Name ____________________
12AP-JKL
Heart of Darkness
"Explicitness... is fatal to the glamour of all artistic work, robbing it of all suggestiveness,
destroying all illusion." --Joseph Conrad
Because of its layers of ambiguity, Conrad's Heart of Darkness may be the most
challenging work we will tackle this year. For the very same reason, it may also be the
most profound. We will read much of the novella together as a class in the form of
interrupted reading. Each day, we will cover approximately 4-5 pages in class. Whatever
we don't finish of the day's assignment will be homework. If you are absent from
class, you need to do all of the reading and annotating you missed in class
for homework. Please follow the calendar carefully!
Assessments:
I. Annotations
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You will be provided with a copy of the text to mark and annotate. You should
use both shorthand markings (underlined and circled words, etc.) and longer,
marginal notations. Your annotations will serve as both homework/reading
checks and also as a larger, graded assessment for the novel.
Your annotations should reflect close and careful reading and active engagement
with the text.
Your annotations should include your analysis of how Conrad uses specific
literary techniques to convey specific meanings.
Your annotations should reflect careful attention to the questions provided for
you for each reading assignment.
*You will receive Guided Reading/Annotation Guides for all of Part I of the novel. As
you become more familiar and comfortable with Conrad’s style, you will be asked to
annotate more independently.
II. Class Participation
As we read the novel, we will stop frequently to discuss our understanding of what we're
reading and to analyze how Conrad's stylistic and structural choices impact meaning.
You should contribute DAILY to class discussion as both an active participant and as an
attentive listener. Failure to join the discussion or to respect your peers will reflect
poorly on your final score.
III. Class Notes and Responses
You should take notes daily during class discussions. Be sure to give credit to your
classmates for their ideas by labeling your notes. During interrupted reading, I may
occasionally ask you to stop and respond in writing before we discuss a particular
passage. These responses should be kept with your notes as well.
HOD Character List
Directions: Because of its purposefully ambiguous nature, Heart of Darkness is a difficult read
for everyone who approaches it. For this reason, it’s helpful to keep track of the characters you’re
meeting along the journey. As you meet each character, annotate the text carefully, paying close
attention to the narrator or Marlow’s descriptions. Then, add a brief summation to this chart,
making note of whom this character is and why he or she is significant to the story or meaning of
the work. You also should make note of Marlow’s attitude toward this particular character. Keep
in mind that the page numbers indicate the first page each character is
introduced. Some characters never come up again, but many do. Please return to
characters, adding to your notes as the story progresses.
Character
1st
Appearance
Narrator/Speaker
1
The Director of Companies
1
The lawyer
1
The accountant
1
Marlow
1
Marlow’s aunt
6
Fresleven
6
Summation
Significance
Marlow’s
Attitude
Toward
Two women knitting black
wool
7
“The great man himself”
8
The doctor
8
The Swede
12
“The black bones”
14
The chief accountant
15
A sick man (“some invalid
agent from upcountry”)
15
Mr. Kurtz
15
Marlow’s “white companion”
17
White men with long staves
(Starting on page 20 and for
the rest of the text, Marlow
refers to these men
as “pilgrims”
17
The general manager of the
central station
18
The brickmaker
21
The foreman
26
The Eldorado Exploring
Expedition
27
The uncle of the general
manager
27
The “cannibals” on the
steamboat
31
The fireman
33
“A white man had lived there
not long ago”
33
The pilgrim in pink pajamas
36
The headman of the
“cannibals”
36
The helmsman
40
The savages in the bush
40-42
Kurtz’s Intended
44
“A white man under a hat
like a cart wheel”; “a
harlequin”; “The Russian”
48
The woman with the
helmeted head
55
“A clean-shaven man, with
an official manner”
66
“Another fellow, calling
himself Kurtz’ cousin”
66
a journalist
67
Heart of Darkness Part I: 1-27
Reading/Annotation Guide
Reading #1--pages 3-5
Stop at “And yet it seemed to throw a kind of light…”
1.
Does Marlow’s view of England and of imperialism contrast with that of the
narrator? If so, how? How does Conrad use specific literary techniques to convey
Marlow’s attitude?
