copyright 1999, Sirpa Grierson
Novel Information and Resources:
Information compiled by Brent Dugan
Notes on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Baxter, Gisele. Notes on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. University of British Columbia. 24 February 2001. http://www.interchange.ubc.ca/gmb/conrad.html
This is a transcript of a professor's notes, which she prepared for her students. In them, there is discussion of themes, structure, and style.
Heart of Darkness Page
Bradley, Matthew. Heart of Darkness Page. University of Texas, Austin. 24 February 2001. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~benjamin/316kfall/316kunit3/studentprojects /conrad/conrad.html
This is a student site that talks about Conrad's racism, light and darkness imagery, and the theme of superiority. Also, it includes a map.
ClassicNote on Heart of Darkness
"ClassicNote on Heart of Darkness." Novel Guides. 2000. ClassicNote. 24 February 2001. http://www.novelguides.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/heartofdarkness/
This site is geared more for the student instead of the teacher of researcher. It includes summary and analysis for each section along with a comprehensive quiz.
Heart of Darkness
Csicseri, Coreen. Heart of Darkness. University of Buffalo. 24 February 2001 . http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~csicseri/.
This site provides link to full-text lectures along with character and theme analyses.
The Eye and the Gaze in Heart of Darkness: a Symptomological Reading
Devlin, Kimberely J. "The Eye and the Gaze in Heart of Darkness: a Symptomological Reading." Modern Fiction Studies 40 (1994): 711-735.
This article offers a critique of the novel based on a contemporary critical approach.
Heart of Darkness
"Heart of Darkness." DiscoverySchool.com. 24 February 2001. http://school.discovery. com/lessonplans/programs/heartofdarkness/index.html
Here one will find a lesson plan with materials ready-to-use for a high school teacher.
Vietnam and the Hollywood Genre Film: Inversions of American Mythology in The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now
Hellman, John. "Vietnam and the Hollywood Genre Film: Inversions of American Mythology in The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now." American Quarterly 34 (1982): 418-434.
This article discusses a movie based on Heart of Darkness.
Literature Resource Center
Literature Resource Center. Gale Group. 11 January 2001 . http://www.lib.byu.edu/ byline/index2.cgi?redirect=databases.html
From this URL one must go to Humanities/Religion to English & American Literature to Literature Resource Center to Author Search. This is a solid site at which to find background information on the author and an index to other Internet resources.
The Ultimate Meaning of Heart of Darkness
Ridley, Florence H. "The Ultimate Meaning of Heart of Darkness." Nineteenth-Century Fiction 18 (1963): 43-53. This article offers a traditional critique of the novel.
Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Rangaraan, Sudarsan. "Conrad's Heart of Darkness." The Explicator 56 (Spring 1998): 139-140.
This is a college student's essay and can serve as an example for students to follow in writing about the novelReading Activities compiled by Lindsay Smith
\Before Reading | During Reading | After Reading |Before Reading Strategies
1. African Studies Center. K-12 Electronic Guide for African Resources on the Internet.
University of Pennsylvania. 17 Sept 2005. www.africa.upenn.edu/k12/menu_EduBBS.html.Presents several resources for finding information about Africa, as well as provides lesson plans specifically for K-12 teachers.
2. Allingham, Phillip V. The Victorian Web: Some Verbal Portraits of Conrad. Dec 2000.
17 Sept. 2005. www.victorianweb.org/authors/conrad/pva39.html.This website provides a few first-hand accounts of the author Joseph Conrad.
3. Allingham, Phillip V. Joseph Conrad 1857-1924. Dec 2000. The Victorian Web. 17
Sept. 2005. www.victorianweb.org/authors/conrad/pva39.html.This provides a quite extensive biography of Joseph Conrad and gives some basic background on many of his books.
4. Biography of Joseph Conrad. 17 Sept. 2005.
www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/titles/heartofdarkness/This is a great tool for students to use before and while they are reading the text. The site provides a character list, a summary and analysis of each part, and self-test quizzes.
5. Joseph Conrad Biography. 18 Sept. 2005. www.enotes.com/darkness/1864
Enotes provides an introduction, quiz questions, and sample essays for each section of the novel. It also provides pictures of the Nellie (the boat Marlow tells the story from) and other scenes from the book.
6. Joseph Conrad: Lesson plans for Heart of Darkness. 17 Sept. 2005
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/Conrad.htmlAs the title of the website suggests, this is a great site for English teachers. It not only provides vocabulary lists, focus questions, additional links to other sites, but it also includes several classroom activities that teach analysis and essay writing.
7. Joseph Conrad Pages. 17 Sept. 2005.
www.stfrancis.edu/en/student/kurtzweb/Conrad.htmThis site promises not only a quality biography of Joseph Conrad but “everything else you could possibly want” about Conrad including: a Conrad search engine, texts, a history, and personal letters.
8. Krall, Aaron. What is the Heart of Darkness? 17 Sept. 2005.
www.stfrancis.edu/en/student/kurtzweb/Darkness.htmThis site provides a variety of resources including: maps, interpretations of Conrad’s work, and a comprehensive history of Africa. There is also commentary on the idea of darkness as a symbol for darkness.
9. Parsell, D.L. Black Livingstore blazed trail in Dark Congo of 1800s. National Geographic
News. March 2002. 17 Sept 2005. www.news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0228_/This is an interesting article that gives a first hand account of Black Livingstore who actually explored the Congo in the early 1800s. It makes reference to several of the atrocities he witnessed, as well as discoveries he made about the African people.
