Conrad took a journey to the Congo in 1890 that greatly influenced his novel Heart of Darkness. During his journey, Conrad accompanied Henry Morton Stanley and witnessed firsthand the colonial exploitation of the Congo. Conrad had an unpleasant experience, finding it difficult to withstand the climate and seeing Europeans speak ill of one another. His journey resembled Marlow's journey in the novel, and some characters like Mr. Kurtz's predecessor Klein were based on people Conrad met. Both Conrad and Marlow experienced disillusionment upon observing the treatment of natives and felt a sense of enlightenment and crisis. Overall, Heart of Darkness drew heavily from Conrad's own experiences and mental state, making Marlow a mouthpiece for Conrad's views

3.  Heart of Darkness – Autobiographical work
or
 Heart of Darkness – Record of Conrad’s own
experience in Congo
Topic

4. Heart of Darkness – An Autobiography
 Conrad’s Biography – His Interest in Congo
 Conrad’s journey to the Congo
 Conrad’s Experiences in Congo
 Conrad’s journey resembles to the Marlow's journey
 Persons during journey resemble the Characters in Novel
 Resemblance between thinking of Conrad and Marlow
 Marlow the mouthpiece of Conrad

5. Joseph Conrad
o Born 1857 in Russian-occupied Poland
o Joined French Merchant Marine at the age of 16
o Joined British Merchant Marine 1878
o Left the sea & began writing 1894
o Died 1924 & buried in Canterbury

6. o With the help of a relative in Brussels he got the
position as captain of a steamer for a Belgian trading
company.
o Conrad had always dreamed of sailing the Congo.
He was at only 9 when looking at the map of Africa,
He said, “when I grow up, I shall go there.”
And in the novel Marlow also tells his friend on the
deck of steamboat that, in his boyhood, he had
dreamed to go there.
Conrad’s Biography – His Interest in Congo

7. Conrad’s Journey to the Congo
In a work called ‘A Personal Record’, Conrad
describes his visit to Congo in 1890.
Conrad accompanied by Henry Morton Stanley who
had explored the jungles of Central Africa and
penetrated right into the heart of the dark continent.
Conrad’s interest in Africa was greatly increased by
Stanley’s exciting experiences and discoveries.

8. Stanley’s exploration of the dark continent led to the
Belgian King Leopold-ll taking control of the region.
As a result of Stanley’s exploration, certain trading
stations and administration centers were established.
By the time Conrad reached the Congo, it had almost
become the private property of King Leopold-ll.
The colonial exploitation of Congo had begun, Conrad
described this exploitation as the vilest scramble for
loot that ever disfigured the history of human
conscience and geographical exploitation.
Conrad’s Journey to the Congo

9. Conrad’s Experiences in Congo
Conrad described the experiences in ‘Congo Diary’
Conrad felt very pleased to visit the region of his boyhood
dreams.
Conrad had unpleasant experiences as well.
Congo Diary informs us that hardly 60% of the company’s
European employees were able to stay in Congo for
6 months.Hardly 7% Europeans could withstand the climate.
Thus Conrad began to feel disillusioned with this region.
Marlow’s reaction to most people he meets is similar to
Conrad’s reaction to the people he whom he met.

10. Conrad’s Experiences in Congo
Conrad also felt disappointed to find that Europeans speak ill
of one another, and had very little else to do.
In the course of his visit, Conrad had to walk over rocky
territory in the scorching sun, camping at night in the amp
and cold, and facing threats of mutiny from the porters.

12. Conrad’s journey resembles to the Marlow's journey
Congo in 1890’s
Inner Station

13. Conrad’s journey resembles to the
Marlow’s journey
Conrad himself travelled in a steamer throughout his journey
so he portrays the adventure in the shape of Marlow’s journey.
During the voyage some problem occurs in their steamer as in
the novel we see a similar kind of problem with Marlow’s.
Description of several stations which are the trading stations
in actual journey are described as some kind of small ports
and staying areas in the novel.

14. Persons during journey resemble
the Characters in Novel
An agent called Klein, the original of Mr. Kurtz
Conrad’s duty was to bring one of the company’s agent
whose health had been failing. The agent was Klein. He
had been placed in command of the company’s station at
Stanley Falls in 1890. It was the person who was
transformed into Mr. Kurtz in Heart of Darkness.
At central station Conrad Quarreled with the station
manager. Thus in the novel Marlow makes unfavorable
comments on the manager of the central station.

15. Resemblance between thinking of
Conrad and Marlow
Mentally; Marlow, like Conrad, feels a strong sense of
disillusion and disappointment after observing the
behavior of white traders and also the miserable condition
of the lives of the natives.
The colonial exploitation of the dark continent by the white
traders in ivory, as witnessed by Conrad himself, is
described by Marlow

16. Resemblance between thinking of
Conrad and Marlow
Marlow experiences the sense of enlightenment and the
same process of maturing through disillusion and defeat
which Conrad himself underwent too.
Marlow undergoes an extreme personal crises, and this
crisis is very much the same through which Conrad
himself underwent.
Thus both in externals and in terms of the inward mental
life, Marlow meets the same fate which Conrad had met.

17. Marlow the mouthpiece of Conrad
“We live, as we dream – alone.”
We can read Conrad’s own mind in such remarks. Marlow is
more or less a lonely, isolated figure too despite the
presence before him four or five associates to whom he tells
his story.
Marlow appears as a pessimist in the novel and Conrad
himself was a pessimist too.
On the whole Conrad had certain depressing ideas about life
in general, and Marlow too expresses similar ideas about
life.

18. Marlow the mouthpiece of Conrad
We can read Conrad’s own mind in Marlow’s such
utterances as Marlow’s declaring that he hates and
detest a lie not because he is straighter than other
people but simply because a lie appals him.

19. Conclusion
It has to be recognized that Heart of Darkness is,
to a large extent, an autobiographical book
because, in most of the essentials, Marlow’s
experiences and feelings are very much the same
as Conrad’s own had been.

20. Any Question?