HEART OF DARKNESS

CONRAD’S NARRATIVE STYLE

>)Conrad is chiefly framed as a writer, an evoker of atmosphere and a translator of concrete

phenomena into living words

>) . His prose is more or less like a simple translation of thoughts,

feelings and perceptions into words with the minimum loss of intensity

>) According to Joseph Conrad, “It (style) must strenuously aspire to the plasticity of sculpture,

to the colour of painting, and to the magic suggestiveness of music- which is the art of arts”.

The use of hyponyms — a special set of synonyms, in which the meaning of a specific word includes the

meaning of the more general words as well

• >) It creates a text that appears semantically richer and literally gives more information about the character or atmosphere in the novel

• >) Conrad’s sentences in the novel have "more meaning," in the literal sense as he conveys deep and important things just by intelligently twisting the words.

An Autobiographical Novel

• >) In the novel Conrad identifies himself with Marlow, and Marlow’s experiences in Africa are infact Conrad’s personal experiences.

• >) Conrad declares that, “experience pushed a little (and only very little) beyond the actual facts of the case for the perfectly legitimate….purpose of bringing it home to the minds and bosoms of the reader.”

The use of adjectives

• >) Conrad has used adjective for more than this purpose. He has used adjectives to beautify the text .

• >) his other goal is to slow the action in the text, and to slow the reader as well, as one feels that one has to concentrate one's attention on the details

Cornad acts both as an author and character

• >) first, our unnamed narrator introduces us to Marlow, its only through him we meet Marlow

• >) Later, Marlow himself tells the framed story, so most of the narration within the novel is told from his point of view

The title of the novel is truly justified

• >) “Heart of Darkness” refers not only to a physical location (inside Africa)

• >) It also to a state of mind and the severe and harsh consequences of imperialism (the European takeover of peoples and land outside of the European continents).

Conrad had used other artistic devices like symbolism

• >) “Congo River”

• >) “Kurtz Painting”

• >)”Ivory”

Conrad has used the technique of irony

• >) to presents many instances of racist commentary that portray the depression of the Congo inhabitants

• >) This literary device is used to express what he aims to convey in a witty and attractive manner

The plot of the novel

• >) “The Heart of Darkness” does not possess a proper beginning, middle and an end.

• >) His primary concern is a full true presentation of his imagined world, and this makes Conrad a painter of individual scenes rather than a master of the long organized plot.

Conrad’s excellence in art of characterization

• >) Conrad made characters like everyday people and gave them third dimension

• >) He suggests a formal presentation of character yet the characters are revealed through actions and their internal monologue

• >) The characters that appear in Conrad’s novels are either actual characters in their actual situations or actual characters that in real life Conrad did not meet but whom he has brought together for a dramatic clash

Conclusion

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