Consider:
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What Marlow means when he says, “And this also… has been one of the
dark places of the earth”
Marlow’s allusion to the Romans
What Marlow means by “darkness was here yesterday”
Marlow’s story about the feelings of a “commander of a fine trireme of the
Mediterranean”
Marlow’s description of the area surrounding the Thames and its people
before it was conquered by the Romans
The reference to Marlow as a Buddha
Marlow’s comparisons between “us” and the Romans (bottom of page
4). According to Marlow, what “redeems it,” (it being “the conquest of the
earth”?) What does he mean by this?
2.
What do the first two paragraphs on page 5 reveal about Marlow’s past
experiences? Where has he been? What is his attitude about his
experience? How do the language choices help to reveal his attitude?
3. What is the speaker’s attitude about what he is about to hear? What does he
mean when he tells us, “We knew we were fated… to hear about one of Marlow’s
inconclusive experiences.”
4. How do your answers to questions 2 + 3 connect to the description of
Marlow’s understanding of the meaning of a story as described on page 3: “But
Marlow was not typical… and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside
like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow
brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos, that sometimes are
made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine.”
Reading #2-pages 5-9
Pages 5 “I had then, as you remember…” to Page 9: “…Du calme. Adieu.”
Notes:
Pg 5-6: “The River resembling an immense snake”: Marlow is referring to the
Congo River.
Pg 6 Marlow references that the trading society is a “continental concern” and
that he has “relations living on the continent.” What he is referring to is the
mainland of Europe as opposed to England. As we know, the trading society he
will join is located specifically in Belgium.
Pg 7 Marlow arrives in a city that makes him “think of a whited sepulcher.” He
is referring to Brussels, Belgium. A “whited sepulcher” is a term used by Jesus to
describe hypocrites, those who disguise their corruption with shows of virtue.
Pg 8 Ave! Morituri te salutant : “Hail, Emperor! Those who are about to die
salute you”—a greeting spoken by gladiators right before they fight each other to
the death
Pg 9: Marlow asks the doctor, “Are you an alienist?” An alienist is a psychologist.
Annotation Guide:
In addition to your own observations, thoughts and insights, consider
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Marlow’s fascination with maps as a child
the “blank space” or “white patch”
Marlow’s description of and fascination with the Congo River
Marlow’s attitude toward women
Marlow’s aunt
Marlow’s attitude toward the man he will replace and what happened to
him
What you’re learning about the company and through the story of
Fresleven
Marlow’s attitude toward the hens
Marlow’s attitude toward Brussels and how he conveys it
Marlow’s attitude toward the company and how he conveys it
The two women knitting black wool and their significance
The “large shining map, marked with all the colors of a rainbow” and
Marlow’s attitude toward it
The description of “the great man himself” and his office
What is revealed through Marlow’s conversation and interaction with the
doctor?
Reading #3-pages 9-13
Stop at page 13 “…trees I had seen.”
1.
How did Marlow’s aunt manage to get him a job with the company? How
exactly did she represent him to the company? And what is her attitude toward
the work the company is doing in Africa?
2. What is Marlow’s attitude toward his aunt’s viewpoint? What does this
moment reveal to us about Marlow?
3. What does Marlow say about women and why is it kind of ironic given the
context of the situation?
4.
Why does Marlow feel like “an imposter”?
5. What kinds of images does Marlow use to describe his first impressions of
the African coast?
6. (Page 11) Think about Marlow’s observations about “truth,” “delusion,”
“reality” and the “world of straightforward facts.” Why does Marlow seem to feel
out of touch with reality?
7. Make note of Marlow’s observations of and attitude toward the natives he
sees.
8. Make note of Marlow’s observations of and attitude toward the “man-ofwar” he sees “shelling the bush.” How does this moment seem to highlight
Marlow’s attitude toward what he’s seeing of colonized Africa?
9. What does Marlow learn from the Swede who brings him to the company’s
station? What seems to be the Swede’s attitude toward the men who work for the
company?
10. What are Marlow’s initial impressions of the company’s station? What are
some of the images that stand out to him? What do they seem to suggest about
the company?
11. Why do you think Marlow is reminded of the man of war ship he had seen
firing into the bushes?
12. On page 13, before descending the hill, Marlow seems to feel a sudden flash of
warning. Explain what he’s sensing.
Reading #4-pages 13-18
Stop at page 18 “…took some months.”
1.
Continue to make note of Marlow’s initial impressions of the company’s
station. Consider the significance of the hole he finds and the broken drainage
pipes.
