Joseph Conrad 英国文学课件.ppt

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) one of the greatest novelists in the English language Quotations “. . . No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one’s existence—that which makes its truth, its meaning—its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream—alone. . . .” (Part 1, Heart of Darkness) With haunting verse Conrad has crafted a chilling tale laden with lush imagery and symbolism describing the ambiguity between good and evil. With characters as anti-hero he examines man’s moral complexities and capacity for corruption and evil, and the dark depths of the human psyche. Quotations 2 Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn’t touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror—of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision—he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath. (ibid, Part 3) While it addresses the timeless struggle of man’s self-deception and inner conflicts, influenced by Conrad’s own sense of isolation from his past, the story of Marlow’s journey into the Congo also exposes the clashes, exploitation and barbarity between European and African societies during 19th Century colonial expansionism. Influence Some of Conrad’s works including Heart of Darkness have inspired filmmakers and such authors as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gabriel García Márquez, D.H. Lawrence, and Virginia Woolf. He has also been grouped with other such esteemed authors as his friend Stephen Crane and Robert Louis Stevenson. Coppola the director Revised from Heart of Darkness His Life Joseph Conrad was born in Berdyczów (now in Ukraine) into a