J. CONRAD (1857-l924)
Russian, made many journeys, also with the
English merchant navy (1890 Congo),
love for solitude. Man reveals his inner self only after the impact with
unforeseen events. Sea: isolation (social, psychological), escape. Symbolism:
Nature reveals man's state of mind. Oblique narrative: Frame (realistic),
picture (inner narration, with several viewpoints). No chronological order but
temporal shifts. The double: presence of an alter-ego who reflects the hidden
side of man's personality.
Heart of darkness
Frame: Marlow tells his friends on the Thames
his adventures in Africa. Kurtz: a learned
man, sent by the Company for civilization and freedom, he has become a kind of
God for the natives. He is like Marlow but he stayed for a long time in Congo,
so he has changed (alter-ego). Marlow sees only savagery and solitude: nature
is being polluted and destroyed, and the natives are kept together with chains
like animals, they are apathic (how can they be considered enemies, criminals?
They are helpless.).
