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Essay / Isolated Characters and Their Use in the Works of Joseph Conrad nature that disrupts everything. The concept of writing about navigation comes directly from Conrad's own adventures, who made numerous voyages throughout his life. Whether intentionally or not, Conrad's personal understanding of people, ships, and nature reflects its use in his books, such as Typhoon, Falk, and Heart of Darkness. Conrad's stories not only tell a fictional account of events taking place in another universe, but also describe what Conrad himself believes about reality, based on his personal experiences. Joseph Conrad's writings feature lonely sailors aboard isolated ships to colorfully depict Conrad's own worldview. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Conrad's personal experience with the sea is directly related to the details of his novels, connecting Conrad's works with Conrad's memories. Many novels written by Conrad come from actual memories of Conrad's life. During his personal travels, he left Bangkok on a ship bound for Singapore, and in his novel Falk, the characters interact in the harbor, a place where Conrad spent a lot of time. On a voyage to the port of Java, he sailed on the ship Highland Forest under Captain John MacWhirr, and in the typhoon Captain MacWhirr sailed to Asia. Heart of Darkness describes a man becoming captain of a steamboat on the Congo River, and Conrad did the same on his personal travels. These novels serve not only as entertainment but also as reminders of memories that Conrad himself experienced and recorded using his own worldview. The main characters in Conrad's writings effectively place Conrad personally in the story. In Heart of Darkness, as the main character recounts his life journey, a passerby mentions that “his remark didn't seem surprising at all. It was like Marlow. This was silently accepted” (Heart of Darkness 447). The beginning of the novel shows a group of men on a boat in silence, then Marlow begins to describe his life. This reflects what the reader realizes when reading his books: the reader listens to Conrad tell his story. So, in this novel, Conrad can use Marlow as a representative of himself. A similar example comes from Falk, in which the narrator states: "This reminds me of an absurd episode in my life, many years ago, when I first received command of an iron barque" ( Falk 270). Then the narrator describes the whole story. Even though the physical representation of a visible archetype of Conrad (such as Marlow) does not appear in the novel, there is nevertheless an element of narration that symbolizes what Conrad himself does in writing his novels. Although Typhoon does not include any designated narrator, a main character uses the same name as a captain in Conrad's life story. Conrad writes: “Captain MacWhirr, of the liner Nan-Shan, had a countenance which, in the order of material appearances, was the exact counterpart of his mind” (Typhoon 195). This intentional allusion establishes a connection between Conrad's life and Typhoon in the sense that Conrad's experience spills over into his writings. Furthermore, Ian Robinson writes in “Conrad's Belief in Victory” that “like Dickens, Conrad is not meant to be a philosophically sophisticated novelist. But both can get notionsphilosophical statements as clear as they wish. Conrad's writings, according to Robinson, include vague or clear philosophy. In fact, Conrad's writings contain a large amount of philosophical details and clues that can connect his life and philosophy to his writings. These three works include a connection to Conrad's personal life and background that help explain how Conrad reflects his worldview in his writing. The ships create divisions between people and nature that expose Conrad's views on nature, solitude, and civilization. In Typhoon, a traveling ship faces a powerful typhoon in the ocean. In the novel, there are two sides: those on board the ship and the forces outside the ship. This construction clearly separates humanity from the power of nature and illustrates Conrad's view that nature contains immense power, enough to have a "wind [that] chokes [Strangles] its [MacWhirr's] howls" (Typhoon 218). Using this, Conrad goes on to describe the sovereignty that nature plays over everyone's lives, both physically and emotionally. In Falk, living on boats isolates people from each other and shows the discontent and difficulty of living alone. Falk, a solitary man who "lived aboard his tugboat, which was always going up and down the river" (Falk 278), notes that "it [is] more difficult every day to live alone" (Falk 300). As Falk lives alone aboard a ship, he finds life difficult. The use of a ship highlights Conrad's distaste for solitude by creating a division between Falk and society. In Heart of Darkness, characters on ships possess qualities of nobility and civility, while people not on the ship act savagely and are therefore called "savages". A fight breaks out between the residents of the river banks and the settlers aboard the steamboat. Marlow "distinguished, in the depths of the tangled darkness, bare breasts, arms, legs, glowing eyes, -- the bush swarmed with