The influence of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness on Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist is obvious. Since Hamid's work represents a new Heart of Darkness, the similarity between Hamid's novel and Conrad's novel can be seen in almost the whole novel. This study aims to detect the effect of Conrad's Heart of Darkness on Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist by reading the background of the two authors, the circumstances that led to write both works, by examining the narrative and symbolism in both novels.
Before examining the novels and the authors, we should know what is the meaning of influence? What do we mean when talking about influence? The theory of influence in literature could be defined as: ""Influence" is a metaphor, one that
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Conrad influenced Hamid in the way of narration; Hamid uses the first-person narrator the same way Conrad uses in his novel, and Hamid also speaks about to actions one in the past and the other one in the present, when he talks to the American and when transferring his reactions to us, he is talking about the present time and when he tells him his story he talks about the past as if he mixes two stories in his novel. Conrad also, uses two narrators one is the protagonist Marlow when he tells his story in the past and he uses another narrator to talk about the present. Hamid in The Reluctant Fundamentalist is criticizing the neo-colonization of the American empire, that he uses the voice of minors, and he silenced the voice of the power, as if he says that now it is our turn to speak back and you have to listen to us. Also, Conrad in Heart of Darkness criticizes the colonization of the empire, Said in his book Culture and Imperialism argues that:
To the extent that we see Conrad both criticizing and reproducing the imperial ideology of his time, to that extent we can characterize our own present attitudes: the projection, or the refusal, of the wish to dominate, the capacity to damn, or the energy to comprehend and engage with other societies, traditions, histories.
Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness uses character development and character analysis to really tell the story of European colonization. Within Conrad's characters one can find both racist and colonialist views, and it is the opinion, and the interpretation of the reader which decides what Conrad is really trying to say in his work.
In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, symbolism is quite prevalently used to portray the development of the heart of darkness. Conrad used a variety of symbols, including characters, objects, and ideologies.
Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness, A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism , ed. Ross C. Murfin. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.
Color is used very effectively as a tool of symbolism in Heart of Darkness. Colors, especially black and white, are used to symbolize evil (black) and good (white). Other colors are also used, although less often than black and white. Throughout the story, people are thought to have white souls or black souls depending on their innate “goodness” or “badness” or the role they are fulfilling at the time. The color of a person’s soul is often contrasted to the color of their skin. A black- souled, white-skinned person is thought to be evil and dishonest. “I met a white man in such an unexpected elegance of getup…” (Conrad p.21). This demonstrates how a white man was not expected to be a good person. Elegance of dress was unexpected because the man was white. In comparison, a white-souled, black-skinned person is thought to be truthful and full of integrity. “An athletic black belonging to some coast tribe and educated by my poor predecessor….thought all the world of himself.” (Conrad p.45). People are described as black with hatred regardless of skin color. This is further evidence of black being used synonymously with evil. Black isn’t just used to describe evil people. “Often far away, I thought of these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall…” (Conrad p. 14.) The symbolism of black wool at the door of Darkness is clearly pointing to evil, and further supports black as evil. Heath 2 Colors other than black and white are used to describe moods and attitudes past the basic good and evil. Red signifies industry. “There was a vast amount of red - good to see at any time because one knows that some real work is done in there.” (Conrad p.13). Yellow is seen as a cowardly color. “I was going into the yellow. Dead in the center.” (Conrad p.13). Pale denotes Death. It is also used this way in the Bible, “the Pale horse and his rider Death”, Revelations 6:8. “She came forward, all in black, with a pale head, floating towards me in the dusk. She was in mourning. It was more than a year since his death…” (Conrad p. 72-73). The use of color is effective in the story for a variety of reasons. First, it is easy to understand.
The sociology of imperialism seeks to define this phenomenon as an atavism in the social structure, in the specific person, in their psychological habits, which thus triggers an emotional reaction. According to Joseph A. Schumpeter - "The word imperialism has been abused as a slogan to the point where it threatens to lose all meaning. For whenever the word imperialism is used, there is always the implication - whether sincere or not - of an aggressiveness" (Conklin & Fletcher, 1999, p. 44). The history behind this word has lead us to view the corruption and destruction it has caused at the hands of people with perhaps to much power. This statement goes with debate because like it or not history in essence; has shown us that nations have pursued war for the sake of winning and expansion for the sake of expansion, we ...
Karl, Frederick Robert and Laurence Davies, eds. The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad Vol. 1-6. New York: Cambridge U., 1983.
Rosmarin, Adena. "Darkening the Reader: Reader Response Criticism and Heart of Darkness." Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism. Ed. Ross C. Murfin. New York: St. Martin's, 1989.
* Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness” in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, M.H. Abrams, general editor. (London: W.W. Norton, 1962, 2000)
Without personal access to authors, readers are left to themselves to interpret literature. This can become challenging with more difficult texts, such as Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness. Fortunately, literary audiences are not abandoned to flounder in pieces such as this; active readers may look through many different lenses to see possible meanings in a work. For example, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness may be deciphered with a post-colonial, feminist, or archetypal mindset, or analyzed with Freudian psycho-analytic theory. The latter two would effectively reveal the greater roles of Kurtz and Marlow as the id and the ego, respectively, and offer the opportunity to draw a conclusion about the work as a whole.
Hay, Eloise Knapp. The Political Novels of Joseph Conrad: a Critical Study. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1972. 120. Print.
Though Conrad did not learn English until he was twenty-one, he still mastered the language and artfully uses it in Heart of Darkness. One sentence of his is particularly striking, as it sums up the views that he condemns throughout the novella. The accountant, one of the first imperialists Marlow meets, says to him, "When one has got to make correct entries, one comes to hate these savages-hate them to the death"(Conrad). This sentence is a perfect example of the typical imperialistic belief that Marlow denounces, and serves as a synecdoche for the entire work.
Two Themes in Heart Of Darkness There are many themes that run through the novel Heart of Darkness. There are however two main and significant ones. These are the theme of restraint and man's journey into self. The importance of restraint is stressed throughout Heart of Darkness.
In the novel Heart of Darkness, there are several themes including Good versus Evil, Power, Femininity, and Fate. Two themes are further prevalent and significant. These themes are restraint and identity. They are the two most noteworthy themes in the book because both capitalize on the complexity and flaws of human nature.
The "Heart of Darkness," written by Joseph Conrad in 1899 as a short story, is about two men who face their own identities as what they consider to be civilized Europeans and the struggle to not to abandon their themselves and their morality once they venture into the "darkness." The use of "darkness" is in the book's title and in throughout the story and takes on a number of meanings that are not easily understood until the story progresses. As you read the story you realize that the meaning of "darkness" is not something that is constant but changes depending on the context it used.
Conrad, J. (2006). Heart of darkness. In P. B. Armstrong (Ed.), Heart of darkness (4th ed., p.26). New York London: Norton Critical Editions.