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Tl;dr: Conrad wrote books similar or related to experiences he actually had, and some aspects of those things are similar to experiences you can have today. Co
by MichaelCollins 4y ago
Tl;dr: Conrad wrote books similar or related to experiences he actually had, and some aspects of those things are similar to experiences you can have today.
Conrad wrote a story about a boat trip in the Congo during which he witnessed violence. Jasanoff also went on a boat trip on the same river, and although not witnessing the sort of violence Conrad wrote about, felt feels she gained insight into the "look and feel" of the landscape Conrad wrote about.
Okay, not sure I see the point of any of this, except to say that Conrad wrote about things similar to his life experiences. But I think that's table-stakes knowledge for anybody reading one of Conrad's books.
- AlbertCory 4y agoProbably why no one commented on it all morning. Having an experience that gives you the "look and feel" only matters if you then communicate it to the reader.
- Kaibeezy 4y agoI’m trying to imagine how many people have done any degree of “table stakes” background reading on Conrad, and read more than HoD in 7th grade, even among HN super-achievers (the name Nostromo notwithstanding), and feel confident commenting on an article from a literary quarterly which, let’s be honest, surely assumes readers have undertaken — and possess the tools and fruits of — vast and deep cultural scholarship. Basically five, amiright? Which is to say, there’s a lot to talk about here, but how to present it? Who to? I noticed similar themes while reading Thucydides on my lunch hour. Pfft.