Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (CH_01)

[Music] hello viewers welcome to this session today we will analyze and interpret Heart of Darkness which is written by Joseph Conrad we shall explore the features of Marlow and Kurds who are the main characters we shall also study Victorian literature in the words of Joseph Conrad through heart of darkness let's see the introduction to the author Joseph Conrad grew up in the Polish Ukraine a large fertile land between Poland and Russia it was a divided nation with four languages for religions and a number of different social classes his father was Apollo cores in his swing and mother Eva babushka Apollo devoted much of his time in literary and political activities which brought in little money he wrote a variety of plays and social satire which had a tremendous influence on his son Joseph Conrad was seven years old when he lost his parents and became and often the young boy became the ward of his uncle who loved him dearly he spent a few years in France mastering his second language and the fundamentals of seamanship he had many acquaintances in his circle but his bohemian friends introduced him to drama opera and theatre by 1878 Joseph made his way to England with the intention of becoming an officer on a British ship he spent 20 years at sea sometimes with long voyages and sometimes resting on land a journey to the Congo in 1890 was Joseph's inspiration to write heart of darkness he condemned colony ilysm which is well documented in the books in 1889 he wrote his first novel al Mayer's folly Conrad did not begin to learn English until he was 21 years old interestingly he chose to write in English his third language his famous works during 1897 and 1911 are the of the narcissus youth heart of darkness Lord Jim Nostromo the secret agent and under Westerner eyes and many others too he experienced serious financial difficulties his publication of chance in 1914 gave him some level of commercial success he returned to Poland and then travelled to America where he died of a heart attack in 1924 at the age of 67 [Music] you heart of darkness is a masterpiece that reveals Conrad's memories of his journey to the Congo many critics have called it the best short novel written in English the central characters are malov and Kurds it is a book about the discovery of unknown Africa a reader cannot deny that the novel can be analyzed in terms of its focus on imperialism and colonialism and other events of the era Europeans traveling to the underdeveloped and Savage countries very importance in the novel heart of darkness provides a bridge between Victorian values and the ideals of modernism imperialism is however at the center of the novel by 1890s world's dark places were nominally under European control European powers were stretched thin and cracks began to appear in the system the white men living in distant places were threatened by riots Wars and abandonment of commercial enterprises heart of darkness is a narrative about the difficulty of understanding the world beyond the self and about the ability of a man to judge another it was one of the first literary texts which provided a major view of European Imperial activities critics made it controversial initially but later admired reinforcing its domestic values the reader can also find the central themes of hypocrisy and absurdity Conrad never tells where heart of darkness is set it begins on a boat moored on the Thames waiting for the tide to turn he never gives a more exact location than this because the heart of darkness is an imaginative location a dark place that has no boundaries although the novel appears quite frightening to the readers of the 20th century there is an exciting atmosphere in the center of an unexplored continent the novel first appeared in Blackwood magazine before the Congo I was just a mere animal stated Conrad the novel is the author's longest journey into itself it becomes obvious to the reader that the story is not about curds all the cruelty of the Belgians but it is all about manners journey into self the novel stands for humans morality and psychological deterioration and intellectual understanding the essential self [Music] let's now look into the setting of the novel the story of Marla's travel up the Thames river mates the setting going up the river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world it was something like an empty stream a great silence and an impenetrable forest there was lazy warm and thick air and no joy in the brilliance of sunshine the waterway ran on long stretches into the shady distances there were hippos and alligators on silvery sand banks model of compares sailing up the river to going back in time Marla tells us the story on a different River the English teams the teams is the Congo England is like Africa and white men are black men at the very beginning of the novel Marlow says and this also has been one of the dark places of the earth in other words it provides a hint to the reader that England too was a place of primitive darkness until noble men from Rome conquered it [Music] in merry old England during a flood the British ship Nellie anchors near London it awaits the flood to recede the reader is introduced to for seamen on board the unnamed Meritor a lawyer and accountant and Marlowe and few others Marlow is mentioned to be without a specific profession Marlow has had a great passion for travel and exploration he has a great desire for maps the only thing that he wants is to be the captain of a steamship that travels up and down a river in Africa his aunt who seems to have got connected with the administration Department of a seafaring and exploration company gathering ivory manages to get an appointment for Marla in a