Heart+of+Darkness

Heart of Darkness

[|Carl Jung.doc] [|An_Image_of_Africa.doc] [|HOD study questions.doc]

Hi Everyone, I am helping save the world today at the Balona Wetlands. Wish you were here! But, since you are not, here is your equally fun task for the day:

Please use the HOD study questions above to conduct group discussions. You should answer every question fro part one and two. IF YOU ARE ON TASK, Ms. Stronks will allow you to discuss the answers but not write them down. IF YOU ARE NOT ON TASK, the questions will be due in WRITING when I see you on Friday. Please also take the time to review the information on this page. I know many of you are getting tangled in the complex inter-workings of Conrad’s dark mind...these short bits of information can help you navigate.

Please also keep in mind your HOD web quest will be due on Monday.

Dates to keep in mind: Friday- Quiz/Discussion (You should be finished with the book) HW- Read Carl Jung and An image of Africa (above) to be prepared for the final exam. Monday- Final Exam and Web quest Due HW- Buy Cliffs AP Literature Book (Due Wednesday)

Notes on Joseph Conrad's // Heart of Darkness //
by Gisèle Baxter, University of British Columbia

**Introduction:**
Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel ** Heart of Darkness ** is about many things: seafaring, riverboating, trade and exploration, imperialism and colonialism, race relations, the attempt to find meaning in the universe while trying to get at the mysteries of the subconscious mind. We read this novel from perspectives unavailable to its first audience: we question assumptions about race and self-government which that audience didn't -- we live in a different world with different maps, and different cultural and political orders.

**Structure:**
The framing narrative of ** Heart of Darkness ** is presented by an unnamed, undefined speaker, who is one of a group of men, former sailors, now professionals, probably middle-aged, on the deck of a yacht at the mouth of the Thames River, London England. The time is probably contemporary with the writing and publication of the novel, so around the turn of the 20th century. One among the group, Charlie Marlow, a mysterious figure who is still a sailor, tells the story of something that happened to him several years before, when he piloted a steamboat up a river in Africa to locate an agent for a Belgian company involved in the lucrative ivory trade. Most of the novel is Marlow's narration, although Conrad sometimes brings us back to the yacht and ends the novel there. This framing setting introduces some important motifs of Marlow's tale: sailing, exploration, imagery of light and darkness, the contrast of "civilization" and "primitivism" and of appearance and reality (Part 1; "Forthwith a change came over the waters....He broke off" pp. 16-20). Also, as in ** Wuthering **** Heights **, the technique of a framing narrative brings up questions of memory: how reliable is a story when related by someone many years after the fact, then reported by someone else. The narrative is basically chronological with some forward-jumping (for example, Marlow, anticipates the conclusion of his tale when he mentions the Intended in Part 2; "I laid the ghost of his gifts at last with a lie" p. 80).

**Style:**
Remember that mostly this is a tale being told aloud. Ideally, you should be able to "hear" in your head while reading whatever you imagine Marlow's voice to sound like, especially if you identify yourself to any extent with the unidentified framing narrator. Is Marlow simply telling a story which is mystifying to his companions, or is he himself trying once again to figure out its meaning while he talks? The description of people and landscape is much more figurative than literal: it doesn't push the plot along or explain things, but then neither does the dialogue, which tends to introduce and reinforce some of the principal thematic motifs suggested above (see for example the steamboat journey towards Kurtz's station -- Part 2; "Trees, trees, millions of trees....Fine sentiments be hanged! I had no time" pp. 61-63).

**Marlow:**
Marlow as principal narrator, the teller of the story-within-a-story, has a perspective at once intriguing and questionable. He's like the Ancient Mariner of Coleridge's poem; he grips you with his storytelling skills. However, unlike the Mariner, he doesn't have a specific lesson to teach; his moral position is more ambiguous and uncertain. Marlow is a white middle-class European male of the 19th century, with all that cultural baggage (for all his sympathy towards the mistreated Africans, Marlow remains an imperialist -- his quarrel is less with colonialism than with the undeniably atrocious Belgian variety, and he himself often describes Africans with condescension or contempt). He is also a knight on a grail-less quest (or one with a false grail), a cynic and a critic, and a keen observer of the depravities and corruption of his fellow men yet literally speechless before Africa and Africans. Throughout his journey, he is confronted by signs which are more and more unrecognizable, because he and the others cannot impose meanings on them, or because the meanings they impose reflect their own anxieties more than anything else (descriptions of darkness and fog and the weird cry when nearing Kurtz's station in Part 2; "Towards the evening of the second day....without leaving a whisper or a shadow behind" pp. 67-68). Interestingly, Marlow as a storyteller has a frustrating reputation for fascinating people but never getting at the meaning of things; he keeps asking questions and suggesting mysteries rather than explaining and revealing.

