Joseph Conrad's "An Outpost of Progress" and "Heart of Darkness". Influences on the Colonizer

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Constance, course: Post-colonial Short Stories, language: English, abstract: On the basis of two of Joseph Conrad's early writings, this paper tries to examine the effects of colonialism on the Westerner, as Conrad depicted them. The first object of this analysis will be the short story "An Outpost of Progress". Questions that will be addressed are the origin of the influences, their nature and their results as well as the depiction of the protagonists, their environment and their interaction. Secondly, this paper will attempt to compare the occurring patterns of the short story to Conrad's most prominent work, the novel "Heart of Darkness". The question whether the short story can actually be compared to the novel at all, and finally the reconsideration of the popular thesis that "An Outpost of Progress" merely represents a sketch for "Heart of Darkness" will form the latter part of the analysis.