Impact of Space on the Identity of Joseph Conrad and Heart of Darkness

Introduction

Joseph Conrad is considered one of the great modern writers in English whose work explores the vulnerability, and moral instability. Joseph Conrad is one of the most prominent novelists of turn of the century. As a canonist writer, Conrad's novels have been viewed from several aspects and different approaches have been applied to his writings, notably Edward Said, who has analyzed Conrad's Heart of Darkness (Pratt, 215). Many other writers and thinkers like Terry Collit, HomiBhabha, James Phelan and Peter J. Rabinowitz have discussed various aspects of Conrad's works. As a modernist novelist, Conrad was definitely ahead of his time.

Discussion

The story Heart of Darkness (1902) reveals the terrifying depths of human venality, is one of the best-known stories of Conrad. Almost all his works reflect certain sadness. His style is rich and vigorous, his narrative technique and skilful use of interruptions in speech timing. The construction of the characters is solid and effective. So the theme of the space (place) in relation to self (identity) is a key factor in Conrad's novels. I have chosen Conrad because Conrad's fiction focuses on the term of space in relation to colonialism. In his novel, Heart of Darkness, he provides a series of diverse settings such as sea, land, jungles, map and river of the Congo.

Michael Foucault in 1976, in his essay titled “Of Other Space”, declared the importance of the space. Before that space was not a noticeable phenomenon. In fact, until1976, time was superior over space, however, Foucault caused many thinkers observe notion of space as an objective entity that, has a direct impact over characters, so setting came to be most important, and many critics from various approaches like post colonialism, Marxism, focused on space and spatially. In general, it can be assumed that space, as social or political, physical, geographical, and even imaginary appears fundamental factor in 21st century's world view (Ohman, 47).

The present paper gains significance as the findings can shed more light upon spatial criticism and postcolonial studies. Recently spatial criticism has found its way into literature and has been used as one of notable aspect of analyzing various literary pieces.. Recent developments have posed fresh questions about spatial limit and possibility and have sensitized Western intellectuals to the role of space in the cultural experience.

In many ways, the problem of the space has already long been the case in much of the works in postcolonial literary studies. In Culture and Imperialism (1993), Said argues that there is no 'British' national culture that can be understood independent of the nation's large far-flung Imperial network, spheres of influence and investment. Alison Blunt maintains that, “postcolonial space is not a simply a physical entity, but also a relational identity, created by interactions across traditional, pre-modern and modern spatial boundaries and between the colonized and the colonizer (Dunn, 12). So identity is under the influence of the space. By the analysis of Conrad's dairies and his novella, Heart of ...