Lecture 17 Joseph Conrad

nullLecture 7Lecture 7Joseph Conrad （1857-1924）nullWorksnullThe colonization of Africa has a long history, the most famous phase being the European scramble（争夺、瓜分） for Africa during the late 19th and early 20th century. Between the Franco-Prussian War （普法战争）and the Great War, Europe added almost 9 million square miles to its overseas colonial possessions. nullAs Europeans became increasingly involved in African economic affairs, mainly through trade, they gained more and more political control over parts of the continent. By the 1880's, there were intense rivalries among the European powers as they staked out claims to profitable parts of Africa. By 1914, Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, and Spain had divided almost all Africa among themselves. Only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent. It was not until the First World War did Poland get independence. This has great influence on Conrad’s life and works. Videonullnullnullnull1. What’s the job of his father? A poet and translator of Shakespeare. 2. When did he join the British merchant marine? In 1877, at the age of 20. 3. What changed him mostly? His experience along Congo River.nullPolish-born English novelist , short-story writer, and adventurer.nullHis Life（childhood）:Born in Berdichev(乌克兰城市) ,1857, in a highly patriotic Polish noble family. Conrad‘s childhood was harsh. His parents were both members of families long identified with the movement for Polish independence from Russia. In 1862 Conrad’s father, himself a writer and translator, was exiled to Russia for his revolutionary activities, and his wife and child shared the exile. In 1865 Conrad‘s mother died, and a year later he was entrusted to the care of his uncle Thaddeus Bobrowski. The FamilyThe Familynull His father was a writer of politically-themed plays and a translator.He encouraged his son Conrad to read widely in Polish and French. His father Apollo belonged to the szlachta, a hereditary social class comprised of members of the landed gentry; he despised the Russian oppression of his native land. He and one of Conrad’s maternal uncles Stefan Bobrowski, helped plan an uprising against Russian rule in 1863. Other members of Conrad’s family showed similar patriotic convictions. Bobrowski, another maternal uncle, resigned his commission in the army and was imprisoned, while Robert and Hilary Korzeniowski, two fraternal uncles, also assisted in planning the aforementioned rebellion. All of this political turmoil would prove to be predictably disturbing to young Joseph, who could only stand idly by as he watched his family embroiled in such dangerous controversy. nullIn 1865, when he was only 8, his mother died and 4 years later, in 1869, his father died. Thus he was sent to Switzerland to his maternal uncle, who died in 1894, leaving him a big sum of money.nullHis Life: (adolescence)In early adolescence the future novelist began to dream of going to sea, and in 1873, while on vacation in western Europe, Conrad saw the sea for the first time. In the autumn of 1874 Conrad went to Marseilles , where he entered the French marine service. nullFor the next 20 years Conrad led a successful career as a ship's officer. In 1878 Conrad went for the first time to England. He worked as a seaman on English ships, and in 1880 he began his career as an officer in the British merchant service.His Life: (adulthood)Voyage Voyage In 1886 he was naturalized as a British citizen. He received his first command in 1888. In 1890 he made the ghastly journey to the Belgian Congo which inspired his great novel Heart of Darkness. His voyages took him to Australia, India, Singapore, Java, Borneo, to those distant and exotic places which would provide the background for much of his fiction.nullConrad sailed up Congo River (1889)null1. In 1889,he had started to write and Conrad decided to devote himself entirely to literature.2. In 1894,Conrad settled down in London. Literary careerLiterary career3. In 1895 his first novel Almayer's Folly(《阿尔迈耶的愚蠢》) , he assumed the pen-name of Joseph Conrad. 4. Conrad began producing a number of books in rapid succession, which were about sailors and travel to explore moral ambiguity and the nature of human identity. null1.In 1896, when he was 39, he married Miss Tessie George. They had two sons. 2.In April 1924 Conrad, who possessed a hereditary Polish status of nobility, declined a British knighthood offered by Prime Minister. 