Beyond The Pale, By Joseph Conrad

Twentieth Century Modernism

The twentieth century can be distinguished by the saying, "Beyond the pale". This metaphoric meaning represents modernists standing outside the conformist restrictions of law, behavior, and social class- in a sense, beyond the pale. Modernists wanted to expand their dimensions and represent life in a different way. They were very skeptical of the Victorian age because they did not believe it was possible to have unity in all the world which was what Victorian literature had portrayed. Modernists saw life as a series of non-ordinary actions that were uncontrollable. Victorians wrote their literature with a 1-2-3 story plot which began with an introduction and ended happily ever after. Modernists thought that realistic
Ironically he was quite the transformer himself. Originally a Polish man known as Josef Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski, he did not learn English until his twenties when he transformed himself into Joseph Conrad. Recognized by a distinctive style, Conrad's novels combine realism and drama. Their settings include oceanic backgrounds as well as themes of high society, and international politics. Conrad was a skilled creator of atmosphere, character and symbolism. He also uncovered the conflict between non-western cultures and modern civilization and his characters revealed the potential for seclusion and deterioration in life. One style Conrad uses in his fiction novel, Heart of Darkness, is symbolism. In this novel, the jungle portrays a large element of symbolism. Darkness is very symbolic in the sense that it shows Africa as the unknown. There is a sense of ignorance in Africa because of the uncivilized culture. Darkness could also symbolize the evil within the soul of every man and woman. For example, the character Kurtz is not a perfect man because he portrays greed and selfishness when he searches for the ivory. Kurtz goes to Africa as a leader of positive civilization but deteriorates into something negative because his evilness takes over. Lastly, darkness symbolizes the physical end of the day. The story is told at sunset and by the time the story ends, it is dark. This is symbolic because it
This style is often seen in Modern literature. Heart of Darkness is a very long and wordy novel. An example is "…The two below me moved away then a few paces, and strolled back and forth at some little distance" (2042). It reads very slowly and refuses to get to the main point causing the reader to have to wait for any conclusions. A third style is the use of orality, or how the story is told. The story is being spoken to the readers rather than visually seen. The narrative in this oral tale is unnamed. Marlow tells the story to a group of men on a boat, but we the readers do not hear him. "He paused" (2023) is showing that this is a second hand story or report being told by one of the four men on the boat repeating what he had heard from Marlow. A final style is characterization. There are multiple characters which do not have any names. They are referred to as the director, accountant, or general manager. This style is used to distance the readers from the story. During the modern period, there was an ongoing trend of depersonalization. Also characterization is used by the description of the characters' appearance and behavior. This is best portrayed in the line, "Marlow sat cross-legged right aft, leaning against the mizzen-mast. He had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and, with his arms dropped, the palms outwards, resembled an idol"