Joseph Conrad

[historybuff234]

I am thinking about sometime reading the things that Joseph Conrad wrote like Lord Jim, Nostromo, Heart of Darkness,and The Secret Agent. Which would be good one to read first? I was thinking Lord Jim or Nostromo would be good.

[IlanaSimons]

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historybuff234 wrote:
I am thinking about sometime reading the things that Joseph Conrad wrote like Lord Jim, Nostromo, Heart of Darkness,and The Secret Agent. Which would be good one to read first? I was thinking Lord Jim or Nostromo would be good.

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Heart of Darkness is such a powerful (and short) story.

[historybuff234]

Thanks, for answering my question, how is Lord Jim and Nostromo?

You are only limited by the boundries of your imagination and the laws in you area- Red Green

[Laurel]

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historybuff234 wrote:
Thanks, for answering my question, how is Lord Jim and Nostromo?

You are only limited by the boundries of your imagination and the laws in you area- Red Green

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Once you read one book by Joseph Conrad you'll want to read them all, Buff. They are all wonderful.

[willowy]

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IlanaSimons wrote:

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historybuff234 wrote:
I am thinking about sometime reading the things that Joseph Conrad wrote like Lord Jim, Nostromo, Heart of Darkness,and The Secret Agent. Which would be good one to read first? I was thinking Lord Jim or Nostromo would be good.

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Heart of Darkness is such a powerful (and short) story.

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I agree, it is a very powerful story and because of it's size you can read it in a few sittings and I think it is a good intro to his work.

[AmyLiz]

I've only read Lord Jim, and I was very pleasantly surprised by it. I had to read it for a class and thought I'd be bored out of my mind, but I couldn't put it down.

[chad]

I would be up for "Heart of Darkness"

Chad

[thinker]

Nostromo is quite good, but I think Heart of Darkness is better for a start

[chad]

Hello everyone!

This might be a good follow up to Gasby, although the story was written prior to 1920. Conrad hails from Poland which, and as mentioned in Gatsby, occasionally loses it's borders, only to form again and reshape, if only in treaties. The new shape seems once again to produce new lines. But the lines that form Poland are also rivers, and, its as if the rivers seem to give the country not only its borders, but also its color, so to speak. Perhaps the heart of a country sometimes lies on its borders, and not within them.

Chad   

Message Edited by chad on 02-27-2008 12:54 PM

[chad]

Whew! And I thought the American 1920's was a little scary! How abouy the Age of Imperialism? That my inside is my outside is a little confusing. The navigable rivers of the world ultimately led to its civilizations that lie somewhere within. Conrad, as Marlow, talks a little about how our rivers formed our history and ourselves, and yet, many, tragically wind up as borders, literally splitting ourselves, into two parts if you will. Fighting that takes place along the river is ineffectual, it's as if we're just fighting ourselves.

Chad 

[rdm68]

I would recommend starting with The Secret Agent. It may not be Conrad's most typical book, but it's a riveting read, and unforgettable. Personally, I found Nostromo a little tedious.

[chad]

Thanks!

I usually read just one book by a famous author and thn I move on to the next one.  I wondered if he was influenced by Jules Verne. Conrad talks about the "luminous" sea, and it seems to be a novel about the tension between light and dark, or the known and unknown, represented by Arronax and Nemo, respectively, in "Leagues." In "the Heart", the sea and sky are now "welded" together by business and commerce.  All of the world now lies on a map, and men, driven by profit and efficiency, are expendable- fate is controlled, and the world feels "lifeless."   The unknown and relatively unexplored regions of the world, like the Congo, are now, ironically, a source of light and life for the world.

Chad

Message Edited by chad on 03-01-2008 12:20 PM

[chad]

Maybe we can start a 20,000 thread. The famous line that I like, found in "Pro and Con":

"Thus may this inexplicable phenomenon be explained, unless there be something over and above all that one has ever conjectured, seen, perceived, or experienced; which is just within the bounds of possibility."

Sometimes translated differently. I think the "bound" is that line between the "unreal" and the "unknown", but we can sometimes be within that line. Or, we could, as Conrad mentions, be inside the planet Mars.  

