Treasure Hunts
Charlie Marlowe's Dark Heart
Introduction
Born in Poland, Joseph Conrad should be a model
for most of us non-native speakers of English, for he became one of the most
respected and widely discussed modern authors who wrote in English. He was a
metaphoric and symbolic genius in the use of this language, although not quite
graceful like other writers. He persistently experimented in the form of the
novel. His many innovations in story structure have become the technical heritage
of the 20th century writers of fiction, such as James Joyce, William Faulkner,
and Ernest Hemingway. In our study of Conrad's Heart of Darkness and
some of his short stories, we will give special attention to the significance
of the works today and to the ways in which Conrad used his modernist
techniques to implement his literary ideas.
Guiding Questions
As a challenge, you will
research extensively on Conrad, his novels, and his famous literary devices and
find the answers to the following questions: Why is Conrad considered a
modernist writer? What makes Heart of Darkness a modern fiction? How
does Dante's Inferno become the literary reference of Heart of
Darkness? How is Heart of Darkness the literary reference of the
movie Apocalypse Now? What are the two settings of the novel? How do
their differences add to the historical elements of the novel?
Questions
- What is modernism as a literary movement?
- What is the meaning of the "lost generation"
and how does it relate to the modernist movement?
- What are some of the basic techniques of modernist
writing?
- What is "frame narrating?"
- Who is Dante? What is the Inferno? What is the
meaning of Conrad's Heart of Darkness being Dantesque?
- When was Conrad born?
- Where is Nigeria? In the year of the author's
birth, what did the British send to Nigeria and why?
- What was the European "civilizing mission" in
the Congo?
- Who is H.M. Stanley? What does he expose in In Darkest Africa?
- Who is Rudyard Kipling? What is the meaning of
"the white man's burden?"
- Who is King Leopold of Belgium? What role did he play in the Congo?
- How was the Congo partitioned in 1885?
- Discuss the ivory trade in Africa during the time of the novel.
- The Romans' occupation of Britain was mentioned many times in
the novel. When did the Romans invade Britain? Describe their occupation of
the island nation.
- What is the thematic significance of the title of the
novel?
- Conrad states: "Civilization becomes a house of
cards and human nature which we think we know becomes instinctual, deeply
mysterious, and terrifying." What does he mean by this definition?
- What is Apocalypse Now? In what way does it
parallel Conrad's novel?
- How is the narrative method of the
novel closely allied to the main themes?
Internet Resources
· Modernism:
Make It New!
· Modern Art
· Realism in
Literature
·
Heart of Darkness (1) (2) (3) (4)
(5) (6) (7) (8)
· Joseph
Conrad (1) (2) (3)
· First Descents
Into the Inferno
· Leopold, Emperor of
the Congo
· The
Congo Reform Movement in England
· Cruelty in the Congo
Country
· Reforming
the Heart of Darkness
· The White
Man's Burden and Its Critics
· Apocalypse Now (1979) (1) (2)
· Congo River
Linda Victoire,
Teacher, and Christopher Lew, AP student, collaborated
to develop this web hunt.
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