Chapter 1 A Stranger in a Foreign Land Chapter 2 Three Pairs of Major Opposing Factors in Conrad’s Work Introduction The Virtual and the Real in Narcissus— The Nigger of the “Narcissus” Sea without Land— Typhoon Civilization and Primitiveness in Darkness— Heart of Darkness Crossing the Shadow Line— The Shadow-Line Death under the Shadow— The Secret Agent Crime and Punishment under Western Eyes— Under Western Eyes Impact of Four National Cultural Areas on Three Pairs of Main Opposing Factors in Conrad’s Subject Matter Chapter 3 John Cheever’s Creative Techniques in His Short Novels Narrow Background Non-dramatic Plots Incomplete Endings Included in the System— Non-personalization of Characters Cheever and Chekhov Epilogue Biography of John Cheever Chapter 4 The Scars of Hemingway Transfer of Scars Hemingway’s Prescription for Trauma What Hurts Hemingway? Chapter 5 Contemporary British Female Novelists Chapter 6 Artistic Technique: “Black Humor” Subject Matter Humor Plot and Character The Authors’Attitude toward Themselves and Their Readers Stream of Consciousness Mobilization of Scientific Concepts Rhetoric and Grammar