Joe Conrad :: essays research papers fc

Joseph Conrad was a very talented author. He started writing at the age of thirty-two, and began telling many tales of his life on the sea. In his youth he was a sailor and traveled to many places such as the Orient, and the Congo. It are his experiences on the Congo that serves as his primary source for his story The Heart of Darkness. This book was actually a story of a man, Charles Marlow, telling the story of his experience in Africa. While in Africa, Marlow's attitude towards life changes as can be seen in the following excerpts from the book. "We live in the flicker-may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling!" (68). When Marlow gives that quote, he has not yet started his story. He is on a ship after a bad storm, and is about to begin. This particular quote has a zest to it. It tells one to live every moment to the fullest because life is but a flicker. This quote also tells the reader that Marlow wants to live a long life. After finishing the book, his statement seemed a bit strange because Marlow's tone became less enthusiastic at the end. However, Marlow survived through the experiences he told in his story. If he is still able to look back at his life and say, "may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling!," then he must make the most out of it, and not let a few bad experiences change his attitude towards it. I couldn't help asking him once what he meant by coming there at all. 'To make money of course. what do you think?' he said, scornfully. Then he got fever, and had to be carried in a hammock slung under a pole...(86) This quote tells the reader much about the type of men that went to Africa. Most went only for the money-not giving a second thought to their health and safety. This particular man got deathly ill, and still was concerned only for money. Conrad was making a statement in this quote that too many people today do things only for money. Nobody works because they have a passion for what they do. People are too willing to put their lives on the line just to make a little money. Marlow was disgusted when the man snapped at him. Marlow he went to Africa because he had desired to do so since he was a little boy. He was an explorer at heart, and did not risk his