JosephConrad.ppt

1、Joseph Conrad(1857-1924),-My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feelit is above all, to make you see.,Life and Period,wavy childhood born in Josef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowskin,Polan, in1957 20 years of trainee seamans life gained expe

2、rience on sailing ships, which were later written into his novels. journeyed in and around the Malay Archipelago and the Gulf of Siam from 1886 to 1887, collected writing materials for his novels. traveled in Belgian Congo in 1890 which were derived much of his masterwork: The Heat of Darkness writi

3、ng career his first novel-Almayerss Folly ,published in 1895 which meant the formal start of Cronrads writing career wrote many noble works as The Nigger of the Narcissus (1897), Lord Jim (1900), Nostromo (1904),The Mirror of the Sea (1906) and so on died in 1924 shortly after his declination of an

4、American knighthood,Literature Achievements, Fiction oAlmayers Folly oHeart of Darkness oLord Jim oNostromo oThe Arrow of Gold oThe Rescue Non-Fiction (A True Life Novel) oThe Mirror of the Sea Plays oOne Day More Short Stories oThe Idiots oThe Lagoon oYouth oPrince Roman oThe Tale oA Smile of Fortu

5、ne,Joseph Conrad is hailed as one of the most outstanding British novelists in the 20th century by Western critics. People regard him as one of The Eight modern writers of English. Chinese writer LaoShe called him “the greatest modern creator of stature and character”. He had a wide range of vision

6、owned by a sensetive artist, always concerned about the times and society, and strived with the new art forms to reflect the new realities.,Legacy,Of Conrads novels, Lord Jim and Nostromo continue to be widely read, as set texts and for pleasure. The Secret Agent and Under the Western Eyes are also

7、considered to be among his finest books. Joseph Conrads most influential work remains Heart of Darkness, The novellas depiction of a journey into the darkness of the human psyche, still resonates with modern readers. The Lagoon (composed 1896; published in Cornhill Magazine 1897; collected in Tales

8、of Unrest, 1898).,Introduction of The Lagoon,Features of Writing Background Theme Plot Summary Conclusion Our Groups View,Joseph Conrad is considered as one of the “among the very greatest novelists in the language- or any language” and a forerunner of British modernism. Living in the period when Br

9、itish fiction art was in a dreadful plight and influenced by Western new concepts in philosophy, aesthetics, literature and art, and psychics, Conrad was one of the outstanding representatives who first attempted to break through the restrictions of old-fashioned creation criteria and model, and exe

10、rted themselves to reform fictional art. With a considerably broad horizon Conrad extracts the prime of unprecedentedly miscellaneous and fashionable arts and manages to reform the narrative form of the British fiction with a great success. Conrad has made profound innovation not only in the form bu

11、t in the theme and technique of fiction, and all these jointly demonstrate the transition of the dominant factor from time to space in modern fiction.,The innovation embodies the tendency of reflecting the capriciously psychological space through marginalized geographical space and complicated spati

12、al form art in modernism. Conrad establishes the spatial form by endowing his fiction with the characteristics of music, sculpture and painting. It probes into the marginalization of physical spaces and its significance for the illustration of particular themes of modern world.,Writing characters,de

13、nse and almost poetic prose hauntingly dark metaphors and symbolic scene description. ambiguous characters that rarely wholly represent either good or evil multi-surface narration vivid visual contrast, such as the white and black contrast, dark and bright contrast,Background,Conrads novels show the

14、 historical process of the Western expansionism transformation with the purpose of reflection. His works are filled with the criticism towards colonial heroism, exposing the exploitation and oppression the imperialist implements to colonial.,The novels of Joseph Conrad express strong sense of loneli

15、ness. natural environment -the characters are always far away from their homeland and live in a strange environment. social environment -the characters do not identify with society, and their inner worlds are unknown to others. Loneliness is an important topic in literature history, but the works of

16、 Conrad express the changes of social mentalities.,Individual thoughts -His novels reflect the deep gaps between man and nature, man and man, man and society. Besides these, his novels express the confrontations and conflicts between Eastern and Western culture. His novels not only record the situat

17、ion of that period exactly, but also discuss the human nature deeply in modern world.,Theme of The Lagoon,The main theme of the story is that death is inescapable. Humans often have the illusion that through true love nothing can touch us, and that love makes one whole. In order to succeed in life,

18、one must overcome these illusions.,The story that Arsat tells “Tuan is one of sadness and betrayal. Arsat tells of the time when he and his brother kidnapped Diamelen (his lover, who was previously a servant of the Rajahs wife). They all fled in a boat at night, and travelled until they were exhaust

19、ed. They stopped on a bit of land jutting out into the water to rest. Soon however, they spotted a large boat of the Rajahs coming to find them. Arsats brother told Diamelen and Arsat to flee to the other side where there was a fishermans hut. He instructed them to take the fishermans boat. The brot

20、her stayed back, telling them to wait for him, while he took care of the canoe of the pursuers. However, Arsat did everything except wait for his brother.,As he pushed the boat from shore, he saw his brother running down the path, being chased by their pursuers. Arsats brother tripped and the enemy

21、was upon him. His brother called out to him three times, but Arsat never looked back. He betrayed his brother for a woman that he loved. Towards the end of the story, symbolically, the sun rose, and Diamelen died. Arsat had nothing now; he didnt have a brother or a wife. He lost everything. He plann

22、ed to return to his home village to avenge his brothers death, and died in the process. The story concludes with Tuan simply leaving, and Arsat staring dejectedly into the sun and a world of illusion.,Conclusion,Joseph Conrad is one of the pioneers in 20th century modernist literary world in English

23、. His words arent only famous for impressionism, but also shake the soul of people by the tragic features. “The Lagoon”, is recognized as a classic in the history of English novels. Conrad had done his best to probe the relations between human and nature, human and society, human and human, through

24、this kind of probe to express the tragic fate of human.,The story is full of symbols and contrasts - such as the use of dark/light, black/white, sunrise/sunset, water/fire, and possibly the most important, movement/still. Arsats clearing is still, nothing moves, yet everything outside the clearing moves. In the end of the story, motion finally enters Arsats clearing. This symbolizes, that Arsat is finally a free man. In the story, darkness represents ignorance and denial, whereas light represents enlightenment and truth.,As for Conrad, nature is a personified power. And