'An Outpost of Progress' is a short story written by Joseph Conrad, drawing on his own experience in Congo. The story deals with two European men, 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, 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 time goes by.

Joseph Conrad, born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski on December 3, 1857, in Berdychiv, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire, was a Polish-British writer whose narrative style and anti-heroic characters have placed him among the greatest novelists in the English language. Initially, Conrad pursued a career in the merchant navy, which influenced much of his literary output. An Outpost of Progress, one of Conrad's early short stories, showcases the grim realities and the moral and physical collapse of individuals isolated within the colonial enterprise. Conrad's experiences in foreign lands, particularly in regions like the Congo, formed a backbone for his critiques on imperialism as seen in some of his renowned works like 'Heart of Darkness' and 'Lord Jim.' A master of prose, his storytelling often involved complex narratives and a pervasive sense of pessimism, reflecting Conrad's own experiences and the uncertainties of the fin de siècle. Although Conrad did not achieve widespread fame until the later part of his life, his works now stand as canonical texts, illustrating the complexities of the human condition and the dark depths of the soul.