Chad

Message Edited by chad on 03-02-2008 01:47 PM

[chad]

The obvious example is our love for the outdoors. People seek tranquility or attempt to find an "inner peace" by hiking, camping, etc in the great outdoors. So, I seek something inside myself, in the outdoors- my inside is my outside, and vice versa. 

Chad   

PS- I also wander through malls and I come across high tech gadgets that have the sounds of Nature in convenient high tech speakers- the outside is something we also need to have inside our homes for tranquility and sleep- something Stoker probably felt we were losing right around the turn of the century- for "Dracula" fans.

Message Edited by chad on 03-03-2008 12:45 PM

[chad]

My outside also becomes my inside in embryonic development, specifically when the blastula becomes the gastrula during the process of induction- it's a natural process, as well as a result of civilization (i.e. my inner peace can be found in the wild or the outdoors.)

Chad

PS- Malls are a modern mix of inside, outside, streams and water or fountains and trade, etc. etc.

Message Edited by chad on 03-04-2008 02:03 PM

[chad]

I have to admit, I did not want to hear a story from Marlow for some reason, but I like the story thus far... it also has some humor. The story begins on the Thames and the river, as mentioned, has a long history, although spanning a relatively short length, for rivers that is. It looks like the river fluxes between "the heart" and the border. The river runs through the city of London, but a river is wild or uncontrolled, at least, attempts to control the course of rivers are often met with futility. But, in continuation of my inside/outside motif, I wonder if there will always be a part of civilization that is wild. As mentioned, we seek inner peace in the outdoors, and the river is sometimes that line between civilization and Nature, calling us to cross and "take the to sea." Our wilderness lies somewhere beyond our city's rivers.

Chad

Message Edited by chad on 03-05-2008 05:19 PM

[historybuff234]

Hey Everybody! I have so far read two Conrad works: Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim. So far I'd have to say Heart of Darkness I like a little more than Lord Jim. But Lord Jim was good. Although, I must admit, the narration made parts of it a little hard to understand. Nonetheless, it was a great work.

[chad]

I haven't read Lord Jim, but I hope to. I just read some info on flooding and the Thames- one of the greater floods took place recently- it would have caused a lot of damage had there not been "floodgates." It is a  great example of wild river, somewhat tamed by London. It also looks like a snake, as Conrad describes the Congo river. I was wondering about the possibility of diverting and/or completely draining the river- that could mean a Netherlands type of existence, but wondering about the possibilty. It's obviously important for trade, but this is the era of multimodal-transport....

Chad 

Message Edited by chad on 03-06-2008 05:52 PM

[chad]

"The mica group represents 34 phyllosilicate minerals that have a layered or platy texture.  The commercially important micas are muscovite and phlogopite.  Layering in the univalent (potassium, sodium), or true, micas imparts perfect basal cleavage, allowing crystals to be split into very thin sheets that are tough and flexible.  Layering in the divalent, or brittle, micas also results in perfect basal cleavage; the greater bond strengths, however, make them more brittle and less flexible.  Mica sheets are also transparent to opaque, resilient, reflective, refractive, dielectric, chemically inert, insulating, lightweight, and hydrophilic.  Mica also is stable when exposed to electricity, light, moisture, and extreme temperatures."

This was interesting description of Mica  from USGS and perhaps describes the characteristics of a "line" in general. Certainly, in our story, mica was the line between Civilization and Nature, or between the UK and the Congo, if you will. But the finest layer of mica might be what a "true" line would be.

Chad 

[chad]

Conrad presents sharp contrasts between the colors, black and white. We often describe people who view things in this way as straightforward, honest, but not always intelligent. When we place ourselves on either  side of a line, we can be unintelligent. That is, we can be unintelligent of we don't see perhaps different gradations of both colors, or, how the lines of one color become stronger in the other. So, for example, If I move with a light bulb from a state of darkness to the sun, the lines created by light bulb become weaker. The reverse is true. In the "Heart", the creations of civilization, like a book or the cover a book, become almost "glowing" in the jungle. Other colors only seem to create or obscure the lines,  possibly deceiving us, like a harlequin.

Chad