Biography Of Joseph Conrad s Life - 2221 Words

Background: Writer Joseph Conrad was born on December 3, 1857 in Berdichev (now Berdychiv), Ukraine. His parents, Apollo and Evelina Korzeniowski, were members of the Polish noble class. At the time, the country suffered under the oppressive Russian rule. Joseph’s parents were Polish patriots, but were caught and arrested, then sent to live in the Russian province of Vologda with their 4-year-old son. When Conrad s parents died several years later, he was raised by an uncle in Poland. As a young child, Joseph was tutored by his literate father, and later attended a school in Krakow to receive private schooling. At the age of 16, Conrad left Poland to meet a merchant who was a friend of his uncle. Traveling to the port city of†¦show more content†¦Retiring from his life of sea travel, Conrad married and had two sons in England. He began writing short stories and novels like Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness, and The Secret Agent, which combined his experiences in foreign pla ces with a focus on moral conflict and the dark side of human nature. He began writing just as England entered a period of international decline. In stark contrast to the Romanticism and Modernism dominating the literary field at the time Conrad focused on Marxist values. Strangely, his books were controversial when he wrote them for being too forward thinking and negatively portraying slavery, and in modern times are controversial for his protagonist’s negative feelings towards blacks and women. Conrad left his mark by using writing styles such as faraway settings, dramatic conflicts between human characters and brutal forces of nature, themes of individualism, the violent side of human nature, and racial prejudice. Conrad was interested in using the effects of oppressing leaders in remote situations to draw parallels between the inner lives of single characters and a more general message of human history. He died of a heart attack in England on August 3, 1924. Synopsis: Exp osition-Set in the later part of the 19th century, Heart of Darkness opens on the Thames River near London, England. An un-named narrator informs readers he is traveling with three other men besides the captain: a lawyer, an accountant, and Marlow. Through his