Abstract: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness exposes the salacious wrongdoings of European settlers. This paper mainly analyzes Conrad’s contradiction between anti-colonialism and pro-colonialism. On the one hand, in Heart of Darkness, symbolic meanings are well used through which Conrad expresses his thoughts and feelings about colonialism to condemn the crimes and hypocrisy of colonialism. On the other hand, he shows the superiority and pride of belonging to the advanced western civilization. This voices his pro-colonialism which is influenced by the ideology of his time. The overt tendency of anti-colonialism and its non-ignorable colonial consciousness in Heart of Darkness indicate Conrad’s contradiction in the value orientation and moral standards.

Key words: Conrad; Heart of Darkness; colonialism; anti-colonialism; reasons

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1Introduction-1

1.1Introduction to Joseph Conrad and Heart of Darkness-1

1.2Previous Studies on Heart of Darkness-2

2Conrad’s Anti-Colonialism Tendency-4

2.1Symbols of Characters—Representatives and Spokesmen of Colonialism-4

2.1.1Kurtz’s Downfall in Africa-4

2.1.2Chief Accountant’s Hypocrisy and Indifference-6

2.2Symbols of Colors-7

2.2.1“Darkness” in Heart of Darkness-7

2.2.2“White” in Heart of Darkness-8

2.2.3The Contrast between White and Black-9

3Conrad’s Colonialism Tendency-10

3.1The Racial Prejudice against Africa in Heart of Darkness-10

3.2Marlow’s Vindication towards Kurtz-12

3.3Conrad’s Fantasy towards Colonialism-13

4Three Reasons of Conrad’s Dual Consciousness about Colonialism-14

4.1Social Environment-14

4.2Cultural Influence-15

4.3Conrad’s Life Experience-16

5Conclusion-18

Reference