moving, glowing, bronze-colored human limbs" (Heart of Darkness 476). He cannot see people, but a part of themselves, plunged in darkness. On the other hand, the men on board the ship retain visibility and humanity. When conflict breaks out, “the arrows come in droves” (Heart of Darkness 476) while “the sound of a gun right at my back deafens me” (Heart of Darkness 476). Noticing the qualities associated with the respective weapons, the arrows retain a swarming, animalistic and wild quality while the rifle simply contains the word report, a much more civilized word and one used more in societies when reporting to a leader. Drawing on the qualities of words and images associated with “savages,” Conrad here uses ships as the deciding factor that distinguishes the civilized from the barbarian. Using ships as agents of division, Conrad develops his ideas about solitude, nature and civilization. The solitary characters express Conrad's opinion that men do not function well alone. Many examples in Conrad's works highlight this perspective. In Falk, Falk is damaged by his singleness and responds by speaking to the narrator. During their discussion, “He [Falk] grabbed [his] hand and twisted it into a crushing grip. 'Forgive me. Every day I find it more difficult to live alone. . .’” (Falk 300). The disturbance Falk endures from his desolation causes him to physically attack and harm someone. In this state, he wrongly assumes that the narrator wants to marry a woman he loved. Falk's desire to have a wife comes from feeling not alone because he says he finds life more difficult every day oflive alone, not because he wants children or love. Likewise, in Typhoon, sailors are led to write to their wives. An example would be the ship's engineer, “Mr. Rout[, who] also wrote letters; only, no one on board knew how talkative he could be, pen in hand, because the chief engineer had enough imagination to keep his office locked. His wife really appreciated his style” (Typhon 201). This means that although the engineer seems inconspicuous among other sailors, he wants to communicate with his wife. He doesn't want to be around people who travel with him mainly for financial gain. He longs to return home to his wife and family. Clearly, he wants to escape the confinement of the ship and live a social life. In Heart of Darkness, the characters' superficial understanding leaves little room for questioning whether the men of the colony in Congo wrote letters to their loved ones, but they all share a respect and admiration for the named man. Kurtz. When Marlow asked “who was Mr. Kurtz, he replied that he was a first-class agent; and seeing my disappointment at this information, he added slowly, laying down his pen: 'She is a very remarkable person.' » (Heart of Darkness 456). Many men in the colony shared a similar view of Kurtz. Kurtz's universal admiration symbolizes the need people have for others, and in this case, these men want to speak with a remarkable man. These settlers wait impatiently and hope that they can be with Kurtz. Holger Nüstedt, in his literary review "The End of the Bond: An Old Man's Rite of Passage" by Joseph Conrad, writes that Conrad "relies heavily on the idea of initiation", which means "the transition of young people from infancy to childhood.” adulthood in so-called “primitive” societies and can therefore seem a fairly plausible metaphor for a certain number of changes experienced by young people in literature. The concept of initiation appears in these three books as characters who possess mature traits communicate with others (their wives or Kurtz). They all have someone they want to communicate with, and without communication, they feel dismayed at having been initiated. In society as adults, they strive to achieve a similar goal: interacting with others. Thus, the enjoyment of the company of others in all three books exposes Conrad's disbelief in joyous isolation. The ships take people away from the superficiality of life to allow the characters to observe and think. Some characters engage in a change described by Shirley Galloway in her critical essay "Joseph Conrad: The Sense of Self" as "facing a process of maturation that involves the loss of the illusions of youth, a process usually precipitated by a a real “trial” that calls into question the professional skills of the protagonist as well as his assumptions about his identity and his mental health. The three novels reflect an ordeal experienced by a character. In Typhoon, the narrator personifies a battle between sailors on a ship and a raging typhoon. When the typhoon first broke out, “in an instant, men lost contact with each other” (Typhoon). 