3.Shortly after, on 3 August 1924, Conrad died of a heart attack. He was buried at Canterbury Cemetery, Canterbury, England.null1857 Born in Poland.1865, 1869 (8, 12 years old) Mother, father died 1874—1894 Joined the merchant marine.（商船队航海生活）1924 Died.1896 Got married.1889 Decided to start writing.1886 Given British citizenship.1877 Started learning English.null1. Almayer‘s Folly 1895《阿尔迈耶的愚蠢 》 2. An Outcast of the Islands 1896 《海隅逐客》 3. The Nigger on the Narcissus 1898 《水仙号上的黑家伙》 4. Heart of Darkness 1899 《黑暗之心》 （1994年被拍成电影《黑暗的心》在美国上演） 5. Lord Jim 1900 《吉姆老爷》 6. Typhoon 1902 《台风》null7. Nostromo 1904 《诺斯特诺姆》 8. The Secret Agent 1907 《秘密谍报员》 9. Under Western Eyes 1911 《在西方目光之下》(7、8、9 are political novels.) 10 Chance 1913 《机缘》 11. Victory 1915 《胜利》（1995年被拍成电影《动地惊天爱恋过》在英、法、德上演） 12. The Arrow of Gold 1919 《金箭》 13.The Rescue 1920 《拯救》null1. The Black Mate 1886 《黑大副》 2. The Lagoon 1896 《礁湖》 3. An Outpost of Progress 1896《跃进前哨》 4. Youth 1898 《青春》 5. Amy Foster 1901 《碧海奇缘》 6. The Secret Sharer 1909 《秘密的分享者》null1. A Personal Record 1912 《个人记录》 2. Last Essays 1926 《最后的文章》nullnullHeart of Darkness (1899)Heart of Darkness (1899)nullHeart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1902 publication, it appeared as a three-part series (1899) 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. null1.The novel details the story of the seaman Marlow who, fresh from Europe, is sent on a boat journey up the Congo River to relieve Kurtz, the most successful trader in ivory working for the Belgian government. 2. Prior to their personal encounter, Marlow knows and admires Kurtz through his reputation and his writings regarding the civilizing of the African continent and sets out on the journey, excited at the prospect of meeting him. null3.When Marlow finally meets Kurtz, the mythical figure is near death, ravaged（毁坏） by disease and dissipation（花天酒地，放荡）. Marlow later returns to Europe and is confronted by many people seeking objects and thoughts of Kurtz. Marlow visits Kurtz's fiancée about a year later; she is still in mourning and strongly maintains naïve notions of his virtue. When she asks him about Kurtz's death and his final words, Marlow is unable to tell her the truth, instead telling her that he died with her name upon his lips. null He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision—he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath—“The horror! The horror!”. ---HEART OF DARKNESS Play the video.ThemesThemes The Hypocrisy of Imperialism Heart of Darkness explores the issues surrounding imperialism in complicated ways. As Marlow travels from the Outer Station to the Central Station and finally up the river to the Inner Station, he encounters scenes of torture, cruelty, and near-slavery. At the very least, the incidental scenery of the book offers a harsh picture of colonial enterprise. Kurtz, on the other hand, does not hide the fact that he rules through violence and intimidation. His perverse honesty leads to his downfall, as his success threatens to expose the evil practices behind European activity in Africa.Theme 1:nullTheme 2:Darkness It exposes the dark side of European colonization while exploring the three levels of darkness that the protagonist, Marlow, encounters: the darkness of the Congo wilderness, the darkness of the Europeans' cruel treatment of the African natives, and the unfathomable darkness within every human being for committing heinous acts of evil. nullComments: Marlow tells the story of his trip into the "heart of darkness”. It seems at first that the heart of darkness refers to the dark continent of Africa, that Marlow's trip takes him to the place of the primitive origins of man. Indeed, as Marlow gets closer to finding Kurtz, the man for whom he is searching, things become more and more savage. He encounters a tribe of cannibals (食人族)and one of his crew is murdered. It seems that he has found the dark heart of civilization, but that is where the story twists. At this point the reader should realize that the "heart of darkness" is not Africa, but the heart of Kurtz himself, who has broken every moral rule of mankind in order to become rich and successful. In the author's eye, the people in Africa are much nobler than those in Europe.nullInfluence :null Quotations from Conrad. null