| Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) is a Polish-English writer. He is unique and outstanding in British and world literature. In the West, he is the focus of contemporary literary commentary and criticism. His Nostromo (1904) is widely recognized by western critics as his best undertaking and one of the greatest novels in the twentieth century. Some people have even related Nostromo to Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace (1869). Indeed, Nostromo reads like an epic with its significant events, grand-scaled scenes, original construction, profound ideology and numerous characters.Another important reason contributing to Nostromo's greatness is that its tragic features shake the soul of people. It can be read as a product or sign of author's pessimism. Conrad's pessimism melts into his literary writing to the full,Nostromo is with no exception– it well shows Conrad's pessimism through the selection of its theme and the shape of main characters'fate. By analysing the theme and main characters'fate, my thesis establishes a new perspective to explore Nostromo, which can enable readers to read and appreciate the book from a new aspect and to know Conrad better, the important British writer in the intersection of nineteenth-century and twentieth-century. That is the central topic and fundamental value of this thesis.This thesis consists of five parts. To start with, the thesis offers an introduction to the author Joseph Conrad and his Nostromo, then generalizes the fruitful studies of them in modern times, from which a conclusion is drawn: there is much academic space left to study Nostromo -- all of research topics abroad involve ideology, narrative techniques, cultural phenomena, politics and history, feminine problems, imperialism and so on, and at home the research is only confined to its writing techniques and artistic views, while both neglecting its theme and characters'fate, which possess great significance and value in embodying Conrad's pessimism. The conclusion provides me with the new perspective to probe the novel.Chapter One illustrates in details the main reasons resulting in Conrad's pessimism, including his life and career, times background, social environment and Schopenhauerism which influences his mind greatly. An author's thought has a direct bearing on his writing. It is sure that Conrad's pessimism will be revealed in Nostromo: the choice of its theme and the shape of main characters'fate.Chapter Two focuses on Nostromo's theme and main characters'fate, including Nostromo, the Goulds and Decoud, which makes readers realize the tragic tinge of the novel and Conrad's pessimism. The analysis can enable readers to know the book and Conrad better.Chapter Three analyses the negative, especially positive aspects of Conrad's pessimism by combining with Nostromo, which makes readers have a further understanding of Conrad's moral and literary outlook.The conclusion points out that tragic tinge of Nostromo is one of the most important factors contributing to its success; its theme and main characters'fate show that the novel is an intensely pessimistic one. Exploring the novel from its theme and main characters'fate is helpful for us to understand Conrad's pessimistic outlook on life. Conrad is the forerunner of British modernist fictions, and the experiments and innovations he conducted have exerted a rich and varied impact upon novelists not only on Britain, but on the world, some of which are his contemporaries while others are subsequent writers, so carrying out research about Conrad and his works has far-reaching significance for us to probe into modern and contemporary literature.
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