**Kurtz:**
Kurtz gradually embodies for Marlow this problem of meaning. He never gets to be a flesh-and-blood person: he's a word (introduced quite casually by the whiter-than-white Accountant in Part 1; "One day he remarked....mean him to be" pp. 37-38), then a voice, then a set of ideals: always an abstraction. Kurtz has gone into circumstances which call into question how much judgement depends on recognizable contexts (does "civilization" rob people of survival skills?). But Marlow doesn't know this: in the chaos of the journey, he retains hope that Kurtz will provide a clue to a universe with meaning, something more revelatory and profound than all these managers and pilgrims, these mean-spirited profit-driven Great White Hunters can provide. Is Kurtz important in himself, or in his effect on Marlow?

**Quest:**
Like a knight of the Round Table, Marlow sets off in search of strange adventures. He only gradually acquires a grail, as he picks up more and more hints about Kurtz. Like a knight he is frequently tested by signs he must confront, question and interpret. Signs are things you see or experience or are told which have meaning beyond the literal: old women knitting black wool might simply be relatives of the company personnel given some position of respect and usefulness, or the sombre colour of their wool and clothing, and their serious demeanour, might suggest that they mind the gateway to a mysterious underworld. You might take as signs the following:

Even before he sets out, omens present themselves to Marlow: the old women knitting black wool in the Belgian office, the phrenologist measuring Marlow's skull and warning of changes to take place inside, the tale of how his predecessor died in an uncharacteristic dispute over hens.
 * the first station, with its barrels of unused rivets, its needless blasting of a cliff as a railroad is built, its valley of death and shackled prisoners, and its gleaming white-suited Accountant, who frets over his figures while a man lies groaning his last in his office
 * the central station, rivetless and strawless, where the manager smiles his mysterious mean smile and the idle brickmaker (the "papier-mache Mephistopheles") drinks champagne and lights his privileged candle in its silver holder, where a man is dragged out at random and beaten for having set the fire (regardless of whether he did), and where Marlow's boat is sunk (meanwhile, the Eldorado expedition passes through -- this section provides the most detail of Marlow's increasing fascination with the enigmatic Kurtz)
 * the Russian's cabin, then the Russian himself, a Shakespearean Fool with his motley clothes, his icon which is a dull text (language pored over reverently in spite of content), and his ambivalent relationship with Kurtz
 * the "gateposts" which become heads on poles, shrunken and dried and made to face Kurtz's house: signs not of domestic order but of terror

