Heart of Darkness (Annotated Keynote Classics)

By Joseph Conrad and Michelle M. White

Join the sailors aboard the Nellie as they listen to Marlow's dark atmospheric tale of the depths of human depravity. Follow his descent into the heart of the Belgian Congo in search of the mysterious Kurtz. Witness with him the

• Language: English
• Publisher: MMW Books, LLC
• Release date: Sep 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781949611151

Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad was born to Polish parents in the Ukraine on 3rd December 1857. He grew up surrounded by upheaval. His father was exiled to northern Russia for political activities and although they eventually returned to Poland, Conrad was orphaned by the age of 11. Subsequently he was taught by his uncle, a great influence and mentor. Leaving for Marseilles in 1874, Conrad began his training as a seaman. After an attempt at suicide, Conrad joined the British merchant navy and became a British subject in 1886. After his first novel, Almayer's Folly was published in 1895 he left the sea behind and settled down to a life of writing. Indeed, as his wife wrote in 1927, he would move only "from his table to his bed, for days and days on end". Troubled financially for many years, he faced uncomplimentary critics and an indifferent public. He finally became a popular success with Chance (1913). By the end of his life on 3rd August 1924 his status as one of the great writers of his time was assured.

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Heart of Darkness

by

Joseph Conrad

With Annotations by

Michelle M. White

Introductory Key to

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness may be read as the quintessential tale of a journey, revealing truths about human nature and the world along the way. With a little insight into the man who wrote it and the complex world of the 1890s, you will be able to read deeper into the many layers of this novel and gain a greater appreciation of its depths. Heart of Darkness is often assigned to students both for its historical and literary qualities. Joseph Conrad’s writing is known for its intense imagery that visually, emotionally, and sensually draws the reader into the surroundings. You may find the language challenging in the beginning pages, but as you continue reading, it becomes easier to understand. There are passages that seem puzzling and you will have to ask yourself if there may be a reason behind this ambiguity. This Introductory Key provides some insight that may help to avoid a bit of this confusion and help you to appreciate and enjoy the novel. It will also give you some context and knowledge of the dominant culture of the time to help you pick up on allusions that Conrad’s contemporary readers would have been familiar with.

Joseph Conrad was born Jósef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in 1857 to Polish parents in Ukraine. They were banished into exile for their work fighting for Poland’s freedom from Russian rule. His father earned his living by translating the works of Shakespeare and Victor Hugo, and Jósef grew up reading the classics with a particular affinity for Charles Dickens’ novels. He inherited his father’s knack for language, and at a young age, he was fluent in French and German as well as his native Polish. Jósef’s father, Apollo, spent time imprisoned by Russian authorities for seditious acts, and Jósef and his mother were exiled to a work camp in Russia with him, where they all suffered the health effects of poor conditions. Jósef was a sickly youth and struggled with depression and bouts of anxiety and hypochondria throughout his life. By the time he was twelve years old, both of his parents had died of tuberculosis, and he was in the care of his maternal uncle.

At seventeen, Jósef left home for Marseilles to begin training to fulfill his dream of a life at sea. To avoid conscription by the Russian military when he turned twenty-one, he joined the British Merchant Service (renamed the Merchant Navy after World War I). He learned English from his fellow sailors, became a British subject, and anglicized his name to Joseph Conrad. For the next twenty years, his career took him to exotic places on the Mediterranean and to far away continents like India, Australia, and Asia. He was a part of the heyday of British sea trade and traveled the world transporting foodstuffs like wheat, tea, sugar, and rum, and raw materials like iron, timber, and cotton.

Conrad’s exposure to the world, including his childhood in a country other than his family homeland, made him sensitive to ethnicity, and he included such diversity in his novels. The term race was used in the nineteenth century more to indicate differences in nationality than physical characteristics. If you look at Conrad’s stories and novels as a whole, you will find that they present a wide range of attitudes about race. Nevertheless, Heart of Darkness has been criticized for its racism, most notably by Chinua Achebe, renowned Nigerian author of Things Fall Apart. He said Conrad dehumanized Africans and reduced Africa to a prop and a background.¹ Indeed, you will find crude stereotypes and racist language coming from the character of Marlow and others which reflect the mindset of many Europeans of the time. Contemporary science looked to Darwin’s landmark book, the Descent of Man, published in 1871, to justify colonialism and imperialism. For example, British sociologist Herbert Spencer based the phrase survival of the fittest, on Darwin’s theories to explain why capitalism can and should rule the world. It was known that humanity began its evolution in Africa, and philosophical historian Georg Hegel theorized that European Christian society was more advanced and could help aboriginal cultures evolve to their potential. He held that domination by the ‘civilized’ states was inevitable.² Most literary critics say that in Heart of Darkness Conrad repudiates the idea of Europeans as superior and shines a light on the hypocrisy of using violence and exploitation to enlighten native populations. Conrad portrays Marlow using the offensive racist language of a common seaman even as he recognizes the bond of humanity between himself and the natives. Tension between opposing ideas like this in literature usually points to an important theme. A common literary device used in novels is the contrast between concepts, settings, and characters. Keep this in mind as you come to your own conclusions about Conrad’s portrayal of race and imperialism.

