The influence of personal motive on the development of the plot concept in the prose of Joseph Conrad (original) (raw)

In the substantial body of criticism written about almost every aspect of the novels of Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) there is a lack of comment about the influence of personal motive on the development of the plot concept in the prose of the famous Polish-British writer. Until the first half of the twentieth century, J. Conrad was considered a writer of stories about the sea and was recognized thanks to the use of symbolism and picturesque speech. The main aim of the present research is to show that literary works and Conrad's life are intertwined. The goal is also to present that only the combination of themes and symbols from a literary work 'The Heart of Darkness' is complete and fully reflects the value of Conrad's work. The objective of the study is built on literary aspects of the novella that are the part of the present research. The intention is to reveal that symbols, motifs and themes in the text 'The Heart of Darkness' are interrelated as well. It should be mentioned that his fundamental theme is the solitude of the individual and the sea is often chosen as a symbol. It will be mentioned in the thesis that his characters are often placed in isolated or confined situations. Conrad's solitary hero is almost always a fugitive, marked by misfortune or remorse. The necessary element to understand stories written by J. Conrad is to understand their structure therefore this part revolves around various characters and events, but without omitting the main subject, that is, characteristics of his stories including unique style, symbolism, picturesque. Another important feature of the prose created by this author is his narrative. It should be noted that the events in his short stories are narrated indirectly. Also, he used an alternative type of narration. This means that an identical event is described from different points. The innovation of the research is that elements related to themes and symbols are presented as a whole, not separately, as it has been presented by literary critics so far. The indication that Conrad's personal motifs influence the narrative composition of the novella also seems to be quite innovative.