Concetti Chiave
- Joseph Conrad was born in Poland in 1857, spent his childhood in exile due to his father's involvement in independence movements, and later pursued a nautical career.
- Conrad's time in the Congo exposed him to severe exploitation and atrocities, leading him to leave the sea and focus on writing about these experiences.
- He is considered a forerunner of Modernism due to his innovative narrative techniques, such as the use of multiple perspectives and a rejection of the omniscient narrator.
- Conrad's works often explore themes of duplicity, reflecting his own dual nationality and the dual meaning in titles like "Heart of Darkness."
- "Heart of Darkness" follows Marlow's journey in the Congo, revealing the brutal realities of colonial exploitation and culminating in Kurtz's infamous last words, "the horror, the horror."
Indice
life of Joseph Conrad
born in 1857 in Poland, but lived his childhood in exile since his father partecipated on indipendent movements of Poland from Russianautical carreer: fond of the see...> worked as mariner and then as a captain.
Travelled a lot: Far East, Australia (where he learnt english) and Congo.
He experienced the atrocities happening in Congo: people were exploited till death.
Shocked by what he saw in Congo, decided to abandon the sea (even tho was devoted to his job) and started writing.
Forerunner of the Modernism, why?
Narrative techniques:use of flashback: to create the illusion of life being lived by a number of very different people at the same time several points of view/ different narrators: life is experienced by people in different ways--> he had the idea of relativism and refused the omniscient narrator. For this reason he used somtimes the strategy of writing in the form of letter: expressed personal experiences.
Writers's task: not to amuse or teach but explore/analyse the mind of people-->Give his own view of life through characters: deep analysis of society.
Lenguage: his native tongue was Polish and his second lenguage was French. Anyway he decided to write in English because provided him the ideal expressions for his complex vision of life---> the fluid form of his novels represent the complexity of man's consciousness.
He used a variety of adjectives and complex syntax. The dialogues are idiomatic, with lots of exclamation marks.
Theme of duplicity
in his life: double nationality, mixed social identity.In his works:double meaning of the title ''Heart of Darkness'': the dark of the core of Congo.
''Heart of darkness''
the Plot:the novel consists in three parts: Marlow is a sailor sailing from London. He talks about his first commission for a Belgian company involved in the ivory trade in the Congo.
His task was to carry raw ivory from the heart of the continent to the coast where it could be loaded on ships bound for Europe.
Strange events happening: a french gun-boat firing into the jungle, though apparently there was no enemy.
He then went to the Company Station near the coast where he was shocked by the cruelty of the colonial explotation.
There he knew Kurtz's name: Kurtz was a company agent who managed to provide more ivory then the others, but he got lost in the jungle. For this reason an expedition was arranged to bring Kurtz back to civilzation. During the voyage Marlow met several people who referred as a ''very remarkable person'', but then he found out that he was not a good person and exploited natives. Furthermore, he was trying to suppress their costumes, considered ''barbarian''. Marlow finally met Kurtz and succeded in taking him on board. He said something about ''unspeakable rites'' in the heart of the jungle, but before Marlowe could ask him about them, Kurtz died whispering the words ''the horror, the horror''.
When Marlow returned to Belgium told Kurt’s fiancee that he wisphered her name while he was dying, because Marlowe wanted to protect her from Kurtz's darkness.
Domande da interrogazione
- Qual è l'importanza della carriera nautica di Joseph Conrad nella sua vita e nelle sue opere?
- Perché Joseph Conrad è considerato un precursore del Modernismo?
- In che modo la lingua ha influenzato la scrittura di Joseph Conrad?
- Qual è il tema della duplicità nella vita e nelle opere di Conrad?
- Qual è la trama principale di "Heart of Darkness"?
La carriera nautica di Conrad è fondamentale, poiché ha viaggiato molto e ha vissuto esperienze che hanno influenzato profondamente le sue opere, come le atrocità viste in Congo che lo hanno spinto a lasciare il mare e iniziare a scrivere.
Conrad è considerato un precursore del Modernismo per le sue tecniche narrative innovative, come l'uso del flashback e di diversi punti di vista, rifiutando il narratore onnisciente e esplorando la mente umana attraverso i suoi personaggi.
Sebbene la sua lingua madre fosse il polacco e la seconda lingua il francese, Conrad scelse di scrivere in inglese perché gli permetteva di esprimere meglio la sua complessa visione della vita, utilizzando una sintassi complessa e dialoghi idiomatici.
Il tema della duplicità si riflette nella doppia nazionalità di Conrad e nella sua identità sociale mista, così come nel doppio significato del titolo "Heart of Darkness", che rappresenta sia il cuore oscuro del Congo che la natura umana.
"Heart of Darkness" segue il marinaio Marlow nel suo viaggio in Congo per una compagnia belga coinvolta nel commercio d'avorio. Durante il viaggio, scopre la crudeltà dello sfruttamento coloniale e incontra Kurtz, un agente della compagnia che, nonostante la sua reputazione, si rivela essere un uomo corrotto e oppressivo.
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