Structural elements in Joseph Conrad's Heart of darkness

Includes bibliographical references (page 38)Joseph Conrad's works have been studied extensively\ud for the past 80 years. For each major work there is now a\ud large body of criticism. This is particularly true of\ud Heart of Darkness, which has been viewed both as a major\ud cultural document, an imaginative record of the greed of\ud the white man in the tropics, and as a pioneering work of\ud twentieth century literary technique. Indeed, Heart of\ud Darkness has been called "one of the greatest works in the\ud tradition of modern literature." \ud The modernity of Heart of Darkness is complex and has\ud been interpreted in various lights, though certainly\ud central is Conrad's use of psychology, his epistemological\ud theme, and the pervasive symbolism of the novel. All three \ud of these aspects of modernity can be seen in the structural\ud devices Conrad uses in the novel. This thesis\ud studies three of these devices--the "frame" story,\ud narrative by conjecture, and foreshadowing. It does not\ud consider at any length the motif of the journey, or quest,\ud or the character and function of Marlow, subjects which\ud have been discussed at length.\ud The three structural devices studied in this thesis--\ud the frame story, narrative by conjecture, and foreshadowing--\ud are basic elements in the success of the novel,\ud or, more precisely, the success of the novel's structure;\ud and each provides a slightly different definition of\ud structure. The frame story, a traditional element in\ud holding a series of tales together, is here used by Conrad\ud for psychological purposes to suggest the "shape" of a\ud single experience. Narrative by conjecture shows Conrad\ud speculating about the nature of man and what can be known\ud about him; in this "structural" process Conrad's narrator\ud almost seems to invent a Kurtz who is nothing but "a\ud voice" and yet represents so much more than a voice.\ud The device of foreshadowing, like the frame story a\ud traditional element of fiction, is here made to convey the\ud maximum of suggestiveness, to provide a symbolic context\ud for almost every word, so that the meaning of events is\ud "not inside, like a kernel but outside, enveloping the\ud ta1e???.??? Foreshadowing is one means through which \ud structure is imposed. Anterior and later scenes contain\ud parallel events, suggesting a congruence between past and\ud present, the civilized world of Europe and the heart of\ud darkest Africa.\ud The method of this study will follow an approach to\ud analysis suggested by Ian Watt:\ud ???there must be enough quotation to enable the\ud reader to see the evidence in the text for the\ud interpretation given; and the primary commitment\ud must be to what may be called the literal imagination--\ud the analytic commentary restricts itself\ud to what the imagination can discover through a\ud literal reading of the work.\ud In this study, quotations from Heart of Darkness have been\ud chosen that exemplify the workings of the structural\ud elements within the novel. Analysis of passages and interpretation\ud is based on what can be evidenced in the text