I finished Great Short Works of Joseph Conrad yesterday after a month long struggle. It's not that I didn't enjoy the book because I did, it's just that as an anthology I think I found myself bored with some of the repetitive nature of the stories. I think I would have enjoyed them better in isolation. This particular book included the stories An Outpost of Progress, The Lagoon, The Nigger of the Narcissus, Youth, Heart of Darkness, Typhoon and The Secret Sharer. Youth and Typhoon were my favorites.
An Outpost of Progress was the first ever story I've read of Joseph Conrad. It was in my opinion, better than Heart of Darkness; but, as I stated above, I think that I would have enjoyed reading Heart of Darkness if I hadn't read four other short stories by Conrad right before. I was surprised by Outpost in what it was. I was assuming that Conrad was going to be a bit more, how can I put it, burden-of-the-white-man friendly. While there are some elements of his time that we might find distasteful in a 21st century context, he wasn't as Colonialist or Imperialist in his perspective as I had preconceived. Outpost is the prime example of this as he is much more introspective and questions the morality of colonialism by showing the two white characters as a bit stupid.
I found Youth and Typhoon the most entertaining because of the subject matter. Generally speaking, I like to have a book take me outside of the norms of my everyday life. Conrad was writing about everyday life, but I am removed enough from the seafaring days of the late 19th century, early 20th century that it might he might as well have been writing a fantasy novel for me. Youth and Typhoon were the most fantastic. The Nigger of the Narcissus was an interesting tale as it took a classical myth and turned it into a dark play on the story set in contemporary times. Heart of Darkness was slow-going for me because I was getting restless with reading Conrad stories. It is on my list of things to read still because I have a stand-alone copy. I was about to take it off that list and realized that I should read it in isolation to get a better understanding of it and to take it on its own footing. The Secret Sharer was rather bland for me. The Lagoon was good, but nothing overly remarkable.
The Preface to The Nigger of the Narcissus was an interesting read because it covers Conrad's theory on Aesthetics and Art. He describes art as "a single-minded attempt to render the highest kind of justice to the visible universe, by bringing to light the truth, manifold and one, underlying in its every aspect. It is an attempt to find in its forms, in its colors, in its light, in its shadows, in the aspects of matter and in the facts of life, what of each is fundamental, what is enduring and essential - their one illuminating and convincing quality - the very truth of their existence" (Conrad, 57). For Conrad, then art is the attempt at discovering truth. He contrasts artists with scientists and thinkers. The scientists and thinkers speak to man's common sense, to his intellect and to his desire of peace. They speak to man's desire to believe. Artists however appeal to man's sense of wonder. Artists appeal to the parts of man that are hidden behind their appeal for order and facts.
"Fiction - if it at all aspires to be art - appeals to temperament. And in truth it must be, like painting, like music, like all art, the appeal of one temperament to all the other innumerable temperaments whose subtle and resistless power endows passing events with their true meaning, and creates the moral, the emotional atmosphere of the place and time. Such an appeal, to be effective, must be an impression conveyed through the senses; and, in fact, it cannot be made in any other way, because temperament, whether individual or collective, is not amenable to persuasion. All art, therefore, appeals primarily to the senses, and the artistic aim when expressing itself in written words must also make its appeal through the senses, if its high desire is to reach the secret spring of responsive emotions" (Conrad, 58). For Conrad then, writing is about eliciting an emotion from a reader. It has to appeal to the senses in order to reach that area where man hides his emotions. Interestingly, he states that writing must achieve the plasticity of sculpture, the color of painting and the magic suggestiveness of music. He calls music the "art of arts". I find that an author calling music the art of arts an interesting occurrence. It suggests a humility in Conrad. To achieve the aim of becoming art, Conrad demands that the form be perfect so that the end can be achieved. His chief aim is "to make you see" through his prose.
"Art is long and life is short, and success is very far off. And thus, doubtful of of strength to travel so far, we talk a little about the aim - the aim of art, which, like life itself, is inspiring, difficult - obscured by mists. It is not in the clear logic of a triumphant conclusion; it is not in the unveiling of one of those heartless secrets which are called the Laws of Nature. It is not less great, but only more difficult" (Conrad, 60). The aim of art is to arrest, however briefly, the busy workers of earth and compel them to glance a moment at the object of art, to make them smile. And while this is an intensely difficult task, when that smile, when that moment of pause does occur "behold! - all the truth of life is there: a moment of vision, a sigh, a smile - and the return to an eternal rest" (Conrad, 60). It's an interesting theory of aesthetics and one that demands a little more study from me.
The one part that I found incredibly interesting in Heart of Darkness is the Russian fellow who becomes enamored with Kurtz. This son of an Arch-Priest of the Government of Tambov is going to make an excellent short-story character. My aim will be to enlarge his mind further.
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