212). Separated at sea from their fellow sailors and loved ones back home, the men were attacked and "the storm penetrated the man's defenses and unsealed his lips" (Typhoon 236) with a force "like the sudden crushing of a ship”. vial of anger. It seemed to explode all around the ship with a crushing commotion and a surge of great waters” (Typhoon 212 makes it clear that the typhoon not only attacks and injures the ship (which it does), butAlso). intervenes deep within the men on board, singling them out and pouring out their anger on and in them. In this state of separation and distress, men are forced to think about the storm, the power of nature, and the state of their lives. Sailors concentrate all their strength to attack the storm not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally, in order to prevent their lives from internally sinking into despair. Additionally, the narrator of this story matches Galloway's understanding of hardships in Conrad's works, resulting in the story containing many depictions of the inner destruction wrought by the storm. Conrad's narrator, Marlow, in the novel Heart of Darkness, describes with great thought and emotion the trip he took to Africa. Separated from his old life and catapulted into a new job far from home, Marlow questions the essence of nature. He says that “traveling up this river was like traveling to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation ran wild on the earth and tall trees were king. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was hot, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brightness of the sun” (Heart of Darkness 467). Marlow sees a nature untamed (largely) by humanity, where tall trees were more important than skyscrapers. Nature is strong, unshakable and dark. Marlow thinks that the isolation of the forest resembles how he felt that he "had lost his way on this river as one would in a desert" (Heart of Darkness 467), even though a river contains a path defined on which we travel. The loss Marlow experiences comes from internal thoughts created from his far-flung adventure, not from navigational failures. In this river left to itself, he questions nature, in the manner of the narrator of Typhoon, who describes his battle against the sea. Marlow embodies the young person described by Galloway in the sense that Marlow becomes aware of the immensity of nature and gets lost, losing his identity because of the ordeal in which he finds himself. Unlike the other two books which begin with people in society who In an isolated thought, Falk describes a mysterious single man becoming a married man. He “came unsympathetically, looking at you with his yellow eyes from the deck, and dragged you disheveled as to the rigging, heavy as to the decks, with callous haste, as if to execute you” (Falk 279). Falk hates his job and “feels it more difficult every day to live alone” (Falk 300). Due to Falk's complete isolation on a ship for many years filled with feelings and inner depth, Falk wishes for companionship. The social abandonment Falk faces causes him to feel pain and depression, and he walks to work as if he were walking to die. Galloway's concept of finding one's identity in the midst of a trial resembles the pain Falk experiences when he is single, and his plight of leaving that pain exposes his loss and forces him to recognize his own weakness. Although this book incorporates desolation differently than the other two books, it nevertheless creates significant meanings about Conrad's worldview. In all three books, men cut off from others reflect on the world in which they live. Characters living in distant lands, isolated from their homelands, provide Conrad with a unique vehicle to discuss white supremacy and the common belief of Social Darwinism. In all three works, people of other races are seen as barbaric, chaotic, and deceitful. The majority of the Typhoon's passengers, called "Chinese men", all gathered in a large room in theship equipped with large chests containing valuable objects. When the storm hit the ship, the chests opened wide and suddenly “all these clumsy Chinese [rose] as a group to save their belongings” (Typhoon 229). The Chinese were fighting so hard that with each stroke of the ship, they threw this stamping and screaming crowd here and there, from one side to the other, in a whirlwind of broken wood, torn clothes, rolling dollars” (Typhoon 229). The fight aboard the ship during the storm symbolizes the carnage wrought from the inner depths of all the people on the ship and further describes how the storm affects everyone, threatening the separation between the ship and the sea. terms of covalent validity, the storm overwhelms the Chinese early and completely, pushing them, as a racially differentiated group, toward depravity and greed. The sudden change of Chinese in the midst of the storm reflects social Darwinism as only the group of Chinese falls into chaos while all of the other white men on the ship retain their ability to continue working. Furthermore, the Chinese do not work for the ship, but live under the authority of the white men on board. Adding to the idea that the Chinese symbolize the effect of the storm on individuals, the Chinese only serve to disrupt the other race who are trying to survive the brutal storm. In Falk, a similar situation occurs in which the narrator hires a Chinese to help him aboard his ship, and "before the end of the third day he had revealed himself to be a confirmed opium smoker, a gambler, a most daring thief and a first-class sprinter” (Falk 274). In short, the only prominent figure of another race receives significant discredit due to his inability to do his job properly. This minor appearance of a person of another race illustrates the idea that people of other races do not possess the