Heart of Darkness. Welcome to the Jungle of the Real

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1 Notes

2 Heart of Darkness Welcome to the Jungle of the Real

3 Important Concepts The Question of Progress Science Political Economic Language represents your World The Era The Culture The Values Heroes What are our ideals and values? What is the connotation of the word Progress? We consider it to be Positive We associate it with: Life getting better Improving society Evolving But do we question if it is positive? We describe our movement throughout history from the beginning of society to where we are now as Progress, which implies improvement and making the world better. The issue is when we progress and don t question if we are actually making the world better. Think of the Jurassic Park quote, Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn t stop to think if they should.

4 Victorian Era The period is labeled as such because it is loosely connected to the reign of Queen Victoria ( ) the 19th Century The last British period collectively connected to a monarch s reign. Shift in artistic perspective: from the Romantic to the Victorian Period of stunning growth and change (in terms of population, economy, nation, religion, etc.) Shift of the intellectual-socio-cultural identity of England From the pastoral, the rural, the country estate (Austen, Romantic poets, the Bröntes) to the city (Charles Dickens). The city (as industrial metropolis) is seen, for better and worse, the future of Victorian culture. Similarly, the future is seen through the colonization of the ENTIRE WORLD! Imperialism was the driving force behind their values The drive to improve the world.

5 How do we view/ understand the world? Society determines what is moral: what is allowed or taboo. Society provides a mental wall that keeps us from performing certain actions. Society allows certain actions and our dark desires find a way through the cracks we find in that mental wall. Additionally, the idea of a controlling force authority, law, moral, police is more powerful that the actual, physical control.

6 How do we view/ understand the world? People have always been on the move. Consider what makes this type of movement negative or immoral?

7 The way we visualize the world is controlled, shaped, directed by our values. How do we view/ understand the world? Politics Religion Cultural Morals Philosophy Thus. the language we use to describe the world is controlled, shaped, directed by our values. Primitive Man Savage What Stereotypes do we perpetuate? We characterize NATURE and other CULTURES based on how we view ourselves When you think of the world both the physical world and the cultural world you visualize it based on your experience. It s really a selfish, egocentric act to say a map could be upside down

8 Hey, look! A Map!

9 Oh my gosh! Another map!

10 Hey, look! A Map!

11 THIS IS THE BIGGEST POINT OF THE WHOLE YEAR!!! The world is. THEN you name it, label it, organize it, categorize it, politicize it, claim it. Everything is an invention Everything a person creates whether it is Art, a machine, a hamburger, a business, a government is influenced by that person s values and view of the world. Human creations cannot be divorced from our humanity.

12 Enter the Heart of Darkness IN a world of progress, no one stops to question it. When you take over the world, are you improving it? Imperialism and Colonialism Civilizing the Savages Kill the Indian (Savage), Save the Man. Capt. Richard H. Pratt, 1887, Pennsylvania Stealing their resources Everything was taken for the sake of civilization: animals, minerals, humans We MUST progress and do anything for it Civilizing the world implies that you are improving it

13 Heart of Darkness Written by Joseph Conrad Born in Poland in 1857 Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski became a British citizen in 1886 Published in 1899 A turning point from the Victorian to the Modern or Industrial Era Marlow the main character? The narrator, tells the story of his travel to Africa Ansingh would say there is no Protagonist (no hero) in this story Kurtz the focus of their entire world The ideal man of their society He is a prodigy He is an emissary of pity, and science, and progress, and devil knows what else. All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz Told as a Frame Narrative [ narrative ] It s like The Notebook! Or have you heard of Titanic? Princess Bride? Forrest Gump? THE SANDLOT?!?!

14 The World is Theirs to Own What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river [The Thames] into the mystery of an unknown earth!... The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires. I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here When I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours and lose myself in all the glories of exploration. At that time there were many blank spaces on the earth

15 Thames River Open to the World

16 Thames River

17 Thames River

18 Marlow s Journey Begins in England Travels to Belgium to meet with the Company Sails to the Coast of Africa Moves to different stations His goal is to find Kurtz Unable to travel directly there His journey is a series of movements Pay attention to each stage/step of his journey

19 Travelling into Darkness

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23 Your Analysis Process of Analysis Annotate (Duh) Break into Sections Argument & Purpose Thesis Claim Conclusion Key Phrases and Ideas Rhetorical Devices YOU CAN T JUST RECORD THE WORDS THE AUTHOR SAYS BUT THE IDEAS HE IS TRYING TO MAKE YOU THINK OF. Details for H.o.D. Progress Cultural Values Connections to the Modern World Significant Experiences Contrasts / Changes Mr. Kurtz

24 Notes

25 Annotations for Part 2 & 3 Basic Facts of the Story Character descriptions Important Events Details of the Setting Surface level interpretation The obvious details What the author says. Author s Purpose and Argument Higher level Meaning BEHIND the facts Your commentary on and interpretation of the facts Look beyond the literal details Art is not about what it is literally about Look for the IDEAS the author wants you to understand What the author means. What it makes you think of.

