Works of

JOSEPH CONRAD
(Short Summary)

These notes are only for quick reference and must be referred along with Arpita`s Audio Lectures for better understanding

HEART OF DARKNESS
Literally speaking, the action of Heart of Darkness is simply the act of storytelling aboard a ship on the river Thames around the turn of the twentieth century. An
unnamed narrator, along with four other men, is aboard the anchored Nellie waiting for the tide to turn. They trade sea stories to pass the time. One of these men
is Charlie Marlow, whose story will itself be the primary narrative of Heart of Darkness. Before Marlow begins his tale, however, the unnamed narrator muses to
himself on a history of exploration and conquest which also originated on the Thames, the waterway connecting London to the sea. The narrator mention s Sir
Francis Drake and his ship the Golden Hind, which traveled around the globe at the end of the sixteenth century, as well as Sir John Franklin, whose expedition to
North America disappeared in the Arctic Ocean in the middle of the nineteenth century.

As the sun is setting on the Nellie, Marlow also begins to speak of London's history and of naval expeditions. He, however, imagines an earlier point in history: he
sketches the story of a hypothetical Roman Seaman sent north from the Mediterranean to the then barely known British Isles. This is Marlow's prelude to his
narration of his own Journey up the Congo river, and he then begins an account of how he himself once secured a job as the captain of a river steamer in the Belgian
colony in Africa. From here on the bulk of the novella is Marlow's narration of his Journey into the Congo.
Through an aunt in Brussels, Belgium's capital, Marlow manages to get an interview with a trading company which operates a system of ivory trading posts in the
Belgian Congo (formerly Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). After a very brief discussion with a Company official in Brussels and a very strange
physical examination by a Company doctor, Marlow is hired to sail a steamer between trading posts on the Congo River. He is then sent on a French ship down the
African coast to the mouth of the Congo.

From the mouth of the Congo Marlow takes a short trip upriver on a steamer. This ship leaves him at the Company's Lower Station. Marlow finds the station to be
a vision of hell - it is a "wanton smash up" with loads of rusting ancient wreckage everywhere, a cliff nearby being demolished with dynamite for no apparent
reason, and many starving and dying Africans enslaved and laboring under the armed guard of the Company's white employees. Marlow meets the Company's chief
accountant, who mentions a Mr. Kurtz - manager of the Inner Station - for the first time and describes him as a "very remarkable person" who sends an enormous
amount of ivory out of the interior. Marlow must wait at the Lower Station for ten days before setting out two hundred miles overland in a caravan to where his
steamer is waiting up the river at the Central Station.
After fifteen days the caravan arrives at the Central Station, where Marlow first sees the ship which he is to command. It is sunk in the river. Marlow meets the
manager of the Central Station, with whom he discusses the sunken ship. It will, they anticipate, take several months to repair. Over the course of the next several
weeks Marlow notices that the rivets he keeps requesting for the repair never arrive from the Lower Station, and when he overhears the manager speaking with
several other Company officials he begins to suspect that his requests are being intercepted; that is, that the manager does not want the ship to get repaired for
some reason.

Overhearing a conversation between the manager and his uncle, Marlow learns some information which begins to make some sense of the delays in his travel.
Kurtz, chief of the Inner Station, has been in the interior alone for more than a year. He has sent no communication other th an a steady and tremendous flow of
ivory down to the Central Station. The manager fears that Kurtz is too strong competition for him professionally, and is not particularly interested in seeing him
return.

Marlow's steamer, however, finally gets fixed and he and his party start heading up river to retrieve Kurtz and whatever ivory is at the Inner Station. On board are
Marlow, the manager, several employees of the Company, and a crew of approximately twenty cannibals. The river is treacherous and the vegetation thick and
almost Impenetrable throughout the journey. At a place nearly fifty miles downstream from the Inner Station they come across an abandoned hut with a sign telling
them to approach cautiously. Inside the hut Marlow discovers a tattered copy of a navigation manual in which undecipherable notes are written in the margins.

