THE CONTRADICTION OF THE COLONIALISM

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THE CONTRADICTION OF THE COLONIALISM

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) is an english writer of polish origins. He worked as captain of ships for 20 years. For this reason the sea is the framework of his stories.

In his works we can find two i 444f53e mportant aspects:

the hypocrisy of the colonialism

the spiritual research of ourself through the man's loneliness

One of the most important novel of Conrad is Heart of Darkness, written in 1902. The story was used also in the importan film "Apocalypse now". Conrad find the condraddiction of the civilatation of these popolations with the cruel methods used by the civilized men. The originally of this book is the aspect of hypocrisy of the colonialism.

Heart of Darkness is based on Conrad's own experience as the captain of a West African river steamer in 1890. Conrad reveals the story of Marlow, the protagonist, who travels up the Congo to search of Kurtz, an ivory trader. Marlowe's voyage from the coast takes him past signs of Europe exploitation of the natives towars the "heart of darkness". Where Kurtz, once an idealistic young man, is now the leader of what Marlowe calls "unspeakable rites". Conrad's story hints at horrors that Markowe in unable to describe, leaving the reader to imagine actions that lie outside civilized human behaviur.

THE MEANING OF CONRAD'S WORK

The heroes usually yeild to powers of weakness and evil in themselves and others.

He affirmed values of old-fashion virtues it was such as courage, fidelity, and discipline. He was modern in that he realise how difficult to practice such virtues. His caracters live in a malevolent, corrupt world. He has a fatalistic idea of the life:

As he said to his friend Graham: "There is a machine. It evolved itself, and behold! It knits (ci "intreccia" ci "lavora"). It knits us in it knits us out. It has knitted time, space, pain, death, corruption, despair, and all the illusions...and nothing matters."