The Heart of DarknessA novella study

Konrad Korzeniowski

Section 1 Discussion Points• Fresleven = Conflict• A framing story – the narrator, Marlow, Conrad• England v. Africa (page 10)• The map• The images of death (page 14, 17, 20, 22, 23)• The images of evil/darkness (page 10, 14, 16, 19, 29 , 30, )• The images of morality/religion (page 23, 26, 29, 33)

Section 1 Discussion Points• Why work for Belgium? • Efficiency/leadership of the Company• Specific characters• Natives• Women• “In a very few hours I arrived in a city that always makes me

think of a whited sepulchre” (13).• Is Marlow’s (or Conrad’s) opinion regarding colonialism clear?• The picture Kurtz painted

Christopher Booker’s 7 Plots• Overcoming the monster• Rags to riches• Quest• Voyage and return• Comedy• Tragedy• Rebirth

Section 2• Juxtaposition of ideas – pilgrims are savages, cannibals are

polite• Fog – literal and metaphorical • Conversation• The Kurtz manuscript• Criminal report of the attack project – diagram, witness

statements, timeline

Discussion Questions• General concerns – the big words, the time period of the

setting, the lack of action• Marlow’s hypocritical tendencies • The role/characterization of the narrator• The role/characterization of Kurtz

20 Minute Quick Write• Keeping in mind the picture in section 1, the manuscript in

section 2 and the ultimate behavior in section 3, how does the evolution of Kurtz demonstrate the meaning of the work as a whole?

Section 3• 20 minute results• Marlow’s “scientific” detached evaluation of heads on sticks• Marlow’s conclusions regarding Kurtz’s behavior• “Shamefully abandoned”• God?• Bronze age of man• Woman • “Oh the horror, the horror—”• The lie to the intended

Voyage and Return• Going to the other world• Initial fascination (Kurtz)• Frustration stage (fog and death)• Nightmare stage (heads on sticks)• Thrilling escape and return (for some)

Three Act Plot• Act I – main character drawn completely into conflict• Act II – farthest away from goals• Act III – story resolved

Thematic Concerns• Hypocrisy• Ambiguity• Moral confusion• Obsession• Ambition• Darkness• Madness • Create a theme statement

Levels of Understanding• Story of Exploitation• Travelogue • Adventure Story• Epic Journey• Study in Race Relations• Journey to Self Knowledge

Chinua Achebe• The book is “offensive and deplorable” that “set(s) Africa up as

a foil to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europe’s own state of spiritual grace will be manifest.”

• Does he have his yams in a wad over nothing or is there something there?

• Africa is to Europe as the picture is to Dorian Gray

“The Mark of the Beast”• “For pure horror, this tale is, perhaps, unmatched in English

literature.”—Knowles• “…this story may be curious, but it is also loathsome, and

shows Mr. Kipling at his very worst.”—Spectator• “…As a tale of sheer terror (this story) could not be easily

surpassed.”—Pall Mall Gazette• Literary 3 x 3 • Three, three word sentences that more than summarize the

work.• Move beyond plot, to state and analyze the essence of a work

you have read.

Literary 3 x 3• Complete sentences• Effective word order• Strong words • Cannot use proper nouns/names• Repeated words• “to be” verbs• Pronouns• Cliches • A, an, the

Literary 3 x 3• “A Jury of Her Peers”• Apathy strangles devotion.• Tidiness uncovers truth.• Sympathy chokes justice• Unpredicted fate evolves.• Curiosity unearths reality.• Empathy conceals truth.• Guilt consumes women.• Curiosity unveils evidence.• Lost heart’s saved.

“The Mark of the Beast”• It’s an allegory• Even the “mark” is two levels• Biblical references: Revelation 13:2; Leviticus 13:12-13; Exodus

4:6• “Take your friend away. He has done with Hanuman, but

Hanuman has not done with him.” • “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,• Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” • - Hamlet (1.5.166-7), Hamlet to Horatio

The Hollow Men

•Heart of Darkness• Julius Caesar•The Divine Comedy•Gunpowder Plot•Biblical/mythological•Find the allusions

Critical Interpretations• Robert LaBrasca and Ian Watt – Dante Parallels/Aenied

parallels

Critical Interpretations• Marxist interpretation• Stewart – psychological interpretation id, ego, superego• What does the title mean?