Browsing by Subject "Morality"

Paradox has always been a central topic in the study of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899). In scholarship on Heart of Darkness attention has, for example, been paid to the paradox between the imperialism in Heart of Darkness and Conrad’s deconstruction of imperialism. Some have discussed the impact of Conrad’s life on its paradoxical narrative, while others have pointed to Conrad’s own attitude to the paradoxical discourse of his novella. In 2009, Ludwig Schnauder interpreted Conrad’s paradoxes in Heart of Darkness in terms of the problem of free will and determinism, and laid out three possible philosophical approaches to Conrad’s fiction, namely hard determinism, near-determinism, and radical indeterminism. My own thesis develops Schnauder’s thoughts on Conrad’s radical indeterminism, which is a philosophy which denies free will and order, and considers human powerlessness, randomness and loss of morality to dominate in the world. This thesis is composed of three parts: the introduction, the main argument and the conclusion. Chapter one provides a review of the literature, definitions of radical indeterminism and presents the research methodology. Chapter two discusses how different aspects of radical indeterminism are represented by both Marlow and Kurtz. Chapter Three discusses the paradoxes of imperialism and morality in Conrad’s novella and then interprets the paradoxes in terms of their connection with radical indeterminism. Chapter four concludes the discussions in chapters two and three. My thesis argues that radical indeterminism is central to an understanding of Marlow’s analysis of imperialism and morality. The paradoxes which are raised in his narrative can be seen as the human attempt to establish cause and effect (or morality) countered by a sense of chaos and disorder that seems to be everywhere. Ultimately, Conrad explores the notion of paradox by revealing that the gap between our cognitive world view and the evidence of our senses is fundamental to the notion of radical indeterminism — there is no connection between cause and effect and humans are subject to chaotic forces.

The goal of this thesis is to show the ways in which C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials depict Biblical themes, and to illustrate the worldview and moral values they represent by making use of these Biblical themes. I discuss the differences and similarities of the two series in their portrayal of themes like temptation, sin, morality, death and the afterlife. For my theoretical background and secondary material, I draw on theological literary criticism and thematics, as well as previous research on both Lewis’ and Pullman’s work. Using these as my background, I analyse the primary material through close reading. I show that the two series make use of a variety Biblical references and themes to create a moral framework and present their respective views on these themes. My main result is that their portrayal of morality and the other ideologies that they portray vary drastically, but that their overall goal is very similar. Both The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials aims to provide young readers with ideas about what is moral, how to live a morally good life, and where this life ultimately leads. In their own ways, both series also provide reassurance to their young audience when it comes to the topic of death. In their work, both Lewis and Pullman treat existential questions about what it means to be human, and they give different answers to these questions that I present in this thesis. I also demonstrate the relevance of this topic by discussing some of the critical opinions on both series, pointing to the underlying issue of deciding what is appropriate for young audiences to read. This is an important and ongoing cultural and societal discussion, in which our moral values and the ideologies we want to pass on to the next generation are constantly re-negotiated. Analysing the ways in which these values are represented on a textual level can give us an increased understanding of the issues at stake. With this thesis, I hope to be able to contribute to this discussion.