Nearing the Station in a heavy fog, the ship is attacked from the shore by arrows, and the passengers - "pilgrims," Marlow calls them - fire into the jungle with their
rifles. Marlow ends the attack by blowing the steam whistle and scaring off the unseen attackers, but not before his helmsman is killed by a spear. Marlow imagines
that he will not get to meet the mysterious Kurtz, that perhaps he has been killed, and suddenly realizes something:
"I made the strange discovery that I had never imagined him as doing, you know, but as discoursing I didn't say to myself, 'Now I will never see him,' or, 'Now I will
never shake him by the hand,' but, 'now I will never hear him.' The man presented himself as a voice. Not of course that did not connect him with some sort of
action. Hadn't I been told in all the tones of jealousy and admiration that he had collected, bartered, swindled, or stolen more ivory than all the other agents
together? That was not the point. The point was in his being a gifted creature, and that of all his gifts the one that stood out preeminently, that earned with it a
sense of real presence, was his ability to talk, his words - the gift of expression, the bewildering, the illuminating, the most exalted and the most contemptible, the
pulsating stream of light, or the deceitful flow from the heart of an impenetrable darkness." When they finally reach the Inner Station they are beckoned by an odd
Russian man who is a sort of disciple of Kurtz's. He turns out also to have been the owner of the hut and navigation manual Marlow found downstream. He speaks
feverishly to Marlow about Kurtz's greatness.

The Russian explains to Marlow that the Africans attacked the ship because they were afraid it was coming to take Kurtz away from them. It appears that they
worship Kurtz, and the Inner Station is a terrifying monument to Kurtz's power. The full extent of Kurtz's authority at the Inner Station is now revealed to Marlow.
There are heads of "rebels" on stakes surrounding Kurtz's hut and Marlow speaks of Kurtz presiding over "unspeakable" rituals. When Kurtz is carried out to meet
the ship - by this time he is very frail with illness - he commands the crowd to allow him to be taken aboard without incident. As they wait out the night on board
the steamer the people of the Inner Station build fires and pound drums in vigil.
Late that night Marlow wakes up to find Kurtz gone, so he goes ashore to find him. When he tracks him down, Kurtz is crawling through the brush, trying to return
to the Station, to the fires, to "his people," and to his "immense plans." Marlow persuades him to return to the ship. When the ship leaves the next day with the
ailing Kurtz on board the crowd gathers at the shore and wails in desperate sadness at his disappearance. Marlow blows the steam whistle and disperses the crowd.

On the return trip to the Central Station Kurtz's health worsens. He half coherently reflects on his "soul's adventure," as Marlow describes it, and his famous final
words are: "The horror! The horror!" He dies and is buried somewhere downriver on the muddy shore. When Marlow returns to Belgium he goe s to see Kurtz's
fiancee, his "Intended." She speaks with him about Kurtz's greatness, his genius, his ability to speak eloquently, and of his great plans for civilizing Africa. Rather
than explain the truth of Kurtz's life in Africa, Marlow decides not to disillusion her. He returns some of Kurtz's things to her - some letters and a pamphlet he had
written - and tells her that Kurtz's last word was her name. Marlow's story ends and the scene returns to the anchored Nellie where the unnamed narrator and the
other sailors are sitting silently as the tide is turning.

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 Works of
JOSEPH CONRAD
(Short Summary)

These notes are only for quick reference and must be referred along with Arpita`s Audio Lectures for better understanding

LORD JIM
Lord Jim starts out with a capsule description of Jim—a tall, powerful man—by a third-person narrator, who gives both Jim's background and briefly mentions
events that take place far in Jim's future. This jumping around in time is a common technique in the book. As a child, Jim is drawn to the sea and goes into training
to be an officer, hoping to be a hero someday. His first attempts at heroism fail, and, in fact, the narrator starts to talk about a mysterious incident that happens to
Jim on the Patna but does not explain exactly what happens. At this point, the story shifts to a first-person nar-
After receiving his education in Poland, Conrad took a trip through Europe and decided not to ration by Marlow, a man Jim meets at his yet unexplained trial.
Marlow's language reveals that he is telling Jim's story to a group of people, and the reader is merely listening in. Eventually, the reader learns that Jim was one of
the officers aboard the Patna who deserted the ship when they thought it was going to sink, leaving their eight hundred Moslem pilgrims to die. However, the ship
is saved, and Jim stands trial for his dishonorable actions.

The night before Jim's sentencing, Marlow offers him money to flee from punishment. Jim refuses to run, and faces his sentencing, which involves the revoking of
his naval certificate. Marlow gives Jim a second chance by referring him to a job with Mr. Denver, the owner of a rice mill. However, when one of the Patna crew
shows up and threatens to blackmail Jim for a fulltime job, Jim leaves the position. He does this several more times, earning a reputation as a transient individual.
When Jim throws a drunken navy officer off a verandah and into a river after the officer makes a remark about the Patna, Marlow realizes that Jim will never get
over his guilt unless something is done. Marlow goes to see Mr. Stein, a merchant and butterfly collector, who says that Jim is a romantic and that a romantic cannot
be cured, people can only tell them how to live. Marlow then describes the island of Patusan, introducing it to his audience and talking briefly about a visiting the
island two years later, when he finds Jim is a changed man.

At this point, Marlow jumps back to the time when he told Jim about Patusan. Although Jim is nervous at first, he warms to the idea of escape there, and Marlow
helps him pack, giving him a silver ring that Stein received from Doramin, one of the island's leaders. Jim and Marlow say th eir emotional goodbyes, and Jim says
that he never wants to come back. The narrative agains shifts and Marlow relates the details of his visit to Patusan two years later, when he goes to see Jim and to
deliver a business message from Stein about setting up a proper trading post there. Marlow finds that the natives, especially the Bugis Malays, treat Jim with the
utmost respect, revering him as "Tuan" Jim, or Lord Jim. Jim sits with Marlow and talks about his first experiences—how he was captured by Rajah Allang, one of
the leaders on the island, and how he escaped and went to Doramin—showing him Stein's ring.

Jim learns of the three warring factions: Allang, who wants to have exclusive trading rights; Doramin, a native who opposes Allang and leads the Bugis Malays; and
Sherif Ali, a half-Arab who believes in guerilla warfare and who watches over the area from a mountainous stockade, causing problems for the other two factions.
Jim introduces Marlow to the monumentally fat leader, Doramin, and his son, Dain Waris. Jim recalls the past, telling Marlow of his great plan to bring peace to the
island by dragging cannons up to the top of one mountain to blow up Sherif Ali's stockade, which is on the other mountaintop. The plan works, Dain and another
native, Tamb' Itam, pledge themselves to Jim, and he is looked upon as someone with supernatural powers. From this point on, the villagers look to him for truth
and justice in all matters.

Following Jim's victory, Allang willingly submits, and the island is peaceful. Everybody assumes that Jim, like other white men, will leave some day, and Doramin
hopes that when this day comes, his son, Dain, will rule in Jim's place. Marlow is unable to assure Doramin that Jim will go back home. Marlow talks about Jewel,
the mulatto native whom Jim falls in love with and marries. Her stepfather, Cornelius, Jim's predecessor, does not like Jim. Jim tells Marlow about the night he got
the inspiration for the attack on Sherif Ali's stockade and how Jewel supported him in everything, even rescuing him one night by waking him up so that he could
defend himself against assassins. While Marlow is staying in Patusan, Jewel expresses her concern that Jim will leave her. When he is pressed, Marlow finally
explains that Jim is not good enough for the outside world, but she does not believe it. In a distraught state, Marlow is accosted by Cornelius, who is distressed to
learn from him that Jim does not plan on leaving. Marlow leaves Patusan the next morning.

Marlow finishes his part of the story, and his confused audience does not know what to make of this incomplete ending. Two years later, one of the men in the
audience gets a package from Marlow, containing the conclusion to the story and more information about Jim, which is spread out over many accounts, including
a letter from Marlow, some frantic notes from Jim, a letter from Jim's father dated before Jim's ill-fated voyage on the Patna, a second letter from Marlow, which
pieces together the story of Jim's death, and a final sheet of Marlow's notes. Marlow writes about the so-called Gentleman Brown, a dirty pirate who plays the
largest role in Jim's death and who considers Jim a coward for not fighting. The narrative jumps back to the previous year, w hen Marlow visits Stein, and Tamb'
Itam is also confused over Jim's unwillingness to fight. Marlow talks to Jewel, who says she can never forgive Jim for leaving her.

The story shifts back to Brown, who has evaded capture by fleeing to Patusan, where he is stopping for supplies on his way to Madagascar. Jim is away from the
fort and has left Dain Waris in charge. Both Dain and Jewel want to kill Brown and his men, but the Bugis Malays, afraid that Dain might die if he tries to kil l the
white men, want to wait for Jim to tell them what to do. When rumors of Brown's reinforcements circulate, Doramin sends Dain and his men downriver to head
them off. A native from Allang's party, Kassim, arranges for Cornelius to meet Brown, to encourage an overthrow of Jim. Jim comes back, and Brown confronts him,
guessing correctly that Jim, like him, has come to Patusan because he is running away from something. Jim's past haunts him once more, and he appeals to the Bugis
to let Brown go, pledging his life against the lives of any Bugis who may be harmed by this decision. He also sends word to D ain not to fire on Brown. However,
Cornelius betrays Jim, telling Brown where Dain's men are stationed and how to ambush them. Led by Cornelius, Brown's party k ills Dain. Tamb' Itam catches
Cornelius and kills him and then goes to talk to Jewel and Jim. Itam and Jewel urge Jim to flee or fight, but Jim feels compelled to adhere to his code of honor and
goes to answer for Dain's death. Doramin shoots Jim, who dies with a proud look on his face. Although Jewel and Itam think Ji m and his actions are a mystery,
Marlow thinks he understands why Jim sacrificed himself and says that Jim took control of his destiny for the first time ever.

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important literary works
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 Works of
JOSEPH CONRAD
(Short Summary)

These notes are only for quick reference and must be referred along with Arpita`s Audio Lectures for better understanding

NOSTROMO

The fictional South American nation of Costaguana is ravaged by violence--brutal dictatorships and searing rebellions. This is a nation that has never
known peace. And Charles Gould is sick of it. So when the dictator Ribiera rises to power and ushers in a period of relative calm, Gould uses his
considerable fortune from his family's thriving silver mine in the port city of Sulaco to ensure Ribiera's continued reign.

But many of the native Costaguanians are fed up with fat cat foreigners pouring in and getting rich off the land and its peoples. And even worse are
their grubby hands in government affairs, the corrupt regimes they install, the government officials they keep well in their deep pockets, the military
forces they control like so many puppets on string--all to ensure their access to the land's abundant resources.

This is the kind of foreign-dominated economic and political system that the revolutionary general, Montero, opposes. And even though Charles Gould
is a native Costaguanian, his English ancestry, wealth, and unwavering support of the Ribiera government make him a target for the wrath of Montero
and his followers.

So as Sulaco braces for the revolutionaries' attack, Gould turns to Nostromo. Nostromo is to get Gould's silver out of the city before Montero and his
rebels can lay siege to it.

Nostromo sneaks off to sea under the cover of darkness, his boat brimming with Gould's silver, which he hides on a nearby island. When he returns,
though, he claims that a storm at sea sank his boat and the fortune in silver along with it.

The revolution, like so many before it, passes. Nostromo's daring service in the war effort makes him instrumental in the region's gaining its
independence and in the formation of the new nation, the Occidental Republic.

But after the war, Nostromo is not given the credit he thinks he deserves. He becomes bitter and resentful. No longer incorruptible, he begins lining
his own pockets with the fortune Gould thought he had lost. Nostromo makes frequent, secret trips to the island, bringing home with him snatches of
the silver he has stolen.

A lighthouse is built at the port and Nostromo fears this will put an end to his secret pilfering. But Nostromo is brilliant, and he convinces the powers-
that-be to install the Viola family, whose lives Nostromo saved during the war, as the lighthouse keepers. Nostromo knows the Violas owe him.

Nostromo also claims to be engaged to the oldest Viola daughter, but is secretly having an affair with the youngest. This gives him a plausible excuse
for skulking around the coast, when what he's really doing is secretly sailing to the island to recover more of his secret stash. One night, old man Viola,
the girls' father, shoots and kills Nostromo, mistaking him for some letch there after his youngest girl

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important literary works
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