Heart of Darkness
The Novel was the inspiration for the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.
Key words
- Colonial: involving a period of political control by a more powerful country
Turkey was once an important colonial power.
- Firsthand: if you experience something firsthand, you experience it yourself
Most of the older reporters have experienced war firsthand.
- In stark contrast: an obvious difference between two or more things
The amount spent on defense is in stark contrast to that spent on housing and health.
- Revered: to very much respect and admire someone or something
Nelson Mandela is revered for his brave fight against apartheid.
- Atrocity: an extremely cruel, violent, or shocking act
They are on trial for committing atrocities against the civilian population.
Read the article to find the answers
- Where is Heart of Darkness set?
- What inspired Conrad to write?
- What did Kurtz become?
- What does 'darkness' refer to in the book?
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist best known for Heart of Darkness, a fictional novel set in colonial Africa at the turn of the 20th century. Conrad left his native Poland to avoid conscription into the Russian army, then began working on British ships before being hired on a steamship in Africa, and according to Conrad, the experience of seeing the horrors of colonial rule firsthand inspired him to write. Much of Heart of Darkness is inspired by his travel journals from this period.