Class Notes: Weeks 16-17 (2/7/11-2/17/11)

Heart of Darkness Discussion:

· symbol system: Geography matters! (connection: Remember, we learned this in one of Foster’s chapters)

o various techniques Conrad uses comes together to create a map which guides us to a moral system

o by piecing together the symbols, we can obtain the map

o creates different layers of allusions: Eden versus Hell versus Purgatory

§ Is Eden actually Hell? Are they any different?

§ What’s the difference between Hell and Purgatory?

o Conrad uses language to create philosophical areas:

§ Inner Station versus Outer Station

§ syntax of descriptions of the jungle and Africans versus description of the “white sepulchre” and whites

§ river has certain color and atmosphere

· women in Heart of Darkness:

o there seems to be different types:

§ ignorant, acquiescent, the “proper” woman of the time: the Intended

· Marlow’s aunt seems to be classified within this group on the surface, but she might actually be Marlow’s intellectual equal; that’s why Marlow seems to feel threatened by her

§ woman who have more influence or powers than Marlow-make him feel very uncomfortable: the Fates, his aunt, the African woman

§ powerful women: the Fates, the African woman

· the African woman is the anima: female embodiment of the land

o like a goddess figure

o personifies Africa

o since Kurtz is involved with her, suggests that Kurtz’s true love is the Congo

· frame tale:

o formal narrator only introduces and sets up the story, but he is not the true narrator

§ Marlow is the true narrator

o Why does Conrad choose to insulate himself so much?

§ maybe wanted to insulate his own opinion

§ Is Marlow himself racist? Is his attitude different from Conrad’s?

§ layers created by frame tale shields Conrad from readers

· economic versus cultural imperialism:

o economic: extract as many resources as possible

o cultural: military or economic means to impose own culture

o Marlow is definitely against economic imperialism, but evidence suggests that he is supportive of cultural imperialism

§ always describes the Congo and Africa as “savage” and “uncivilized”

§ portrays Africa as the heart of darkness which corrupts Europeans, instead of the other way around

§ Does this mean that Conrad supports cultural imperialism as well?

· Is Heart of Darkness a romance or irony?

o We established irony for several reasons:

§ circular ending of the story: in the end, everyone is headed into the heart of darkness again-in other words, the story started at the nadir and ended at the nadir

§ Marlow was enlightened, but even he himself says that his experience is “inconclusive”

§ the prevalent theme seems to be that the heart of darkness is everywhere; it lies dormant within the heart of each human

Apocalypse Now (Heart of Darkness in Film):

· reworking of Heart of Darkness through story about the Vietnam War

· excellent example of displacement-where essential structure and meaning of the story is retained, but setting and other details change

· very clever reworking, since many Americans can relate to the Vietnam War more than they can relate to something more far away and in the past, such as imperialism and Africa

Main Ideas of Homework:

· two Heart of Darkness forums:

o “The Psychology of Heart of Darkness”

§ analysis of a character, symbol, or event from a psychoanalytic critical viewpoint

o “Techniques in Heart of Darkness”

§ analysis of the imagery, syntax, diction, figurative language, etc. that Conrad uses to craft his theme

Overall Connections:

· Our analysis of the techniques Conrad uses to shape his theme again reinforces the AP idea of “form follows function.” Essentially, we’re picking out HOW (the techniques he uses) Conrad creates MEANING (the theme).

· Cultural imperialism is a major theme of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. It is no wonder that he condemns Conrad in the article we read. Because I read Things Fall Apart, I found the article and Achebe’s reasoning very compelling.

· In Heart of Darkness, the river is the single most important geographic feature. This reminds me of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In both, it seems like the story flows with the rhythm of the river.