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Heart of Darkness and The Secret Agent: Two Novels by Joseph Conrad
- GenresClassics
364 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2023
About the author
Joseph Conrad
3,352 books4,993 followersJoseph Conrad was a Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language and, although he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he became a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature. He wrote novels and stories, many in nautical settings, that depict crises of human individuality in the midst of what he saw as an indifferent, inscrutable, and amoral world.
Conrad is considered a literary impressionist by some and an early modernist by others, though his works also contain elements of 19th-century realism. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters, as in Lord Jim, for example, have influenced numerous authors. Many dramatic films have been adapted from and inspired by his works. Numerous writers and critics have commented that his fictional works, written largely in the first two decades of the 20th century, seem to have anticipated later world events.
Writing near the peak of the British Empire, Conrad drew on the national experiences of his native Poland—during nearly all his life, parceled out among three occupying empires—and on his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European-dominated world—including imperialism and colonialism—and that profoundly explore the human psyche.
Conrad is considered a literary impressionist by some and an early modernist by others, though his works also contain elements of 19th-century realism. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters, as in Lord Jim, for example, have influenced numerous authors. Many dramatic films have been adapted from and inspired by his works. Numerous writers and critics have commented that his fictional works, written largely in the first two decades of the 20th century, seem to have anticipated later world events.
Writing near the peak of the British Empire, Conrad drew on the national experiences of his native Poland—during nearly all his life, parceled out among three occupying empires—and on his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European-dominated world—including imperialism and colonialism—and that profoundly explore the human psyche.
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December 2, 2025
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad adapted after a screenplay by Orson Wells for BBC Radio
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
The Heart of Darkness is included on reputable lists of best books.
It has also inspired magnificent adaptations, including Apocalypse Now.
Orson Wells intended to make a film based on the masterpiece and his screenplay has been used to produce the play that I listened to earlier today.
The themes of this chef d'oeuvre are:
Bravery, curiosity, exploitation, race relations, civilized versus barbaric, discovering, greed, violence and much more.
One of the most important subjects I think is the myth of European superiority and its role as a civilizing force.
Yes, in some places they brought in education, sanitation, trains, administrative know how and more.
And I am an admirer of the Victorian gentleman.
But in many situations, the white man in general has been an author of genocide, killing millions only to grab the riches available in lands that are destitute now.
In my opinion, the truth is somewhere in the middle, if we consider the whole picture, with both positive influences and progress, technical and otherwise brought to places in Africa and the ordeal of slavery, killing multitudes and oppressing even more.
The hero of this book is Kurtz, as memorably portrayed by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now.
Philip Marlowe, the narrator has a crucial role to play, but I see Kurtz as more relevant and interesting for being much more complex.
Marlowe is in many ways the good, innocent, well intended, brave, naive and likable hero.
Whereas Kurtz epitomizes both good and bad traits.
He is adventurous, determined, resilient, courageous, a powerful leader, inspiring, motivational, superior, hard working, independent and more.
On the other hand he is unpredictable, wild, crazy from one point on, cruel, heartless under some circumstances.
Without people like him, there could not have been a genocide in Africa and other parts of the world.
Of course, leaders like King Leopold of Belgium had the lion's share of the blame and the spoils of war, in this particular case in the Congo.
But without the likes of Kurtz in the field, men to implement the horrific policies concocted in Western capitals these would have been just heinous designs.
It is tempting to assign blame to climate and heinous conditions.
It is difficult, for some it is impossible to think straight in a scorching heat.
Indeed, some commit suicide in The Heart of Darkness.
The natives are killed and abused because the greedy Europeans wanted ivory and other precious cargo.
For many years, it was people themselves that they traded in the infamous, horrendous slave trade.
It was argued that the Africans themselves were involved in the trade.
That may be so, but it does not diminish the blame.
There are moments and actions that try to redress the centuries old ordeal.
The aid that is sent to Africa and other places might be a sort of Atonement.
Alas, in many places aid is misused or simply stolen.
In other ways, simply opening the markets for the African and emerging countries' goods would be so much better.
African farmers cannot compete with those who are heavily subsidized in the European Union for instance.
The Heart of Darkness, read for the fourth time in a different version, is still a magical story of discovery, meeting of two worlds, some brave and other loathsome characters, a fight for ivory, eating of human flesh and the endurance and majesty of some of the same beings.
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
The Heart of Darkness is included on reputable lists of best books.
It has also inspired magnificent adaptations, including Apocalypse Now.
Orson Wells intended to make a film based on the masterpiece and his screenplay has been used to produce the play that I listened to earlier today.
The themes of this chef d'oeuvre are:
Bravery, curiosity, exploitation, race relations, civilized versus barbaric, discovering, greed, violence and much more.
One of the most important subjects I think is the myth of European superiority and its role as a civilizing force.
Yes, in some places they brought in education, sanitation, trains, administrative know how and more.
And I am an admirer of the Victorian gentleman.
But in many situations, the white man in general has been an author of genocide, killing millions only to grab the riches available in lands that are destitute now.
In my opinion, the truth is somewhere in the middle, if we consider the whole picture, with both positive influences and progress, technical and otherwise brought to places in Africa and the ordeal of slavery, killing multitudes and oppressing even more.
The hero of this book is Kurtz, as memorably portrayed by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now.
Philip Marlowe, the narrator has a crucial role to play, but I see Kurtz as more relevant and interesting for being much more complex.
Marlowe is in many ways the good, innocent, well intended, brave, naive and likable hero.
Whereas Kurtz epitomizes both good and bad traits.
He is adventurous, determined, resilient, courageous, a powerful leader, inspiring, motivational, superior, hard working, independent and more.
On the other hand he is unpredictable, wild, crazy from one point on, cruel, heartless under some circumstances.
Without people like him, there could not have been a genocide in Africa and other parts of the world.
Of course, leaders like King Leopold of Belgium had the lion's share of the blame and the spoils of war, in this particular case in the Congo.
But without the likes of Kurtz in the field, men to implement the horrific policies concocted in Western capitals these would have been just heinous designs.
It is tempting to assign blame to climate and heinous conditions.
It is difficult, for some it is impossible to think straight in a scorching heat.
Indeed, some commit suicide in The Heart of Darkness.
The natives are killed and abused because the greedy Europeans wanted ivory and other precious cargo.
For many years, it was people themselves that they traded in the infamous, horrendous slave trade.
It was argued that the Africans themselves were involved in the trade.
That may be so, but it does not diminish the blame.
There are moments and actions that try to redress the centuries old ordeal.
The aid that is sent to Africa and other places might be a sort of Atonement.
Alas, in many places aid is misused or simply stolen.
In other ways, simply opening the markets for the African and emerging countries' goods would be so much better.
African farmers cannot compete with those who are heavily subsidized in the European Union for instance.
The Heart of Darkness, read for the fourth time in a different version, is still a magical story of discovery, meeting of two worlds, some brave and other loathsome characters, a fight for ivory, eating of human flesh and the endurance and majesty of some of the same beings.
Displaying 1 of 1 review