26 Let s Practice Basic Facts of the Story Character descriptions Important Events Details of the Setting Surface level interpretation The obvious details Author s Purpose and Argument Higher level Meaning BEHIND the facts Your commentary on and interpretation of the facts Look beyond the literal details Art is not about what it is literally about Look for the IDEAS the author wants you to understand

27 Let s Practice Basic Facts of the Story Character descriptions Important Events Details of the Setting Surface level interpretation The obvious details Author s Purpose and Argument Higher level Meaning BEHIND the facts Your commentary on and interpretation of the facts Look beyond the literal details Art is not about what it is literally about Look for the IDEAS the author wants you to understand

28 Language Reveals Who We Are Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of the might within the land, bearers of a spark from the sacred fire. What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unknown earth!... The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires. And this has been one of the dark places also. We live in the flicker. Your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. I had a passion for maps At that time there were many blank spaces on the earth. There was a touch of insanity in the proceeding, a sense of lugubrious drollery in the sight; and it was not dissipated by somebody on board assuring me earnestly there was a camp of natives he called them enemies! hidden out of sight somewhere. A lot of people, mostly black and naked, moved about like ants I came upon more pieces of decaying machinery, a stack of rusty rails. They were building a railway. The cliff was not in the way or anything; but this objectless blasting was all the work going on. They were called criminals, and the outraged law, like the bursting shells, had come to them, an insoluble mystery from over the sea. They were dying slowly it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. When near the buildings I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment I took him for a sort of vision. I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand. He was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear but in the great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance.

29 I only used the different colors to help differentiate between the different topics. Let s Practice Basic Facts of the Story Surface level interpretation The obvious details Author s Purpose and Argument Character descriptions Important Events Details of the Setting Higher level Meaning BEHIND the facts Your commentary on and interpretation of the facts Look beyond the literal details Art is not about what it is literally about Look for the IDEAS the author wants you to understand I got my appointment of course; and I got it very quick. It appears the Company had received news that one of their captains had been killed in a scuffle with the natives. This was my chance, and it made me the more anxious to go. It was only months and months afterwards, when I made the attempt to recover what was left of the body, that I heard the original quarrel arose from a misunderstanding about some hens. Yes, two black hens. Fresleven that was the fellow s name, a Dane thought himself wronged somehow in the bargain, so he went ashore and started to hammer the chief of the village with a stick. Oh, it didn t surprise me in the least to hear this, and at the same time to be told that Fresleven was the gentlest, quietest creature that ever walked on two legs. No doubt he was; but he had been a couple of years already out there engaged in the noble cause, you know, and he probably felt the need at last of asserting his self-respect in some way. Therefore he whacked the old nigger mercilessly, while a big crowd of his people watched him, thunderstruck, till some man, I was told the chief s son, in desperation at hearing the old chap yell, made a tentative jab with a spear at the white man and of course it went quite easy between the shoulder-blades. Then the whole population cleared into the forest, expecting all kinds of calamities to happen, while, on the other hand, the steamer Fresleven commanded left also in a bad panic, in charge of the engineer, I believe. Afterwards nobody seemed to trouble much about Fresleven s remains, till I got out and stepped into his shoes. I couldn t let it rest, though; but when an opportunity offered at last to meet my predecessor, the grass growing through his ribs was tall enough to hide his bones.

30 Dialectical Journal One of their captains had been killed in a scuffle with the natives Quarrel arose from a misunderstanding about some hens He started to hammer the chief of the village Oh, it didn t surprise me in the least to hear this, and at the same time to be told that Fresleven was the gentlest, quietest creature that ever walked on two legs He had already been a couple years out there engaged The noble cause Asserting his self-respect in some way Contrasts: the Captain vs the Chief. The Captain assumes he is more important. How stupid! The world here in Africa is crazy and the people are idiots. He never questions that he is wrong or that he will fail. They treat the native people like they treat everything: the land, animals, etc. The land changes people: they start out pure but become twisted and evil. This makes me think of the cell phone atomic bomb Netflix politicians fast food??? They assume they are doing the right thing and NEVER question it

31 Dialectical Journal Today s Task Create a list of up to TWENTY important details from PART 2 Character Description Events along his journey Interaction with another character Description of setting Revealing Language Due 11/1 EOP Description Organizes your analysis into TEXT details AUTHOR s ideas Allows you compare the surface details to the interpretation of those details. Keep this connected to a universal issue or theme