English Language and Literature Commons^™

"This Masterpiece Of Nature:" An Ecocritical Study Of Joseph Conrad's Fiction, Sonja Luther

Dissertations

This dissertation employs an ecocritical approach to explore the relationship between humans and nature in the works of Joseph Conrad. In his fiction, Conrad draws an impression of nature that was unusual for its time because of its complexity. Nature is not just simple scenery or a stage set in Conrad’s fiction; it plays a major role in his characters’ regression, which develops parallel to their alienation from nature. This dissertation explores the origins of man’s alienation from nature in Conrad’s work, particularly his early fiction, and the implications for society if such alienation continues.

Chapter I serves as an …

Metoikos: Modernism's Resident Aliens, Justin Glen Williamson

Dissertations

This dissertation examines why D.H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and James Joyce all conceived of themselves as cultural outsiders and how they used this ostensibly marginal social status to conceal a set of conservative core values they sensed were eroding. This otherwise disparate group shared a sense of cultural alienation, recognized the potentially powerful position of the exile, and demonstrated a keen willingness to exploit its possibilities. Although these writers have long been acknowledged and heralded for their experimentation, their technical and formal innovation, much of their work springs from essentially conservative impulses, beliefs, and values, aimed …