Narrator Narrative technique is an important element of Conrad’s literary style. This story is structured as an “embedded narrative.” This means that the central story, narrated by the fictional character Charlie Marlow, is “embedded” in a “frame” narrative, whereby the ”frame” narrator introduces Marlow’s character, and presents the central story as a direct quotation from…
Tag: Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness – Themes
Civilization and the Primitive The central theme around which this story revolves is civilization versus wilderness. The symbolism that represents this theme is the opposition of light versus darkness. As in much of European art and literature, the imagery of ‘ ‘light” is associated with Western culture, civilization, knowledge, and the conscious mind. The imagery…
Heart of Darkness – Characters
The Harlequin Russian Soldier The Harlequin Russian soldier greets Marlow upon his arrival at Kurtz’s compound. A Westerner, he seems half-crazed and maniacally obsessed with the worship of Kurtz as an exceptional being. Kurtz Kurtz is a Company employee of “unsound methods,” whom Marlow has been charged with retrieving from the depths of the Congo….
Heart of Darkness – Summary
“Heart of Darkness” begins with the “frame” narrator’s description of a group of men relaxing on a private yacht one evening. One of the men, Charlie Marlow, a sailor, commences to tell his friends a tale of one of his adventures as the captain of a steamboat going down the Congo River. The rest of…
The Secret Sharer – Analysis
In “The Secret Sharer,” Joseph Conrad tells the story of two simultaneous journeys: the literal sea journey and the young captain’s journey toward self discovery. That his ship barely gets underway in the final pages of the story is an indication of which of the two journeys Conrad found most interesting. The young captain of…
The Secret Sharer – Themes
Initiation and Self-Definition The captain in “The Secret Sharer’ undergoes a process of initiation and self-definition. When confronted with the duties and responsibilities of a captain, he is not only overwhelmed but also impressed with all the responsibilities that he has taken on. He is constantly looking for reassurance from his crew that he is…
The Secret Sharer – Summary
“The Secret Sharer,” one of Polish-born Joseph Conrad’s more widely read sea stories, is a psychological tale narrated by a young ship captain who finds himself harboring a fugitive from another ship. As the story opens, the narrator has just taken command of his first ship, which is anchored in the Gulf of Siam. The…
Perspectives on the Scramble for Africa
In the readings, different perspectives were given regarding ‘the scramble for Africa’. Colonial scholars of the period propagated the idea that native Africans were somewhat barbaric and backward, and that they need guidance from a more civilized people. This assessment is not totally untrue, for Africa (then and now) remains technologically backward, although cultural backwardness…
Critical Analysis of Colleen Burke’s ‘Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: A Metaphor of Jungian Psychology’
The article by Colleen Burke titled Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: A Metaphor of Jungian Psychology is well written, insightful and instructive. The author draws on parallels between the works of two great intellectuals in the form of Joseph Conrad and Carl Gustav Jung. Although Conrad and Jung were not contemporaries, one could see striking…