SOME BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL NOTES ON JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS

Abstract

Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, based on Ratna’s classifications is the work of an author who writes his or her work[s] based on his or her direct experience (2004, p. 56). The analysis here has shown that there are many parallelisms between Marlow’s narration and Conrad’s real experience when Conrad was in the Congo in 1890. Whilst historical perspectives also indicate that some “fictionalized events†in the novel has the real references and historical contexts with the reign of King Leopold II in the Congo Free State in 1885 to 1908.

Key words: parallelisms, narration, King Leopold II