ON "THE SECRET SHARER": A SKEPTICAL VIEW
Usually, in the face of a work improperly understood, critics blame one another; but in this case the work itself is at fault. Although "The Secret Sharer" is a fascinating and provocative story, its details are at times so vaguely portentous that readers are seduced into hunting for a complex symbolic consistency which the work does not possess.... Because of its insistent promptings and seductive detail, "The Secret Sharer" has become everybody's
Rorschach test.
Lawrence Graver, Conrad's Short Fiction, 1969
AUTHOR'S OTHER WORKS
This isn't a complete list, but it includes most of Conrad's major stories and novels with the dates of first publication.
Almayer's Folly, 1895
An Outcast of the Islands, 1896
"An Outpost of Progress," 1897
The Nigger of the "Narcissus," 1897
"Youth," 1898 Lord Jim, 1900
"Amy Foster," 1901
Typhoon, 1902
Nostromo, 1904
The Secret Agent, 1907
Under Western Eyes, 1911
Chance, 1912 Victory, 1915
The Shadow-Line, 1916
The Arrow of Gold, 1919
The Rescue, 1919
The Rover, 1923
TEST
_____ 1. Marlow got his post as a steamboat skipper
A. through his uncle's influence
B. when his predecessor was killed
C. upon retirement from the British Navy
_____ 2. When the company doctor learned that Marlow was sailing to the interior, he asked,
A. "Could you bring me back an elephant's tusk?"
B. "Do you expect to gain an audience with Mr. Kurtz?"
C. "Ever any madness in your family?"
_____ 3. As a company agent, Kurtz
A. failed to meet his quota repeatedly
B. sent in more ivory than anyone else
C. taught the Africans ballroom dancing
_____ 4. The brickmaker described Mr. Kurtz as
I. a prodigy
II. an emissary of pity and science
III. the devil's partner
A. I and II only
B. II and III only
C. I, II, and III
_____ 5. On the way up the river, Marlow despaired of
A. ever seeing Edinburgh again
B. ever hearing the eloquence of Kurtz
C. bringing back enough ivory to make the trip worthwhile
_____ 6. Reference is made to Kurtz's report for
A. The Africa-Asia Society
B. The International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs
C. The Stanley-Livingstone Memorial Society
_____ 7. Joseph Conrad's remarkable Mr. Kurtz is said to personify
A. the dark side of every man
B. grace under pressure
C. the lamb surrounded by the wolves
_____ 8. In a postscript to his report, Kurtz is alleged to have scribbled
A. "Exterminate all the brutes!"
B. "Africa for the Africans!"
C. "The horror! the horror!"
_____ 9. Kurtz may be viewed as a symbol of
I. the white man's failure in Africa
II. the cultural aridity of the dark continent
III. treachery to one's brothers-mankind
A. I and II only
B. I and III only
C. II and III only
_____ 10. Marlow's lie to the woman at the end of the story dealt with Kurtz's
A. last words
B. message to the manager
C. renunciation of his mistress
11. What is the meaning of the title Heart of Darkness?
12. Examine Conrad's narrative technique in Heart of Darkness.
ANSWERS
1. B
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. B
6. B
7. A
8. A
9. B
10. A
11. The "darkness" of the title is the book's most pervasive symbol. In general, it refers to the incomprehensible and the unknowable; more specifically, it refers to that negative force, whatever it is, which stands opposed to the Victorian era's ideals of progress. Marlow finds this brute force in the jungles of the Congo, but he learns that it isn't restricted to the jungle. Certainly it exists where civilization and progress haven't yet penetrated, but it exists in advanced society, too. (Conrad associates images of darkness and gloom with the city of London.) Further, Marlow learns that the darkness exists not just externally, as a force, but also internally: we all carry the capability for reversion, for evil, somewhere within us.
Consequently, the "heart" of the title is a pun. On the one hand, it means "center": the heart of darkness is the center of the jungle, specifically the Inner Station where Kurtz dwells. But it also means "the human heart": Kurtz is black hearted in the traditional sense of the word-cruel, wicked. And since Marlow hints that we all have darkness somewhere in our hearts, then perhaps the "heart of darkness" refers, bleakly, to the human situation: striving toward the light of progress, but pulled back by the power of darkness.
