Lexical Cohesion in Heart of Darkness

Abstract:Heart of Darkness， written by famous English novelist Joseph Conrad， is one of the most influential novellas in the 20th century with its profound thoughts， remarkable artistry， unique double narrative structure， abundant metaphors and symbolic social meaning， has vivid stylistic features. This paper， by analyzing the novella from the angle of lexical cohesion， will help us know how the author achieves his literary meaning by making linguistic choices. The analysis of the novella from functional stylistic angle is of great stylistic significance and social significance. The aim of the textual analysis of Heart of Darkness is to find linguistic evidence for the reader''s interpretation and the critical evaluation of the novella， which can also help college students appreciate and analyze literary texts， cultivating their ability in understanding and appreciating themes in literary works from a linguistic perspective.

Key words: Heart of Darkness lexical cohesion theme darkness illusion

I. Introduction

LEXICAL COHENSION， one of the five major types in Halliday and Hansan’s system of cohesion， refers to the continuity that is established in a text by the choice of words. This may take the form of word repetition; or the choice of a word that is related in some way to a previous one—either semantically， such that the two are in the broadest sense synonymous， or collocational， such that the two have a more than ordinary tendency to co-occur. Lexical cohesion is divided into repetition， synonymy， and collocation， which may be maintained over long passages of keywords， words having special significance for the meaning of the particular text. In Heart of Darkness， Conrad manipulated these types of lexical cohesion very successfully to make them contribute either to the dark theme which reveals the moral collapse of the human being in the novella or to other purposes.

II. Lexical Cohesion—Reflecting Themes

1. Darkness

In Heart of Darkness， the dark theme was first established by the title of the novella， and put forward and reiterated as the plot advances. The orientation and reiteration of the theme set up the basic tone of the novella. The overall theme is developed， fulfilled， and reiterated along with Marlow’s experience and perception. Conrad’s successful orientation and reiteration of the dark theme depend much on lexical cohesion.

The most elaboration of Conrad’s devices for controlling the several dimensions of his story is his metaphorical use of darkness. The novella is about a hero’s journey into the darkness， his encounter with a nihilistic vision， and his ultimate tribute to an imperfect and tenuous –but necessary—civilizing order. Darkness characterizes the hero’s psychological state at each stage of his journey. It functions as a symbol of Marlow’s self-enlightenment and political awareness. To interpret its various meanings is to reveal the scope of Conrad’s vision and the design of the novella. Darkness， when Marlow first speaks， symbolizes wilderness and implies the colonizer’s valor in la mission civilisatrice. Setting forth， he associates darkness with European civilization and imperialism. Images of entombment， hypocrisy， and vampirism haunt him en route to colonial Africa， and the first stage of his journey， climaxing at the “grove of death，” builds a powerful indictment of the Europeans and their activities. As the journey proceeds from the Coastal Station to Kurtz’s outpost， darkness increasingly becomes associated with savagery， cannibalism， and human sacrifice， with Africans as the embodiment of these ideas. Kurtz represents a shocking revelation that the darkness Marlow has penetrated since leaving the Coastal is not African， but European. At this moment of truth， Marlow recognizes a powerful temptation within himself to know the gratifications Kurtz has known. The temptation proves too appalling –to “walk on all fours” and glut himself with brutal emotion and the self-knowledge shatter the decent young Englishman. The following examples give us some notion about the dark theme of the novella.

(1) “And this also，” said Marlow suddenly， “has been one of the dark places of the earth.”(HOD：8)

(2) I felt an intolerable weight oppressing my breast， the smell of the damp earth， the unseen presence of victorious corruption， the darkness of an impenetrable night. (HOD :147)

(3) He (Kurtz) was an impenetrable darkness. (HOD :163)

(4) I listened. The darkness deepened. I was not even sure whether he had given me the right bundle. (HOD :179)

(5) It would have been too dark—too dark altogether… (HOD: 184)

The words ‘darkness’ and ‘dark’ are repeated， running through the whole novella. We can see that the word ‘darkness’ on the one hand， stands for the darkness of the African jungle， on the other hand， as the plot moves on ， especially after Marlow’s lie to Kurtz’s Intended， stands for the darkness of human morality. The dark theme reinforced from the word ‘deepened’ in ‘The darkness deepened.’ to the word ‘too’ in ‘It would have been too dark—too dark altogether …’ . These examples show that Conrad considered lexical cohesion as a useful device and used it intentionally to contribute to the conveyance of the dark theme of the novella.Darkness， as a main line of the novella， makes the whole story cohesive and the theme of the novella clear. The readers can find the clues to understand the novella by associating the word darkness in the novella and the title of it.

2. Illusion

The re-occurrence of the word ‘illusion’ is another embodiment of lexical cohesion in Heart of Darkness.’ Generally Conrad uses the word to imply a conception that gives more joy， hope， serenity or courage than reality warrants. Virtually all Conrad’s chief characters have their own peculiar illusions: the youthful Marlow that life will always remain thrilling and wonderful; Kurtz that his idealism will survive the forces of evil which lies in wait for him in the tropics;

“‘Yes ， I know，’ I said with something like despair in my heart， but bowing my head before the faith that was in her， before that great and saving illusion that shone with an unearthly glow in the darkness， in the triumphant darkness from which I could not have defended her—from which I could not even defend myself.’” (HOD :180)

Characterizing his attitude to Kurtz’s intended， Marlow describes himself as ‘bowing my head before the faith that was in her， before that great and saving illusion that shone with an unearthly glow in the darkness.’ If service is to be vindicated， it can be only in terms of the concept of what may be called positive illusion. The girl’s belief in the essential virtue of mankind， as instanced by her faith in her betrothed， is an illusion， for it is contradicted by the facts; yet it is not unreal， for it is held with all the force of a truly unselfish conviction. It serves to keep alive， in the darkness of Marlow’s experience of actuality， the light of visionary purpose.

Conrad’s frequent use of the word “illusion” is a sign of a philosophical skepticism， which would obviously inhibit him from attempting to define the intellectual basis of his own practical human commitments; but this does not undermine， and indeed it may even strengthen， the conviction that although the skeptical mind knows that all ideological structures are really illusions， they may in practice be necessary restraints upon human egoism， laziness， or despair. What the concept of positive illusion allows Marlow to do is to survive tragic knowledge without incurring self-deception—that is to say， to affirm the values of the active life without blurring his sense of its underlying contradictions. So， the cohesive technique gives us another theme of the novella— the theme of illusion， which definitely becomes one of the central preoccupations of Conrad’s novella， enabling him to do full justice to the paradoxes within his own nature—to his urge towards skepticism and to his need for faith.

Conclusion

Lexical cohesion is a great and effective tool either in helping the authors emphasize themes that the author would like to express in the literary works or helping the readers recognize the authors’ intention in writing the novels. Adequate knowledge of lexical cohesion will help college or university students improve their ability in comprehending literary texts and cultivate their preliminary ability of analyzing literary texts， laying a solid foundation for their further study of literary works.

Bibliography：

[1]Halliday， M.A.K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2000.

[2]Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness [M]. Qingdao Press，2003：2-184.

[3]張德祿.功能文體學[M]. 濟南: 山東教育出版社，1998.