Joseph Conrad Influences

In the words of Ray Bradbury, “Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.” Joseph Conrad is considered the principle author of the 19th and 20th century. Through his novels he would speak about various adventures, loneliness, dangers of the sea and much more. All things which he personally experienced. He loved to explore new territories which led him to a journey into the heart of the Congo. What Conrad would experience in the depths of the Congo would, as Ray Bradbury said, “Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper”. Conrad’s personal experiences significantly influenced his writing of Heart of Darkness. Conrad’s first hand experience of the cruel rule of King Leopold II influenced his writing of Heart

Joseph Conrad was one of many others to experience the horrors committed under Leopold’s reign and later wrote about these atrocities. In Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, “The Grove of Death” serves as a great example of the oppression the Congolese people went through. “And this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die. They were dying slowly—it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now,—nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation…” (pg. 118) This representation of the Congo is allegorical to King Leopold and his regimes treatment towards the Congolese people. Once King Leopold gained control of the Congo, he went into this already impoverished nation and took advantage of their resources and vulnerable people. Leopold and his regime abused the people for their ivory and rubber and if they didn’t meet their quota for the day they might as well say goodbye to their right hand. This abuse stripped away the livelihood of the Congo and replaced it with a spreading global grove of death. Conrad accurately described the physical appearance of the oppression in the Congo caused by Leopold and his

Conrad, like Marlow, sailed up the Congo River and arrived at the station where the agent, Klein or Kurtz, was supposed to receive him. Due to Conrad’s damaged ship, he boarded on another ship and began his search for Klein. Conrad found Klein, in a sickly state, and prepared to journey back down the Congo River; however, on the return voyage, Klein died. Conrad and Marlow experienced the same feelings when they were in the heart of the Congo. Conrad’s thirst for the life of a seaman was quenched in his adventures in the Congo; however, his experience in the Congo also terminated his thirst for life as a seaman. After returning from the Congo, Conrad found a new desire and devoted his life to