Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness has long been considered a classic. ... However, as Chinua Achebe points out, there is another side to Conrad's famous work than simply a classic piece of literature. ... Achebe despises this condescending attitude of Marlow/Conrad. ... Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers." ... It's obvious that he feels a passion for this subject and through his impassioned writing and clear references to the novel, we are able to approach a classic with a wary eye, and draw our own conclusions. ...

• Word Count: 978
• Approx Pages: 4

Underneath the literal journey encountered in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness lies a tale saturated with subtle, yet, significant imagery that brings forth the true meaning of the novella. ... (Conrad 18) Furthermore, Conrad's frequent symbolic combination of life and death is a parallel to light and dark, echoing the fact that the two must exist simultaneously - there cannot be without the other. ... (Conrad 22) The life and times of Kurtz serve as a valuable lead into the evil that is man. ... Not to forget that Conrad closes the book with classic symbolism of Marlow in the l...

• Word Count: 1071
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

"Heart of Darkness" as a Hero's Journey Certain themes can easily be picked out of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", such as the evils of man, and the destructive nature of imperialism; however, the strongest recurring motif in this novel is that of the Heroic Journey. ... Once Marlow has proven himself worthy, he then comes to the final confrontation- he faces death and the true nature of humanity- which is the classic depiction of the Abyss part of the Hero's Journey. ... (Conrad 15). ... (Conrad 120) Thereafter, Marlow finds that his view of life has changed. ... (Con...

• Word Count: 1967
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

The modernist classic Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, offers a critique of modernity by breaking down the terms in which European thought distinguished itself from the "primitive". Conrad shows that the otherness of Indigenous societies is precisely the otherness of a civilised Eurocentric community itself, that is, "the West's Other is the West itself." ...

• Word Count: 596
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Graduate

Joseph Conrad's experiences with the dark side of human nature also heavily influence his work. Conrad was born in a region of the Ukraine, then under Russian rule ("Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)-, http://www.kirjaso.sci.fi/jConrad.htm). ... ("Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)-). ... The story itself is a parody of the classic British children's story Coral Island by R. ... Conrad witnessed this expansion when he himself traveled into the Congo in 1890 (Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)). ...

• Word Count: 4223
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School

Underneath the literal journey encountered in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness lies a tale saturated with subtle, yet, significant imagery that brings forth the true meaning of the novella. ... (Conrad 18) Furthermore, Conrad's frequent symbolic combination of life and death is a parallel to light and dark, echoing the fact that the two must exist simultaneously - there cannot be without the other. ... (Conrad 22) The life and times of Kurtz serve as a valuable lead into the evil that is man. ... Not to forget that Conrad closes the book with classic symbolism of Marlow in the l...

• Word Count: 1071
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

By using the major themes of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad as inspiration, Francis Ford Coppola created an honest portrayal of one of the most controversial periods of time in America's history: the Vietnam war. Just as West Side Story was derived from the classic Romeo and Juliet, Coppola's interpretation of Conrad's novel is not without distinction or differences. ... Through the use of an enigmatic and extreme focus, the character Kurtz, Apocalypse Now effectively reflected the major themes of Conrad's novel. ... The film Apocalypse Now emulated the truly horrend...

• Word Count: 913
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, tells just such a tale of two men: Kurtz, who became the devil incarnate, and Marlow, who came to discover that he had not the will for either extreme. ... Quite the contrary, this made Marlow all the more excited (Conrad 1371). ... By accounts, Kurtz is "a prodigy[. . .]an emissary of pity, and science, and progress" (Conrad 1383). In time, Marlow becomes absolutely entranced with finding Kurtz, a man with whom he comes to believe he could identify, though he himself would deny it (Conrad 1387). ... Cox put it, "Marlow's journey down the Congo p...

• Word Count: 2372
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

In 1890 Joseph Conrad, born Konrad Korzeniowski, took command of a steamship in the Belgian Congo. ... As Lyz Baranowski said Conrad uses Marlow to "tell us what a frightening thing it is to think of what man would sink to without the accountability of society. ... Conrad also makes it a point to show the pure evil in the colonialists. ... Joseph Conrad writes in classic Victorian style, he is leaves little to the imagination with long drawn out sentences and never ending paragraphs. ... Conrad writes in a way that requires complete attention, when reading it is not uncommon to stop and th...

• Word Count: 1555
• Approx Pages: 6

The Secret Sharer Joseph Conrad's The Secret Sharer, is a novella that tells the story of a ship captain who discovers a stow away and harbors him without telling his crewmembers. ... However, unlike the classic alter ego themes, in this story, the bad half commits the crime before he shares a life with the good half. ... The alter egos of the captain and Leggat are a perfect example of the classic "Dr. ...

• Word Count: 1252
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Feminism in Jane Erye Feminism is a very contradictory theme throughout literary history. It does not have to be seen as a complete rebellion against men, but can simply represent intelligence and self-worth in a female. This philosophy is shown in many of the works of Charlotte Bronte. She uses in...

• Word Count: 1336
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Prior to the 1960s, war films did well at the box-office. Invigorated audiences defined their ideas of combat by watching films that glorified heroic soldiers. Rather than questioning the accuracy of setting, dialogue, or action, audiences gave the film makers freedom to use their imagination. Howe...

• Word Count: 3681
• Approx Pages: 15
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate