Heart of Darkness	
By Joseph Conrad

•	Joseph Conrad did not begin to learn English until he was 21 years old. 
•	He was born Teodor Jozef Konrad Korzeniowski on Dec. 3, 1857, in the Polish Ukraine. 
•	His father was an esteemed literary figure, who was exiled to Siberia on suspicion of plotting against the Russian government, and Conrad and his mother went with him. 

•	Conrad's mother was a frail woman and died when he was 8 years old. 
•	Conrad traveled to Marseilles when he was 17 and spent the next 20 years as a sailor. He signed on to an English ship in 1878, and 8 years later he became a British subject. 
•	He took command of a steamship in the Belgian Congo and began taking notes for what would be one of his greatest masterpieces. 

•	His time in Africa wreaked havoc on his health, however, and he returned to England to recover. 
•	He wrote Heart of Darkness in 1898.
•	 He wrote many of his other major works (including Lord Jim, Nostromo, and The Secret Agent) after this and lived a happy, successful life with his wife and children until his death in 1924.

•	1. To what does the title Heart of Darkness refer?
•	2. Discuss the symbolic significance of Marlow's journey up the river.
•	3. Discuss the significance of voices and communication in the book.

•	4. Discuss Kurtz's symbolic significance and his relationship to Marlow.

•	5. What is Marlow's opinion of women?

•	6. Discuss the women involved with Kurtz and assess their similarities.

•	7. Discuss the theme of light and dark in one of the book's scenes.

•	8. Discuss the various motives for going to Africa in the book

•	9. What protections does Marlow list from the temptations of savagery in the absence of civilization?