"An Outpost of Progress" is a short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 written in July 1896 by Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...

, drawing on his own experience at Congo. It was published in the magazine Cosmopolis

Cosmopolis: A Literary Review

Cosmopolis: A Literary Review was a multi-lingual literary magazine published between January 1896 and November 1898. The lead edition of Cosmopolis was published in London, but local editions of the magazine were also published in Berlin, Paris, and Saint Petersburg.Each edition of Cosmopolis...

in 1897 and was later collected in Tales of Unrest in 1898. Often compared with Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...

, Conrad considered it his best tale, owing to its 'scrupulousness of tone' and 'severity of discipline'.

Plot summary

The story revolves around two Belgian agents, named Kayerts and Carlier, who are assigned to a trading post in a remote part of the African Jungle. There they take part in ivory trading

Ivory trade

The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....

, hoping to financially benefit the company as well as themselves. With no specific tasks or important things to be done, they both become increasingly isolated and demoralized as the time goes by. At one point in the story, the native Makola, serving as Kayerts's and Carlier's bookkeeper, initiates an exchange of slaves for ivory

Ivory trade

The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....

. Initially Kayerts and Carlier are stunned and scandalized by the idea, yet eventually they accept the deal and aid Makola for his huge profit. Both men are continuously plagued by diseases and grow very weak physically towards the end of the story. Finally, a seemingly trivial matter - sugar - sparks an irrational, uncontrolled and violent conflict between them, and ends tragically as Kayerts accidentally shoots and kills Carlier. At the end of the story, just when the company steamboat approaches the station two months later than it should have, Kayerts hangs himself out of desperation.

Characters

• Kayerts
• Carlier
• Makola - clerk, assistant, bookkeeper of Kayerts and Carlier
• Gobila
• Gobila's people
• Natives (involved in ivory deal)

Analysis

The story can also be read at a symbolic level. It focuses on the colonial situation in Africa towards the end of the nineteenth century and challenges readers to examine the ethical questions raised by the policy of colonialism. From the very beginning it becomes clear that the title Outpost of Progress is ironic, for the two white men are lazy and incompetent. The theme of incompetence, destructiveness and cruelty of colonialism is developed as a story of progresses. The gradual physical and moral deterioration of the two colonial administrators, leading to their death, can be interpreted as a reflection of the general state of colonialism.

External links

The full text can be found at Gutenberg