12. In using a narrator who's supposed to be spinning a tale aloud, not writing it down, Conrad imitates the methods of an oral story-teller. And so he adopts a number of techniques that were at the time unusual in a novel. For example, there are sudden jumps in time, flashbacks, as when Marlow, pursuing Kurtz on the riverbank, suddenly recalls the old woman with the cat in Brussels; or flashforwards, as when Marlow, describing the attack on the steamboat, suddenly jumps ahead of himself to tell about Kurtz, who at that point hasn't entered the story yet. There are pauses, hesitations, digressions, and repetitions that seem right for a speaking voice, but would have no place in a "written" work. In his digression on Kurtz (II, 5), Marlow mentions a girl: "even the girl herself-now-"; then he's silent for a long time; and then he begins, "Girl! What? Did I mention a girl?" Such a passage adds to the illusion of a speaking voice.
Conrad's so-called impressionism is an important part of his technique. He often relates a series of impressions before putting them together to decide what they mean. During the attack, Marlow sees the poleman lie flat on deck, then the fireman squat before his furnace, and then a number of little sticks in the air. Only then does he deduce, "Arrows, by Jove! We were being shot at!" (II, 4).
GLOSSARY/VOCABULARY LIST
ALIENEST - Psychiatrist
ASSEGAIS - Light, slender spears
ASTERN - Toward the stern, or rear, of a boat
BOILER - The tank or container in which water is heated into steam to provide power for the steamboat. A vertical boiler is a relatively simple type that takes up little space.
BOWS (IN THE BOWS) - Toward the bow, or front, of a boat
CALIPERS - An instrument with two curved, movable legs, used to measure the diameter of a thing
CONCERTINA - A kind of small accordion
DRAKE, SIR FRANCIS - English navigator (1540?-1596). The first Englishman to sail around the world, which he did in his ship the Golden Hind (1577-80). Participated in the defeat of the Spa Armada (1588).
ESTUARY - The mouth of a river
FAIRWAY - The navigable part of a river
FALERNIAN WINE - A well-known ancient wine which was made in southern Italy
FIREMAN - The man who tends the steamboat's furnace, stoking it with wood
FLEET STREET - An important business street in London
FRANKLIN, SIR JOHN - British explorer (1786-1847). With his ships the Erebus and the Terror, he set out for the Arctic in 1845 to search for the Northwest Passage-an expedition that ended, tragically, in the deaths of all members.
FUNNEL - Smokestack
HELMSMAN - The man at the helm (steering mechanism), who steers the boat
MARTINI-HENRY - A kind of military rifle
MEPHISTOPHELES - In the Faust legend, the wily devil who tempts Faust
MIZZENMAST - A mast toward the back of a boat
OFFING - The distant part of the sea visible from the shore
PILOT-HOUSE - The enclosed cabin in which the helmsman steers the boat
RAVENNA - The site of an important Roman naval base in northern Italy
SCOW - A flat-bottomed boat with square ends, used for transporting freight
SOUNDING-POLE - The long pole used to sound, or measure, the depth of the water
STERN-WHEEL - The paddle wheel at the back (stern) of a steamboat
STONE - 14 Pounds (British measurement) 16 stone = 224 pounds
TIME CONTRACTS - Legal contracts to work for a specified period of time. Such contracts were used to exploit the African natives, who had little understanding of European law.
TRIREME - An ancient Roman ship with three tiers of oars on each side
YAWL - A small sailboat
روش خرید: برای خرید پس از کلیک روی
دکمه زیر و تکمیل فرم سفارش، ابتدا محصول مورد نظر را درب منزل یا
محل کار تحویل بگیرید، سپس وجه کالا و هزینه ارسال را به مامور پست
بپردازید. جهت مشاهده فرم خرید، روی دکمه زیر کلیک کنید.
دانلود تولبار جی تاک
Armada (1588). 
