Romanticization And Demonization; The Duality Of Conrad’s Mind

Joseph Conrad, as one of the most famous modernistic writers in the world,always places readers in contradiction: both his sensitive character and his blue innercalm make readers appreciative of his works; however, his prejudice and superiorityto the “others” make readers uncomfortable, especially in his novel Heart of Darknessand Typhoon. With the application of l’imagologie of comparative literature, thisthesis purports to argue about the existence of duality in Conrad’smind—romanticization and demonization in Heart of Darkness and Typhoon, so as toconclude that Conrad’s duality is due to his identity as both a white and a PolishAnglo-Saxon.This thesis is composed of five parts. Besides introduction and conclusion, thereare three body chapters. The introduction introduces the significance of JosephConrad, Typhoon and the Heart of Darkness, the foreign and domestic research inliterature review, and the theory of l’imagologie of comparative literature. Chapterone deals with the imaginaire social: western image of Chinese and blacks in19thcentury England, and the relationship between the imaginaire social and the alienimages in Conrad’s works. With the application of l’imagologie of comparativeliterature, Chapter two is devoted to analyzing the Chinese and western images inTyphoon, the description of which about images is divided into four parts: thedominance and inferior: Captain Mac and Chinese coolies; the “intimate”understanding of the combination: Captain Mac and Jukes; the “tacit” workmates:Jukes and boatswain; the workers from different levels: Jukes and Chinese coolies.Starting with the disenchantment and a generalized view of the Orient written byfamous writer Flaubert, Chapter three discusses Heart of Darkness from theperspective of l’imagologie in four parts: Africa, Marlow, African people and RiverCongo. The conclusion section reveals the origin of the duality in Conrad’s mind: hisidentity as both a white and a Polish Anglo-Saxon.