AGENDA
1. Starter: Chat-box passages!
2. Summary: Let's review the plot of the first part of Part 2 (pages 38-53)
3. Student-Led Discussion: I'm going to put you into two small groups with the task of exploring your assigned theme. You can pull from earlier parts of the book, but try to mostly focus on the section we're discussing today (pages 38-53). Ultimately, your goal is to try to come up with some interpretation of what the meaning of the theme is and to select at least 3 quotes that support your interpretation/analysis
4. Class Schedule/Homework: Tomorrow + Next Week
Group Roles:
1. Note-taker: takes notes and shares those notes with Ashley and our WHOLE IFASA class
2. Reader: Reads aloud the passages your group decides to look at
3. Spokesperson: Shares out your group's interpretation with the rest of class upon return from small groups
THEME: Defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work
Themes to discuss today:
Morality/Integrity v. Power/Corruption, Wilderness v. Civilization, Europeans v. Africans: How does Marlow’s accounts of Europeans and Africans compare? What commentary do you think Conrad is making about the relationship between morality, power, the wilderness and civilization?
Fog, Truth and the Heart of Darkness: What role does fog play in this book as it relates to truth, understanding, insight especially as it relates to the "heart of darkness".
1. Starter: Chat-box passages!
2. Summary: Let's review the plot of the first part of Part 2 (pages 38-53)
3. Student-Led Discussion: I'm going to put you into two small groups with the task of exploring your assigned theme. You can pull from earlier parts of the book, but try to mostly focus on the section we're discussing today (pages 38-53). Ultimately, your goal is to try to come up with some interpretation of what the meaning of the theme is and to select at least 3 quotes that support your interpretation/analysis
4. Class Schedule/Homework: Tomorrow + Next Week
Group Roles:
1. Note-taker: takes notes and shares those notes with Ashley and our WHOLE IFASA class
2. Reader: Reads aloud the passages your group decides to look at
3. Spokesperson: Shares out your group's interpretation with the rest of class upon return from small groups
THEME: Defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work
Themes to discuss today:
Morality/Integrity v. Power/Corruption, Wilderness v. Civilization, Europeans v. Africans: How does Marlow’s accounts of Europeans and Africans compare? What commentary do you think Conrad is making about the relationship between morality, power, the wilderness and civilization?
- Think about how he describes white Europeans working in the Congo
- Think about how he describes the Africans- both those working on his steam ship and the “Natives” they encounter along the river banks
- In what ways does he both represent Eurocentric views and also seek to challenge those views when it comes to Imperialism?
- Hints: pages 45, 50-52, 43, 44, last two pages of Part 1 (Marlow’s description of the Eldorado Exploring Expedition)
Fog, Truth and the Heart of Darkness: What role does fog play in this book as it relates to truth, understanding, insight especially as it relates to the "heart of darkness".
- Think about the ways fog works to obscure things in the book? You might also think about "foggy" conversations, like that between the manager and his uncle in the opening of Part 2.
- Find other places where the concept of obscurity shows up in the novella.
- Consider how this theme relates to justifications for Imperialism/propaganda….
- What are other ways in which Conrad illustrates the tension of finding out the truth of imperialism or the truth of man's intentions?
- Hints: Top of page 42, bottom of 45-46 (what might the book Marlow finds symbolize?) 48, 51, intro xxix-xxx