The Life Of Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

The Life of Joseph Conrad Throughout time, influential writers have produced many great works of literature. These works of literature impact the stylistic aspect of writing for years to come. Joseph Conrad, one of these influential writers, used his own personal experiences to write harrowing novels, such as Heart of Darkness. Conrad’s impact on literature is his distinctive writing style. Described as a “winding, indirect, tautological, and sometimes frustratingly ambiguous narrative structure” (Davies), Conrad has cemented himself as one of literature’s greatest authors. Surprisingly, Conrad was not directly born with the gift of literary perfection. Instead, Conrad became recognized as a literary genius through his lifetime and experiences.

Although Conrad was born into the Polish noble class by Apollo and Evalina Korzeniowski in Berdichev, Ukraine, his life was uprooted rapidly. His parents, being “Polish patriots who conspired against oppressive Russian rule” (Biography Editors), were quickly exiled away from their Polish land to Vologda, Russia. This was mainly due to Conrad’s father being part of the “szlachta, a hereditary social class comprised of members of the landed gentry” (Moran), which conspired against the oppressive Russian government. Consequently, the harsh living conditions of Vologda would soon alter Conrad’s life forever. The hazardous environment affected his parents first, with Conrad’s mother dying “of tuberculosis in 1865” and Conrad’s father dying from “the same disease in 1869” (Moran). Although Conrad was exiled from his home, he was allowed to “return to Poland” in 1867 (Davies). Although Conrad’s parents suffered the worst in Vologda, Conrad “suffered from a number of lung inflammations and epileptic seizures” (Moran). These health issues would plague him for the rest of his

During these voyages, Conrad began to study for his “first mate’s certificate” (Editors of Encyclopedia). Shortly after, he experienced two events which would spur along his career as a mariner and provide him with his inspiration for his most famous novel, Heart of Darkness. In 1886, Joseph Conrad became a citizen of Britain, and “three months later he obtained his master mariner’s certificate” (Editors of Encyclopedia). Consequently, Conrad officially settled down in Britain and began his own voyages into the sea. The most interesting and life-changing voyage Conrad ever embarked on was into the Congo. Spanning the duration of four months, Conrad explored the Congo on a steamboat, experiencing sights that would change his life forever. Conrad channels these events into Heart of Darkness, described as