The Conradian Legacy in the Novels of Graham Greene

Thesis (M.A.) , 1999 , 233 Pages

Literature - Comparative Literature

Joseph Conrad – a Pole by birth – is a writer who has exercised a very potent influence on his generation, but his impact has expanded well beyond. He has inspired English, American, African and Polish novelists and poets. One of his staunch admirers was the young English novelist, Graham Greene (1904-1991). However if Conrad’s integrity as a writer with a strong moral sense won the attention of both the reading public and many reviewers, the positive response that welcomed Greene’s first published novel The Man Within (1929) almost died out with the novels that came next, The Name of Action (1930) and Rumour at Nightfall (1931). Greene himself attributed the failure of these novels to Conrad’s ‘too great and too disastrous influence.’ Although Greene recaptured some of that praise by the remarkable craftsmanship of Stamboul Train (1932), many critics contested any claim to Greene being a leading writer of his generation, hence excluded him from the literary arena for many years. Critics were reluctant to recognize Greene’s literary worth first because they believed that he was not exactly an original writer; second, because the inclusion of religious themes in his works, while it arrested the attention of some Catholic writers, disconcerted many others.
In this comparative study of Conrad’s The Secret Agent and Greene’s It’s A Battlefield, and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Greene’s A Burnt-Out-Case, I shall attempt to investigate and elucidate what in Conrad exercised such power and fascination on Greene. The focus of interest is to try and find answers to these questions: has Greene’s vow ‘never again’ to read a novel by Conrad ‘which he kept for more than a quarter of a century’ been successful? Has Greene succeeded in writing off the ghost of Conrad? If not, do the borrowings from Conrad undermine Greene’s writings in any way?
Such study should take into account what qualities have been absorbed, what have been transmuted, what rejected. Such analysis is necessary for an understanding and evaluation of Greene’s art, not only within the English literary tradition, but also within today’s world literature.
Key Words: Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene, Realism, Modernism, Civilisation, Legacy,
Influence, Intertextuality, Human Nature

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Part One. The Socio-Historical Context
• Chapter One. The Formative Years
• 1.1. The Lost Childhood
• 1.2. Temperament and Personality
• 1.3. The World Arena
• 13.1. The 'Fin de Siècle': An Age of Dissolution
• 1.3.2. The First World War
• The Changing Experience of Women
• 1.3.3. The 1920s: An Era of Revolt
• Labour Unrest
• 1.3.4. The Thirties: The Devil's Decade
• 1.3.5. The Second World War: 'Apocalypse Now'
• Chapter Two. The Literary Scene
• 2.1. Realism and Modernism: The Transition
• 2.2. The Literature of the 1930s
• Part II. A World in Shambles: The Secret Agent / It's A Battlefield
• Chapter Three. Politics and Betrayal
• 3.1. 'The Injustice of Men's Justice'
• 3.2. Martyrs or Scapegoats?
• 3.3. Female Offenders
• Chapter Four. The Illuminating Quality
• 4.1. Narrative Structure
• 4.2. Irony
• 4.3. Repetition
• 4.4. Imagery
• Part III: 'The Hollow Men': Heart of Darkness/A Burnt-Out-Case
• Chapter Five. Paradise Lost
• 5.1. The Wasteland
• 5.1.1. Heart of Darkness as pretext
• 5.1.2. The Anatomy of Allusions
• 5.2. Heart of Darkness and A Burnt-Out-Case as Faustian Narratives
• Albert Camus's Absurd Man and Life
• The Voice of T.S. Eliot
• In Search of Truth
• 5.3. The Doppelganger
• Chapter Six.'Technique as Discovery'
• 6.1. Free Indirect Speech (FIS)
• 6.2. Appositions and Substitutions
• 6.3. 'Stream-of-Consciousness' versus Dreams
• 6.4. Metaphors
• 6.5. Similes

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis aims to examine the influence of Joseph Conrad's literary style and thematic concerns on the works of Graham Greene. The analysis focuses on specific novels by Greene, exploring the extent to which Conrad's writing shaped Greene's own artistic development. Key themes explored in the thesis include:

• The impact of socio-historical context on literary expression.
• The exploration of moral ambiguity and the complexities of human nature in both authors' works.
• The influence of modernist literary techniques on the narrative style of Greene.
• The role of politics and betrayal in shaping individual characters and destinies.
• The recurring themes of disillusionment and the search for meaning in a fragmented world.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The thesis begins by providing a detailed historical and literary context for both authors, highlighting their formative years and the social and political influences that shaped their writing. Chapter One focuses on Conrad's early life and career, tracing his development as a writer and exploring the impact of his Polish origins and his experiences at sea. Chapter Two examines the literary scene of the early 20th century, highlighting the rise of modernism and its influence on both Conrad and Greene. Part II of the thesis delves into the specific influence of Conrad's "The Secret Agent" on Greene's "It's a Battlefield." Chapter Three analyzes the themes of politics and betrayal in both novels, exploring the ways in which characters navigate complex moral dilemmas and confront the consequences of their choices. Chapter Four focuses on the stylistic similarities between the two novels, examining Greene's use of irony, repetition, and imagery to create a sense of ambiguity and disorientation. Part III shifts its focus to the influence of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" on Greene's "A Burnt-Out Case." Chapter Five analyzes the thematic connections between the two novels, exploring the concept of the wasteland and the search for meaning in a morally compromised world. The chapter also examines the use of allusions and the influence of other modernist writers, such as T.S. Eliot and Albert Camus, on both Conrad and Greene. Chapter Six delves into the technical aspects of Conrad's influence on Greene, examining the use of free indirect speech, appositions, and stream of consciousness techniques in both authors' novels.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The main keywords and focus topics of this thesis include Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene, The Secret Agent, It’s A Battlefield, Heart of Darkness, A Burnt-Out Case, modernism, literary influence, politics, betrayal, disillusionment, moral ambiguity, narrative technique, free indirect speech, stream of consciousness, and the wasteland.

• Author: Doctor Malika Rebai Maamri (Author)
• Publication Year: 1999
• Pages: 233
• Catalog Number: V275318
• ISBN (eBook): 9783656677260
• ISBN (Book): 9783656677253
• Language: English
• Tags: conradian, legacy, novels, graham, greene