The rise of the steamship in the late nineteenth century led to an increase in imperialism and capitalism. The Western world was becoming more secular and some were afraid that the lack of religious certainty would lead to a lack of conscience or moral self-control. There was also a prevailing idea in the Victorian age that social restraint, duty, and gainful employment was the basis for morality, and without that, man would deteriorate to evil. Pay attention to how the narrator and characters in this novel express and explore some of these ideas.

Heart of Darkness lends itself well to multiple interpretations with its many layers of narrative, setting, and even reality. It is written as a frame story, meaning that it is told through multiple frames that tell one story inside another. In this case, the story comes to us through the observations and thoughts of Charlie Marlow as he relays his experience to the narrator. The resulting haziness or lack of clarity puts it in the literary category of impressionism. Marlow may explain in prosaic detail what he sees, but he leaves it to the reader to decipher what it actually is or what it means. You as the reader, just like Marlow as he tells the story, bring your own associations, feelings and memories to the narrative. In some cases, Marlow will come to understand what he thought he saw earlier and clue us in, but not always. When we read the story, we begin to think about how we might react in Marlow’s situation. You may find yourself frustrated with the ambiguity, but when you come across passages that seem confusing or difficult to follow, consider why the author may have written it in such a way. You will have to decipher if each thing he says is reliable as fact or if it comes from his perception, which may be flawed. The apparent lack of coherence or meaning behind the things Marlow describes may signal an important point Conrad is trying to make.

When characters are described, notice the adjectives used and pay close attention to similarities or contrasts. If a particular adjective or contrast seems to repeat, it usually points to an important theme. You should make it a practice to jot down your thoughts and underline or highlight passages that stand out to you as you go along. Keep a list of important concepts on the blank pages for notes at the end of this book. If you are reading this in digital form, take advantage of your ereader’s notes and highlighting features. You may find a striking metaphor or a passage you don’t understand or a recurring motif. If it reminds you of another book, movie, or character, write it in the margins. Your notes will help you to organize your thoughts so that you can come back to them later. You may be surprised at the ideas that form when you communicate with your book in this way. If you want to discuss or write about the book, you will need to reference specific quotations that back up your opinion, and these observations will be your guide.

As a sailor, Conrad developed sharp powers of observation to read the weather and sea, and he used these well-honed skills to gather, record, and remember details that later went into his writing. His travels informed much of his work, and his stories include fictionalized biographical elements. Heart of Darkness stems from his extensive notes from an African expedition in 1890 that he later published as The Congo Diary. He was hired by a trading company working for King Leopold II of Belgium. His mission was to pilot a steamer up the Congo River to rescue a trader named George Antoine Klein, who subsequently died on the return trip. Conrad was employed to replace Johannes Freiesleben, who had been killed over a dispute while bartering for supplies and firewood with the natives. This voyage was life-changing for Conrad, because he witnessed first-hand, the inhuman treatment of African natives and the brutality of the ivory trade.

While there are parallels to actual events in Heart of Darkness, the novel cannot be read as historical fact. Conrad himself warned against this, and he is deliberately vague as to the location of the voyage in the novel. In an author’s note³ he added to the 1927 printing, Conrad states that the story is experience pushed a little (and only very little) beyond the actual facts of the case. He doesn’t try to present factual events, but to uncover or reveal things through the character of Marlow. Conrad did not state the actual name of the river Marlow traveled on, nor even the continent. However, historical research about the area and the information recorded in Conrad’s own Congo Diary are consistent with the location of the story.

Some background on the Congo and nineteenth century European interest in Africa may help clarify some of the events in the novel. Most of the African coastline was colonized by the mid-1800s, but the inner portion of the continent remained under native rule. The steamship was invented just in time for the colonization of Africa as it enabled faster transport of goods as well as the ability to power against the currents on rivers. New waterproof cartridges for guns gave Europeans the advantage over Africans with bows and arrows, spears, and old muskets, and the invention of quinine helped control malaria.

In 1885, western powers, including England, France, Germany, Belgium, and the United States, convened at the Berlin Conference to regulate colonialism and trade in Africa. Belgium’s King Leopold II was given possession and control of the Congo Free State. While maintaining his altruistic intent to the world, Leopold’s true purpose was to exploit the people and natural resources and claim the upper Congo region for himself.

Congolese traders exchanged ivory, rubber, and copper for European alcohol, cloth, and muskets. By the middle of the nineteenth century, Europeans had outlawed the slave trade, but Arab Islamic powers continued the practice in Eastern Africa. Leopold used this to justify colonization as an effort to suppress slavery as well as to bring commerce, civilization, and Christianity to central Africa. However, his essentially private colony became known for its particularly cruel brutality in the ivory trade.

Ivory was used at that time to make many things now made from plastic like combs and knife handles. Billiard balls, piano keys, and jewelry were also made from ivory. Elephant herds were devastated to meet the demand, which in turn drove up the price of ivory and Leopold’s profits. To control the native inhabitants, he created a large army called the Force Publique, which consisted of Belgian officers commanding both volunteer and conscripted soldiers from all over the continent. For currency, Leopold imported brass wire which was cut into approximately two foot lengths, and eight pieces were valued at one shilling. Congolese