skills and discipline necessary to work in a "white man's job." In Heart of Darkness, Conrad separates the colonists from the colonized to describe how the white race contains more nobility and civility while the indigenous people of the Congo are composed of savagery and primitiveness. Marlow describes the Congo as having "sandbanks, swamps, forests, savages, little food fit for a civilized man, nothing but Thames water to drink" (Heart of Darkness 447). This statement elevates Marlow and the colonizers above the Congolese people, claiming that good food for the civilian population is rare. In general, the way Marlow describes the Congo as dark, with "no joy in the brightness of the sun" (Heart of Darkness 467) is exactly how Marlow describes the people of the Congo. The people and environment also mix up several times, notably before the fight at the river when Marlow discovers that "the bush was swarming with moving, glowing, bronze-colored human limbs" (Heart of Darkness 476). Marlow finds not only the Congo repulsive, but also the people who live there as a natural extension of his dislike of the Congo. It suggests that one race, the white race, possesses a civility and nobility that no other race can match. Conrad's stories around the world bring Conrad to specialized discussions of social Darwinism and racism. Conrad's placement of the ships highlights his belief in the sovereign hand of nature over human action. On the open sea in Typhoon, the ship comes under attack from nature. The typhoon holds the existence of all on board in the palm of its hand and can sink the ship at any moment. Like a real person, “The Nan-Shan was plundered by the storm with senseless and destructive fury:test sails torn from extra joints, double strap awnings blown away, deck swept away, waterproof canvases burst, rails twisted, light screens were broken — and two of the boats were already gone” (Typhoon 215). Throughout the novel, Conrad uses personification to describe how the sea acts as an independent person. This storm's personality also contains attributes, in this case a large amount of anger. Nature does not act by chance because it retains the qualities of a real person. The nature described here does not act by chance but by will, and the lives of all on board the ship are under the all-powerful authority of nature. Building on this idea, Falk includes an accident that would never have happened without the intervention of nature. Falk's character spends his days pulling boats along the river, but damages the vessel he is towing. This ship belongs to Captain Hermann, whose niece Falk wishes to marry. With so much at stake, Falk fails to complete the task he was supposed to do for one of the most important jobs of his life! The narrator exclaims “The damage!” The damage! And all this damage! There was no reason for harm” (Falk 287). This event cannot be a coincidence, as Falk put a lot of effort into making sure it was not damaged in order to have a better chance of marrying the niece. But under the rule of nature, the ship suffers damage. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow describes the river as "dead at the center." And the river was there – fascinating – deadly – like a snake. Yeah ! » (Heart of Darkness 450). Marlow notes that nature itself seems fascinating, but as deadly as a snake. As an archetypal representative of Conrad's own experience in this story, he recognizes the power that nature holds over his head, knowing how deadly and powerful it can be. Conrad's placement in nature constructs his thoughts on how nature controls the destiny of human beings, overriding their free will. Sailors without direct communication with home must act on impulse, consistent with Conrad's endorsement of adaptability and improvisation in remote locations. In the middle of a storm in Typhoon, Captain MacWhirr reads a book about typhoons. After reading it and thinking about it, he bluntly states: “You can't find everything in books” (Typhoon233). Based on his experience at sea, MacWhirr believes that simply studying books does not teach men enough and that they must learn more outside of books, such as experience at sea, to truly know and understand the severity of the storm. Although the factual books provide MacWhirr with facts and figures, they do not tell him about the internal conflicts he would experience during the storm Conrad describes. When the books fail, Conrad believes that improvisation is necessary to ensure the ship's survival, and when the storm hits, events occur that cannot easily be discussed in detail in a book. For example, some passengers' chests open up and they start fighting over everything in the middle of the ship. Events like these force the captain to act on his whim in a given situation and not just rely on what the book says. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow goes to Africa for a job as captain of a ship, and after meeting a man and "told him who I [Marlow] was, [said] that my steamer was at bottom of the river. I was stunned” (Heart of Darkness 458). After this accident, Marlow's plans change to "fish my [Marlow's] command out of the river" (Heart of Darkness.
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