serious conflict with the natives the captain is killed and Marla is replaced as captain the atmosphere looks very dim and foreboding when Marlow arrives at the company office it appears for him as if everyone looks at him with pity the doctor asks if there is a history of mania in Marla's family Marla is told that nothing could persuade him to join the company down in the Congo Marlow is puzzled but does not pay any attention to it the next day he involves in a one month journey to the primary company station a young boy approaches Marlow he looks very empty Marla unable to do anything offers him some sheep biscuits hidden comes across a very well-dressed man who stands for respectability and elegance Marner is relieved to leave the boy and get introduced to this man in the conversation Marlow learns that he is the chief accountant of the company Marlow DIF this man he begins to spend most of his time in his Hut while the accountant goes over the accounts on observing the chief accountants in temper after ten days my love departs for his 200-mile journey into the interior of the Congo where he works for a station run by a man named curds here we are introduced to Kurtz the journey is laborious and difficult model of encounters black men working while crossing several paths on his way he also looks at deserted dwellings Manav does not like them to call humans throughout the novel these people are referred to in animalistic terms Marlow finally arrives at a secondary station where he meets the manager who for then oversees his work the meeting appears strange the manager smiles in a very unpleasant and dejected manner suddenly the ship on which Marlin is supposed to set sail breaks Marlow has had to wait till rivets are fixed to it he gets more time to spend than on more mundane tasks he frequently here's the name curds around the station everyone clearly knows that his illness is a Roma soon the entire crew will depart for a trip the Kurd station [Music] when we look into the character of Marla contract state of mind and his values is reflected in the normal Conrad is seen undeniably in almost every event through Marla in the novel Marlo is Conrad's alter ego Marla is an experienced captain with sunken cheeks a yellow complexion and an honest active ruff and sympathetic aesthetic he looks civilized and speaks in a gentle manner and stands as a good man of his time as he goes deeper into the heart of the forest in search of Kurtz he begins to know that savagery is a primitive form of civilization Marlow is the protagonist and the main character of the story he also reflects his Victorian predecessors in many ways he looks a typical European he is an independent thinker and a capable man he is tough and honest Marlow concentrates between the intellectuals and that of the working tough he is intelligent and eloquent and a natural philosopher he is highly skilled at his actions he repairs and pilots his own ship skillfully he is not a mere manual labor work for him is a strong alternative to the excuse making of those around him he possesses good work ethic thus he is intended to be a versatile character Marlow is understood as an intermediate agent between the two extra of Kurds and the company the reader is allowed to read and identify him Marla acts as a guide for the reader he is unlike those company men who focus on money and advancement but like the one as Coleridge's ancient mariner destined to repeat his story to all those who would listen he is philosophical independent minded and sceptical of those around him he is an elopement master storyteller when Marla could know about the activities of Kurtz in the forest he criticized Kurtz morale collapses because of his separation from his culture and civilization Marla was not cruel towards the blacks instead he considered the pain of the native workers Marla hates the cruel treatment of the natives that works with Kurds he tries to get Kurds out of the Congo River but Kurtz dies during his journey to find Kurtz Marla finds his true self does Marla's journey can be interpreted as a decent into the unconscious when Marla returned to Europe he found the people's nature offensive that must have been the reason why his opening lines narrate about Romans conqueror of England and Marla then speaks one of the darkest places of the earth what Madhav did was hiding the immortality present in a heart as he knew well that there is a darker side in every human along with the brighter side [Music] let's look now into the character of curds curds is a fictional character who stands as an example for civilized man his reaches over to barbaric attitude due to Congo environment his mother is half English and his father half French all Europe contributes to make curds he is a man of talent interested in reading and writing poetry he is the chief of the inner station and the reason for Marla's trip he is a man of talents and has the capability to lead and control the natives he did what he wanted to as there were no rules and laws that would restrain him from doing so he struggles with the darkness in himself but finally at the end he realises his folly and confesses to it God sees in charge of the most productive ivory station in the Congo he is approved universally for his intelligence and eloquence curse becomes the focus of Marla's journey into Africa he is the unique victim of colonization like Marla Kurtz can be studied in a broader sense he is captured by the wild earnest he turns his back on the people and customs that were once a part of him in a world of mundane ly malicious men it is very difficult to get attention to be worthy of something that indeed is not deserved off Kurtz can be criticized in the same manner his style entirely over old substance it