Joseph Conrad was born to aristocratic Polish parents at a time when Poland was a part of the Russian empire. To avoid being drafted into the Russian army, he fl ed fi rst to France and then to England. He did not learn English until he was twenty years old. He entered the Merchant Marine to continue a career at sea that he had already begun in France. He earned his certifi - cate as a ship’s offi cer and in a few years attained the rank of captain. His career at sea took him literally around the world, although most of his time was spent in Asia and the South Pacifi c. Eventually, he was forced to retire due to health problems. Friends encouraged him to become a writer. At fi rst his novels and stories were not well received, and he was viewed as a writer of adventurous sea stories for young boys. Some important writers of his time, however, including H. G. Wells and John Galsworthy, appreciated the quality of his writing, and—with their support—he eventually found a wider and more appreciative audience. Clearly Conrad’s experience as a seafarer had a major infl uence on his works, but he did not write only about the sea. His major focus was the capacity of human beings to endure—under extreme conditions—the constant threat of the dissolution of human integrity and a surrender to the darkness that he saw as the essential heart of the entire universe. His works always focus on human beings under stress, and he never comes to clear conclusions about why people behave as they do. This ambiguity is one of the traits that mark him as a transitional fi gure between mainstream nineteenth-century novelists and the modern writers of the twentieth century who were infl uenced by him. Joseph Conrad’s career as a sailor, from approximately 1870 to 1900, coincided with the peak of the British Empire. British colonies circled the globe and it was said, correctly, that the sun never set on British soil. The powerful British navy protected the sea lanes, but it was the British merchant marine that moved people and cargo throughout the empire. Imperial governments were primarily concerned with exploiting the natural resources of their colonies while using the colonies as markets for their manufactured goods. This situation was frequently a matter of oppressing native populations and taking advantage of their relative lack of sophistication. For the British, however, there was also the feeling that it was their duty to bring the fruits of civilization to the non-white populations they governed. The contradictions between the goals of greed and bringing culture, education, and scientifi c enlightenment to native peoples were concepts Conrad was very aware of from his experience, but it was a problem with which many educated Europeans could not identify. Conrad’s works were, at least in part, an effort to make the people back home more aware of the problems and contradictions that the colonial enterprise entailed. Conrad’s view of the world is that there are dark, chaotic forces that continually threaten to destroy individuals and whole civilizations. The only protection from this is the resolute steadfastness of men and their stubborn reliance on each other no matter how hopeless the situation or how powerful the forces of darkness may appear. In physics this would be like the principle of entropy, which states that the tendency of all organized systems is toward dissolution and decay. People die, bodies decay, civilizations fall; and only constant effort and attention to preservation can halt these forces—and then only temporarily. In philosophy, Conrad can be seen as a precursor of the Existentialists, who likewise believed that the inevitable fate of each individual was darkness and oblivion, but that humans must not surrender to these destructive impulses. There are some, like Kurtz’s Intended, who could not face the true nature of the darkness at the center of the world; and, not only do they not comprehend it, but would be destroyed by it if they were forced to confront it. Conrad believed that to truly understand the world, people have to confront the true destructive heart of the universe, but they do so at great risk. Kurtz is destroyed by it, but Marlow sees it, partially understands it, and is able to resist the dark power of destruction. Conrad sets his story in what was still, in his time, one of the last great stretches of unknown territory in the world. His voyage is away from the bright, artifi cial world of civilization, into a place that is still a large unexplored area where civilization completely disappears. As his voyage progresses, we see him traveling through almost endless scenes of disintegration and decay until he at last arrives in the “heart of darkness.” Conrad learned from American novelist Henry James a new technique called the “ambiguous narrator,” which permitted the novelist to better represent how uncertain we must always be about the words, actions and motivations of others. Earlier novelists had used an “omniscient narrator” who knows what each character is thinking and feeling and why they act the way they do. In // Heart of Darkness // Conrad increases the distance between the main character in the story (Kurtz) and the reader by adding several layers of narrative isolation. The fi rst layer of isolation occurs with Conrad’s use of his experiences as the fresh-water commander of a steamboat expedition up the Congo River, which is the probable basis of the character Marlow. The second layer is told from a narrator who is listening to Marlow’s story. Finally, Marlow is a third layer of isolation in that he tells a story the meaning of which he himself admittedly does not fully understand. His stories are, after all, “inconclusive experiences.” The reader must work his or her way through three distinct narrative layers to reach the truth about Kurtz. Although the ancient Greeks never saw any confl ict or contention between Apollo and Dionysus, thinkers and writers of the late nineteenth and twentieth century used the two as a metaphor for the human condition and therefore a way to analyze literary works. Apollo was the Greek god of light and is associated with the sun. In addition to being the god of music, poetry and prophecy, he was also the god of medicine, reason and self-restraint. Dionysus, on the other hand, was a god of wine. He was born each year and quickly attracted a group of ardent followers who drank wine, danced wildly and went into frenzies while Dionysus played his fl ute. At the end of the year, is a fi nal wild celebration, his followers would seize him and rip him to pieces in an uncontrollable religious passion. He is associated with the moon, with loss of control and with the absence of restraint. In the nineteenth century, the German philosopher Nietzsche used these two ancient gods as metaphors to examine works of literature, especially the genre of tragedy. His ideas, in many ways, are also found in the theories of Freud. The Apollonian impulse is for rationality, thought before action, and self-restraint. The Dionysian impulse is toward irrationality, giving in to impulse, and the removal of all boundaries. Freud and Nietzsche both thought that these tendencies existed to a greater or lesser degree in each individual. Each of us has the capacity to understand consequences, to evaluate our potential actions, and to show self-restraint. We can respond to the music of a string quartet or to a great painting. Freud attributed this ability to the Superego’s control over the powerful impulses of the subconscious. On the other hand, we also have the ability to let ourselves go, to lose all sense of self or responsibility in wild dancing, in loud music, and in orgiastic pleasure. Freud called this part of ourselves the Id. Conrad is in no way writing a Freudian work as some later writers did, but the dichotomy described here fi ts very nicely with the action of // Heart of Darkness //. The Intended is clearly dominated by the Apollonian aspect of human possibilities. Her appearance at the end of the novel is restrained, controlled and intellectual. Marlow says that she (and others like her) are not capable of seeing the deeper, darker potential of human beings. Kurtz, obviously, has surrendered to the Dionysian forces of the jungle. The chanting and dancing of the natives, both on the trip up the river and in the night when Marlow pursues Kurtz, suggest this, as does the magnifi cent native woman they see on the shore when Kurtz leaves. //Marlow functions as a bridge between these two worlds, seeing not only the bright promise of the // //world suggested by the promise of civilization and progress, but also its fragility as symbolized by // //the Intended. At the same time he has an uneasy sense that he, like Kurtz, is not immune to the // //temptation to give in to the pursuit of pleasure, power, and wealth without restraint. //
 * Joseph Conrad and His Times **
 * Colonialism **
 * The Novel’s Themes **
 * Narrative Layers **
 * The Apollonian and the Dionysian **

**Questions you might ask while reviewing this book:**

 * Why doesn't Marlow kill Kurtz?
 * Why does he lie to the Intended?
 * What does it mean to have a choice of nightmares?
 * What is "the horror"?
 * Why is the framing narrator unnamed?
 * What do women represent in **Heart of Darkness**? There are three significant women in this story: Kurtz's Intended, Marlow's aunt, and the African woman at Kurtz's station. How are they described? What does Marlow mean early in Part 1 when he suggests that women are "out of touch with truth" and live in a beautiful world of their own (p. 28)?
 * If you were, like Francis Ford Coppola (who shifted the setting to late 1960's Viet Nam in his 1979 film **[|Apocalypse Now]**) to retell **Heart of Darkness** in another setting, where and when would you set it?