Colonial Discourse in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

Abstract

iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, we owe our deepest gratitude to Almighty Allah for giving us power and patience to complete this research. We have the honor to express our deepest thanks to our supervisor Mr.Tayeb Bouazid for his patience, guidance, advice, and support throughout the whole process of doing this research. Special thanks go to Mr. Bachir Sahad for providing us with multiple resources. Additionally, we have the honor to express our deepest thanks and regards to Mr. Senoussi Mohammed for his motivation. We would also like to thank all the teachers of English Department of M‘Sila. IV Abstract This study aims at examining the Colonial Discourse in Heart of Darkness written by the Polish-British writer Joseph Conrad. This novel is considered as one of the main English classics that contributes in creating a modern British literature. Heart of Darkness is based on Conrad‘s journey to the Congo River. The novel tackles the imperial expansion during the nineteenth century through the experience of Charles Marlow‘s in the Congo River who tries to meet Mr. Kurtz, the ivory trader, and relieves him. This thesis attempts to shed light on the main historical events that surrounded the novella; mainly the Scramble of Africa and the Belgian colonialism in the Congo River. In addition to the emergence of modernism as a literary movement with a special focus on Conrad as ―an Avant Gard‖ of this era. Therefore, this study aims to discuss Heart of Darkness from a postcolonial perspective though the examination of the image of Africa in addition to Conrad‘s views to the European imperialism. Moreover, it illustrates a number of critical responses toward Heart of Darkness including Chinua Achebe, Cedric Watt , and Edward Said.