Joseph Conrad Mindmap Associations with Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad

Mindmap Associations with ‘Heart of Darkness’. Heart of Darkness

Objectives • To explore and understand the historical context of Heart of Darkness.

Context What is Context? The set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event. e. g. social, historical, philosophical. Why is it important that we understand the context of literary works?

Context Exploring context allows us to… • understand the author’s intentions and motivations. • understand relate to the relevance of the work and the issues therein.

Chronology 1857 1862 1865 Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski born December 3 in Berdichev. Father exiled to Russia accompanied by wife and son. Conrad’s mother dies. He is left in the care of his uncle.

1869 Conrad returns to Cracow with his father where he attends school. His father dies. 1874 Leaves Cracow for Marseilles. 1875 Apprentice aboard the Mont-Blanc, bound for Martinique. 1878 Attempts suicide by shooting himself through the chest. 1885 Receives British certificate of naturalisation.

1889 1890 1894 1896 1898 1899 1906 1910 Summer in London. Returns to Poland for the first time since 1874. Leaves for the Congo. Ends his career as a seaman. Marries Jessie George. Son Alfred born. Moves to Kent. Completes Heart of Darkness. Son John born. Becomes seriously ill.

1924 Declines knighthood. Health deteriorates. Dies of a heart attack August 3. Buried in Canterbury.

Publication "I need not enlarge upon the pleasure of seeing my story in such a good place. " — Conrad to William Blackwood, 29 November 1897. • ‘The Heart of Darkness’ first published in monthly serialisation, 1899. • Finally published in a ‘revised’ & collated edition, 1902.

Historical Context Imperialism and the scramble for Africa: At the end of the 18 th century colonialism seemed to have become a thing of the past. Britain had lost its Thirteen Colonies in America, Spain and Portugal had lost most of South America and Holland was having difficulties holding onto the East Indies. A hundred years later, however, a second wave of colonisation took place. Within twenty years, from 1880 to 1900, every corner of the Earth, from the highest mountains in the Himalayas to the most remote Pacific island Antarctica, came to be claimed by one or other European power. Africa saw the most dramatic colonisation. It was divided up as if it had been a cake split between greedy European leaders. This was called the "Scramble for Africa". Having visited Africa, Conrad would have experienced the scramble first hand.

Historical Context An American cartoon depicting Britain taking African territory (circa. 1900) What do you think prompted European interest in Africa?

Historical Context Africa is never identified by name in the novel. Marlow – the novel’s protagonist and narrator - only describes ‘the biggest, the most blank space’ on the map. Christopher L. Miller suggests that “the reader - teased into thinking he is reading a novel ‘about’ Africa’ is, in fact, “led into a void that … has no name but ‘heart of darkness’.

Group Work • Group A • Group B • Underline all the dates • Underline all the & places (countries & phrases that describe states) mentioned. the relationship between white colonisers & natives.

I. L. T. Find out as much as you can about King Leopold II and Sir Henry Stanley with reference to the Belgian colonisation of Africa.