madness is closely linked to imperialism in this book. Africa is responsible formental disintegration as well as physical illness. Madness has 2 primary functions. First, it serves as an ironic device to engage the reader’s sympathy. Marlow is told from the beginning that Kurtz is mad. However, as Marlow and the reader begin to form a more complete picture of Kurtz, it becomes apparent that his madness is only relative, that in the context of the Company insanity is difficult to define. Thus, both Marlow and the reader begin to sympathise with Kurtz and view the Company with suspicion. Madness also functions to establish the necessity of social fictions. Although social mores and explanatory justifications are shown throughout HOD to be utterly false and even leading to evil, they are nevertheless necessary for both group harmony and individual security. Madness, in HOD, is the result of being removed from one’s social context and allowed to be the sole arbiter of one’s own actions. ✔ABSURDITY OF EVIL: This novella is, above all, an exploration of hypocrisy, ambiguity, and
