A Long Awaited Post

Europeans:
20-21 a very put together "amazing" white man
23 the man that needs to be carried by slaves
25 bad leader
29 when he notices Kurtz' painting

One thing that I kept in mind the entire time I was reading our copy of Heart of Darkness was the back of the book and the annotations. What I think is very important to note is just how much of the book is actually based on Conrad's own life. Many times some semblance of the comment "Marlow's recollections resemble Conrad's" (100). Direct images from Conrad's treks are taken (23) and told in Marlow's story (by Conrad) as if they were newly created just for this work of 'fiction.' The entire story of the wrecked ship (24), Marlow's repeated requests for parts, and the manager that hopes to destroy Kurtz (and even Kurtz himself) are all based on people and occurrences in Conrad's life. The man discussed on the bottom of page 23 (mentioned above) who was ill so had to be carried by Africans is also based on Conrad's friend.
I don't know quite what to make of the similarities between Conrad and Marlow, their lives, their journeys, or their stories, but I do know that these similarities do exist and they are very interesting. It would be neat to read a biography of Conrad that focuses on his similarities to Marlow (if they were made clear in the notes section they must be famously known and therefor written about many times) so as to learn of the importance of the similarities.