论《黑暗的心》中的象征意义_英语论文

On the symbols in Heart of Darkness

摘要

象征是小说《黑暗的心》中典型的艺术手法。约瑟夫·康拉德运用大量的象征来展现主要人物的心理和本文深刻的主题，被称为现代主义先驱之一。本文主要分析“心”、“黑色”、“白色”以及马洛的旅程的象征性，希望展现给读者一个生动的画面，让读者感受到人物的心理转变，并促发读者思考小说深刻而多样化的主题。比如，帝国主义的虚伪和残暴，人性与道德的堕落等。

本文包括五个部分。第一部分是介绍部分，简要介绍了象征、象征主义、作者生平、小说故事情节和写作目的。 

第二部分分析了“心”的象征意义。一方面是地理意义。“心”指的是荒凉而未开化的非洲腹地，具体指公司的内部贸易站。另一方面是道德意义。“心”指的是库尔兹贪婪而残暴的心。

第三部分分析了“黑色”和“白色”的象征意义。“黑色”指非洲丛林的原始；非洲土著的未开化，主要表现在其无知、野蛮的行为及对自身被奴役的状态的不知觉；“黑色”象征着非洲土著对于欧洲白人的恐惧；“黑色”还象征了欧洲人的邪恶与残暴。库尔兹屈从于内心对于财富和权力的渴望，丧失了自我控制，从一个欧洲文明人堕落成一个野蛮人。

第四部分分析了马洛旅程的象征意义。马洛的旅程既是一场从文明到荒野的道德发现之旅，又是一场自我发现之旅。他发现了欧洲殖民者的虚伪，贪婪和残酷。马洛对于自我的发现体现在他的心理变化上，主要是对于库尔兹的态度的转变。马洛最终认识到库尔兹堕落的原因，转变了其自我认识和人生观。 

第五部分是结论部分。总结了“心”、“黑色”、“白色”以及马洛的旅程的象征意义，以帮助读者更好的理解小说中主要人物的心理特征以及小说多样化的主题。

关键词：象征 黑暗的心 黑与白 自我发现 自我控制

Abstract

Symbolism is the typical artistic method adopted in the novella Heart of Darkness. Joseph Conrad employs a lot of symbols to revel the major characters’ psychologies and the novella’s profound themes. So, he is recognized as one of the forerunners of modern writer. This thesis mainly analyzes the symbolic meanings of “heart”, “black”, “white” and Marlow’s journey, so that the readers can not only have a vivid picture of the character’s psychological changes, but also have a serious introspection on the profound and various themes, for example, the hypocrisy, greed and brutality of the imperialism, the corruption of morality and humanity and so on.

The thesis contains five parts. The first part is a brief introduction to symbol, symbolism, the author, the plot overview and the purpose of the thesis.  

The second part is an analysis of the symbolic meanings of “heart”. Geographically, “heart” indicates the desolate and uncivilized African hinterland, and more specifically indicates the Inner stations. Ethically, it indicates the greed and cruelty in Kurtz’s heart. 

The third part is an analysis of the symbolic meanings of the color “black” and “white”. “Black” symbolizes the primitiveness of the African jungle and the savagery of the black people. They are ignorant and barbaric, and they are unaware of their enslavement. “Black” symbolizes the fear of the African natives. “Black” also symbolizes evil and brutality of the Europeans. Kurtz loses self-restraints in his desire for wealth and power, so he degrades into a savage from a civilized man. 

The fourth part is an analysis of the symbolic meanings of Marlow’s journey. On the one hand, it is a journey of moral discovery as Marlow travels from civilization to the wilderness. On the other hand, it is a journey of self discovery. Marlow discovers the hypocrisy, greed and brutality of the European colonists. He also discovers that he has the potential to corrupt just like any European whites. Marlow’s self discovery is reflected on his mental changes, especially on his changing attitude towards Kurtz. Marlow discovers the possible reasons for Kurtz’s corruption and then he has a different view of himself and of life. 

Keywords:  symbols Heart of Darkness black and white self discovery self-restraint