Showing results by author "Joseph Conrad" in All Categories

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a novella that delves into the darkness of human nature and the horrors of colonialism. It follows Charles Marlow, a sailor who travels deep into the Congo to find Kurtz, an ivory trader who has become a tyrant among the indigenous people. As Marlow journeys through the African jungle, he uncovers the brutal realities of European imperialism and the moral corruption it breeds. Kurtz's descent into madness symbolizes the destructive power of unchecked ambition. Through its vivid narrative, Heart of Darkness explores themes of civilization, savagery, and the...

Kapitän Whalleys Seefahrer-Karriere nähert sich ihrem Ende. Finanziell dem Ruin nahe, investiert er seine letzten 500 Pfund in einen alten Dampfer, um darauf als Käptn zu dienen - denn schließlich will er seiner Tochter einmal ein anständiges Erbe hinterlassen... Diese Erzählung beweist wiederum, warum Conrad ein solch begnadeter Stylist war.

Youth, although written over a century ago, is just as relevant to humans today and I believe for all time. Here Conrad addresses the dimming of our mortal light, that subtle realization in all of us that we are no longer as vital as we once were. That mark in time when we acknowledge to ourselves that we are aging, growing old, dying.

Born in 1857 in Poland, Joseph Conrad became a British citizen just before he turned 30. In the intervening years he lost both parents; as an orphan aged 11, he was therefore raised by an uncle, who at 16 let the boy go to Marseille to work on merchant ships, where the colourful life of the sea was further enhanced by stints gun running and intriguingly political conspiracy. At age 36, his life turned from one of ships to one of literary pursuit. In doing so, Conrad brought to English Literature a further layer of style and a deeper examination of the human psyche in a wealth of work.

Das Herz der Finsternis (Originaltitel: Heart of Darkness) ist eine erstmals 1899 im Blackwood's Magazine in drei Teilen veröffentlichte Erzählung von Joseph Conrad, die im November 1902 auch als Buchausgabe erschien. In dieser Erzählung berichtet der Seemann Charlie Marlow anderen Seeleuten von seiner Reise in Zentralafrika als Kapitän eines Flussdampfers.

"Here speaks the man of masts and sails, to whom the sea is not a navigable element, but an intimate companion. The length of passages, the growing sense of solitude, the close dependence upon the very forces that, friendly to-day, without changing their nature, by the mere putting forth of their might, become dangerous to-morrow, make for that sense of fellowship which modern seamen, good men as they are, cannot hope to know."