Abstract:

Joseph Conrad has been regarded as one of the most important writers in the English literature in the early 20th century. Heart of Darkness by Conrad has received great attention since its publish. So many writers and scholars has been moved by the novel that they considered it as one of the most typical literary masterpiece. The novel not only inherits the fine tradition of the English literature, but also develops a new path for modernist novels. This paper aims to illustrate the use of multiple narrators, impressionism as well as the use of symbolic images. Consequently, the readers will have a better understanding of both the great achievements which Conrad had made and the great contribution which he had made in the novel writing.

Key words: Heart of Darkness; multiple narrators; impressionism; symbolic images

摘要：

约瑟夫•康拉德被奉为20世纪初英国文坛的极为重要的作家之一。他的小说《黑暗的心》自问世以来便备受关注，是一部具有示范意义的小说。该小说既一脉相承了英国小说的优良传统，又独具匠心的开辟了现代主义小说的先河。本篇论文将立足于现代主义的视角，通过对《黑暗的心》中的新颖的多个叙述者的写作手法，印象主义以及具有象征意义的意象的举例分析，旨在使读者更深入的了解康拉德在小说创作上取得的成就以及其对现代主义文学创作带来的重要影响。

关键词：《黑暗的心》; 多个叙述者; 印象主义;象征意义的意象
 
1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction to Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was born in Poland on December 3, 1857. It is indicated that Poland had been partitioned among Prussia, Russia, and Austria-Hungary for over sixty years during Conrad’s birth. His father, Apollo Korzeniowski, was a writer as well as a patriot who spared no efforts to Polish independence. In 1862, Korzeniowski was sentenced to exile as a result of his revolutionary activities. Worse still, life was so tough for them that both of Conrad’s parents were infected with tuberculosis. His mother died in 1865 due to the poor living conditions.
It was four years later that Conrad’s father died of tuberculosis. It claims that during the four years, Korzeniowski exerted a strong influence on Conrad as for his devotion to literature, skeptical view of the world, and sometimes adventurous spirit. After his father’s death, Conrad was raised by his uncle, Bobrowski, a man who was conservative, cautious and pragmatic. As time went on, his uncle’s character also had a great impact on Conrad’s growth.