Conrad’s Paradoxical Complex:Anti-Imperialism Vs.Colonialism

Joseph Conrad, the Polish Expatriate, is one of the most famous and also controversial contemporary literary figures in British literature. Conrad makes a great contribution to English literature technically and thematically. He uses his unique eyesight and method to depict the life and his creative ability to explore religion, morality and social meaning. He has gained the worldwide fame due to the psychological analysis, distinctive novel structure and skilful writing techniques in his works. Heart of Darkness is one of Conrad’s representatives and also one of the greatest novellas in the world. Critics at home and abroad make various researches on this novella with the theory of formalism, feminism, racialism, narrative style etc.Conrad is regarded as a typical postcolonial writer with a complex background. He writes novels and travelogues following what he sees and contemplates. Heart of Darkness exposes the hypocrisy and crimes of colonialism and also shows his sympathy with the colonized who are marginalized in the colonial society. However, influenced by the social ideology and imperialism of his time, Conrad still defends the western ideology of colonial invasion and shows the pride and superiority before the oppressed Africans in spite of being "marginalized" and loss of identity. Consciously or unconsciously, he despises the colonized and considers them to be "the Others".The thesis studies the novella from the diasporic perspective. Based on the perspective of Said’s post-colonialism, it tries to explore Conrad’s attitude towards the colonialism and imperialism and the root causes and manifestations of his paradoxical complex in terms of anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism in dual cultures. Due to the diasporic experience and hard sufferings during his childhood, Conrad has formed a paradoxical character and been struggling in the contradictions of dual identity. While demonstrating his colonialist consciousness in support of imperialism and racism, his works express his anti-imperialistic tendencies and the sympathy with the colonized people as well. This fact forms a paradoxical complex in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. In the context of globalization, as a timeless literary theme and a literary eyesight to observe the world, diaspora offers us a fresh angle to broaden and enhance the study of Conrad’s works.