In the text of "Rings of Saturn" in its fifth chapter, we see all the phases of Conrad's life with every single detail. It is a comprehensive account even if there are some parts of Conrad's life that are unknown to the contemporary readers.
Firstly, the point that draws my attention while reading the text is that Conrad goes through an unhappy period of childhood. Because he loses his mother Evelina from tuberculosis in exile and his father Apollo in the spring which later causes him to be orphaned. That should be the point to be kept in our minds.
As the narrator suggests, Conrad acquires his "unfamiliar" language which enables him to be famous all over the world. We learn that Conrad himself is a seaman in his private life. Therefore, it can be said that he takes the subject of his famous novel "Heart of Darkness" from his individual experiences. He always travels, for example to Poland, Ukraine, Africa and Congo. He is the first person who undergoes those experiences in Congo, rather than relating from a third person's point of view.
It is interesting that Conrad most probably gets the idea of colonialism during these voyages. Because he writes in a letter to his aunt about the ocean, sky and green vegetation in those regions that could not be reached by the eye, and about the gun-firings into the African continent "with neither purpose nor aim".
After seeing many places, he arrives at Congo finally. Conrad describes the situation in which the natives are; they- these nameless victims- die of several diseases, starvation and physical exhaustion. Then, he becomes ill and returns to his home, adding that: "life for people gradually become more tolerable." This is a sharp contrast drawn again between Congo -Africa in general, and Europe.
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