2. What does Marlow find in the circle of trees? Consider the diction, imagery
and figurative language Marlow uses to describe the scene and thus his attitude
toward it.
3. Consider in particular “the black bones” with the “bit of white worsted
round his neck.”
4. Consider the juxtaposition of this scene with Marlow’s first impressions of
the white man he meets on page 15—the chief accountant. Make note of the
diction, imagery and figurative language Marlow uses to convey his first
impressions and his attitude toward the chief accountant.
5. What are we learning about how the company conducts business with the
natives?
6. Consider the description of the chief accountant’s office, including the
accountant’s attitude toward the sick man.
7.
What are we learning about Mr. Kurtz?
8. The chief accountant says “everything here… is very satisfactory.” Why is
his statement ironic?
9. On page 16, Marlow leaves the outer station and heads for the Central
Station with a “caravan of sixty men.” These are all natives. He does have with
him, however, “a white companion, too” (17). As you read this scene on pages 1617, consider his white companion’s treatment of the natives and their subsequent
response.
10. How does Marlow feel himself beginning to change as a result of his walk
through the wilderness?
11. On the bottom of page 17, Marlow arrives at the Central Station. Make note of
his initial impressions of the station, the men working there, and the general
manager.
Reading #5-pages 18-23
Stop at page 23 “…coming of that Kurtz had upset them both not a little.”
1.
Consider Marlow’s first impressions of the General Manager. Consider the
diction, imagery, and figurative language he uses to describe him and his attitude
toward him.
2. What do you suppose the manager means when he says, “Men who come
out here should have no entrails”? (19). And what does this statement seem to
suggest to Marlow about the general manager himself?
3. According to the general manager, why did he have to start the journey
without Marlow? What seems sketchy about this to Marlow, especially given the
fact that he allows Marlow three whole months to fix the boat?
4.
Consider what the General Manager has to say about Kurtz.
5. Consider Marlow’s attitude toward the men at the Central Station (he calls
them “pilgrims”). Pay attention to the diction, imagery and figurative language
he uses to describe them and his attitude toward them. Why do you think he calls
them “pilgrims”? Look up the definition of pilgrim.
6. Consider the significance of the events of the fire and what they reveal about
the operations at the Central Station.
7. At the bottom of page 20, Marlow meets the manager’s spy: the
brickmaker. Make note of Marlow’s impressions of this character and his
attitude toward him.
8. Consider the significance of Kurtz’s painting. What might it suggest about
his attitude toward imperialism?
9. Consider what the brickmaker has to say about Kurtz. Based on this
conversation, why can we infer that the General Manager and the brickmaker
find BOTH Kurtz and Marlow threatening?
10. Consider the significance of Marlow’s comparison of the brickmaker to a
“paper-mache Mephistopheles.” Mephistopheles=devil
Reading #6-pages 23-27
Stop at the end of Part I
1.
Pay attention to the diction and imagery Marlow uses to describe the
wilderness and his attitude toward it as he listens to the brickmaker talk to
him. Marlow will soon journey into that wilderness. How does he feel about it?
2. At the bottom of page 23 to the top of page 24, Marlow tells us that he
practically lies for Kurtz, even though he hates lies and even though he’s never
met Kurtz. How? And Why?
3. Consider what Marlow says about dreams and his attempt to convey the
meaning of his story to his audience. How does his moment connect to Marlow’s
ideas about the meaning of stories (page 3)?
4. On page 24, Marlow pauses in his story to reflect. Consider his reflection
and the effect of the story thus far on the narrator who is listening on the Nellie.
5. Why does Marlow want rivets so badly? Why do you suppose he’s not
getting them?
6. Consider the symbolic significance of the hippo described on page 25. Why
is this moment reminiscent of the man-of-war ship?
7.
Consider Marlow’s attitude toward the steamboat and his work on it.
8. Why do you suppose Marlow has befriended the few mechanics at the
station rather than “the pilgrims,” as he calls them?
9. Consider the diction, imagery detail, and figurative comparisons Marlow
uses to introduce the Eldorado Exploring Expedition. What do his language
choices suggest about his attitude toward these people and the work they do?
10. Consider the diction, imagery, detail and figurative comparisons Marlow uses
to introduce the General Manager’s uncle, the leader of the Eldorado Exploring
Expedition.
11. After meeting the Eldorado Exploring Expedition, Marlow mentions that he is
curious about meeting Kurtz. Why?