provides a justification for no moral standards and instant evil Kurt's really lacks in substance Marla refers to Kurtz has hollow more than once this can be taken in a negative sense to mean that Kurtz is not worthy of contemplation on his visiting Kurt's cousin the Belgian journalist and Kurtz fiance margov understands that there seems to be no true kurds to his cousin he was a great musician and to the journalist a brilliant politician and leader of men and finally to his fiancee a great humanitarian and genius here a reader can easily read Kurtz in contrast with Marla yet through his cherry Seema he remains with Marla and with the reader till the end Kurtz takes up immoral acts because he is away from culture and civilization Conrad deals with dark heart that lies in humanity he strongly believes that apart from the brighter side there is always the darker side in every human Kurtz last words the horror the horror exemplifies two aspects one being model of experiencing change in Kurtz personality and the other being the invasion of the Congo but later he lost his personality Mullen says that Kurtz last words are a moral victory paid by innumerable defeats though Kurtz was immoral in many ways he was successful because he did not run away from the truth let's look now into the character of curds curds is a fictional character who stands as an example for civilized man his riches over two barbaric attitude due to Congo environment his mother is half English and his father half French all Europe contributes to make curds he is a man of talent interested in reading and writing poetry he is the chief of the inner station and the reason for Marlowe's trip he is a man of talents and has the capability to lead and control the natives he did what he wanted to as there were no rules and laws that would restrain him from doing so he struggles with the darkness in himself but finally at the end he realises his folly and confesses to it God sees in charge of the most productive ivory station in the Congo he is approved universally for his intelligence and eloquence girls becomes the focus of Marla's journey into Africa he is the unique victim of colonization like Marla Kurtz can be studied in a broader sense he is captured by the wild earnest he turns his back on the people and customs that were once a part of him in a world of mundane ly malicious men it is very difficult to get attention to be worthy of something that indeed is not deserved off Kurtz can be criticized in the same manner his style entirely over roles substance it provides a justification for no moral standards and instead even Kurtz really lacks in substance Marla refers to Kurtz as hollow more than once this can be taken in a negative sense to mean that Kurtz is not worthy of contemplation on his visiting Kurtz cousin the Belgian journalist and Kurtz fiance margov understands that there seems to be no true Kurds to his cousin he was a great musician and to the journalist a brilliant politician and leader of men and finally to his fiancee a great humanitarian and genius here a reader can easily read Kurtz in contrast with Marla yet through his cherry Simha he remains with Marla and with the reader till the end Kurtz takes up immoral acts because he is away from culture and civilization Conrad deals with dark heart that lies in humanity he strongly believes that apart from the brighter side there is always the darker side in every human Kurtz last words the horror the horror exemplifies two aspects one being model of experiencing change in Kurtz personality and the other being the invasion of the Congo but later he lost his personality Marlon says that Kurtz last words are a moral victory paid by innumerable defeats though Kurtz was immoral in many ways he was successful because he did not run away from the truth [Music] heart of darkness explodes the exploitation of hidden dark regions more powerfully than any of the author's other novels Conrad wrote this novel to examine civilization Freud says civilization describes the whole sum of the achievements and regulations which distinguish our lives from those of our animal ancestors which serve two purposes namely to protect men against nature and to adjust their mutual relations this makes the reader think that mother loves journey is a psychological journey the title of the book is a metaphor the real darkness is not in Africa but has originated from Europe the Congo colonizers and their mistreatment towards their natives is when described the novel has begotten a world of materialistic morality inappropriate social modes and aggressive values the doorman appeases the keyboard the Belgian woman knitting black wool wearing a white dress dark eyes in a pale face and shrunken black heads with white teeth signify the imperialism to conclude heart of darkness is not just a fiction it shows the suffering of millions of Africans who suffered and died due to brutality of Europeans during their trading and colonisation Marlow finally understands that his greatest adventure in his life is death he quotes dark human shades could be made out in the distance flitting indistinctly against the gloomy border of the forest the story ends as Marla and his listeners look at the waterway of the Thames flowing on to the heart of darkness thus the novel shows how the man is controlled by the nature I hope you all have seen how Joseph Conrad had travelled into his self when the session tells us about Victorian values and imperialism and also modernism thank you

Channel: CH_01: VAGEESH [ Language & Literature]

Views: 52,518

Rating: 4.7552581 out of 5

Keywords: del_pipe=hdd, del_prtnr=55776712, del_ship=20170815

Id: -3S54m69_WU

Length: 32min 4sec (1924 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 04 2017