Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Author | : Gene M. Moore |
Publisher | : Oxford University Press on Demand |
Total Pages | : 288 |
Release | : 2004 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780195159967 |
ISBN-13 | : 0195159969 |
Rating | : 4/5 (67 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad's fictional account of a journey up the Congo river in 1890, raises important questions about colonialism and narrative theory. This casebook contains materials relevant to a deeper understanding of the origins and reception of this controversial text, including Conrad's own story "An Outpost of Progress," together with a little-known memoir by one of Conrad's oldest English friends, a brief history of the Congo Free State by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a parody of Conrad by Max Beerbohm. A wide range of theoretical approaches are also represented, examining Conrad's text in terms of cultural, historical, textual, stylistic, narratological, post-colonial, feminist, and reader-response criticism. The volume concludes with an interview in which Conrad compares his adventures on the Congo with Mark Twain's experiences as a Mississippi pilot.