10. Stoddard, Ed. Ivory trade has blood-soaked history in Africa. Nov 2002. Planet Ark.
17 Sept. 2005.
www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/18599/newsdate/15Nov2002/story.htm.This is an interesting article that provides some background information on the ivory trade in Africa. It even makes reference to Belgium’s control of the ivory trade.
During Reading Strategies
Heart of Darkness1. Achebe. An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Hopes and
Impediments: Selected Essays. New York: Doubleday. 1989, 1-20.This essay gives a unique perspective on interpreting Conrad’s novel with respect to the Multi-cultural/racial criticism. This article will expose students to a negative critique of Conrad’s novel and encourage them to open their own perspective of the novel.
2. Allingham, Phillip V. White Lies and Whited Sepulchers in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
The Victorian Web. Dec 2000. 24 September 2005.
www.victorianweb.org/authors/conrad/pva39.HTML.
This site provides an article which critically examines Conrad’s novel. This article exposes students to an in depth look at the themes and a critical analysis of their validity. Students will be forced to question the traditional themes of the novel and scrutinize the text for further meaning.3.Dintenfass, Mark. Heart of Darkness. 24 September 2005.
http://uv.es/rosegar/critical.htmThis site has posted the lecture notes of Dr. Mark Dintenfass which provides many insights into the novel and establishes the context of the book. These lecture notes offer an extensive foundation of background in the text, and aids students in an even greater understanding of the novel’s themes.
4. Downs, Warwick. Heart of Apocalypse. July 2005. 24 September 2005.
http://english.unitechnology.ac.nz/resources/units/apocalypse/home.htmlThis site provides a lesson plan which involves the movie Apocalypse Now ( a Hollywood rendition of Heart of Darkness) which forces students to thoroughly examine the themes of the novel and compare them to the themes of the movie. The lesson plan challenges students to write an essay evaluating whether the movie is able to portray effectively the same themes as the novel.
5. Drake, Al. Study Questions. Fall 2003. 24 September 2005.
www.ajdrake.com/teachers/teaching/questions/conrad_drake.htm
This site provides a very in depth list of study questions which Dr. Drake created for his literature students. These study questions are valuable options for discussion questions, essay topics, and as a study guide for students. Students are forced to use close reading skills and critical thinking to understand and answer these questions.6. Honaker, Lisa. Heart of Darkness. Nov 2003. 24 September 2005.
http://lokistockton.edu/kinselt/litresources.htmlThis site provides several different resources for understanding Heart of Darkness. There are different web pages describing the History of Congo, Present Congo, and Conrad in the Congo. This site also provides a hypertext version of Heart of Darkness with links that explain difficult vocabulary and passages.
7. Hunt, Hawkins. Approaches to Teaching Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and the Secret
Sharer. New York: Modern Language Association of America. 2003.This book is a valuable resource for all teachers intending to teach Conrad. It provides a several ideas for covering the many themes of Conrad’s novels, as well as a list of several sources that will aid in lessons.
8. Omo, Michael. Heart of Darkness. May 2002. 24 September 2005.
http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/texts/heartofdarkness.html
This site provides dialogues, notes, and teaching strategies for creating lessons. These lessons include background information on post-colonial literature and Conrad’s personal history with the Congo. They also provides several links and citations to help find further resources.
9. Summer Productions, Inc. Heart of Darkness Lesson Plan. 24 September 2005.
www.school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/heartofdarkness/
This site provides a variety of resources including vocabulary lists, links, extensions, and discussion questions. This site also provides a lesson plan that aims to help students understand the world as Conrad saw it. The lesson challenges students to understand the world Conrad was from and how this influenced his perception of the Congo.10. The Achebe/ Conrad Controversy. 24 September 2005.
www.wmich.edu/dialogues/themes/controversies.htmThis site provides commentary on the question of racism in Heart of Darkness. It compares points from both the novel and an essay written by Achebe. This site offers to students an interesting look at two opposing points-of-view about the novel.
After Reading Strategies
1. “Africa as a ‘Dark Continent.” http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.as?id=343.
23 Sept. 2005.
In lesson two of the Literary Context, this lesson plan responds to the idea of Africa as a “Dark Continent.” Students are encouraged to evaluate whether Conrad’s portrayal of Africa ion accurate and decide on their own interpretation of the meaning of “Heart of Darkness.”2. “Heart of Darkness.” www.filmeducation.org/secondary/heartsofD.html. 1 Oct 2005.
After reading the novel, watching the movie “Apocalypse Now” could be helpful in reinforcing the basic plot and themes. This site provides a basic introduction and outline of the movie, as well as information about its making and how it differs from the novel.3. “Heart of Darkness.” http://www.msu.edu/user/rozemaro/quest/home/htm. 23 Sept
2005.
This site will help students understand how some critics come up with their interpretations. It also encourages students to make their own critical analysis of the novel.4. Meyers, Jeffrey. “Conrad’s influence on Modern Writers.” Twentieth Century
Literature. Vol 36. No 2, 1990. 186-206.
Understanding the importance and influence of a novel in relation to the literary world increases appreciation of the its significance. This article provides a general overview of Conrad’s influence and allows students to understand Conrad’s influence in the literary world.5. Okafor, Clement Albazien. “Joseph Conrad and Chinua Achebe: Two Antipodal
Portraits of Africa. Journal of Black Studies. Vol 19. No 1, 1988. 17-28.
In discussing the Conrad controversy, there is much literature proving and refuting racism in Heart of Darkness. This article provides another analysis of the manner in which Achebe’s and Conrad’s description of Africa differ.6. Raskin, Jonah. “Imperialism: Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.” Journal of Contemporary
History. Vol 2. No 2 Literature and society 1967.113-131.
The article will aid students in evaluating the novel’s value as a history. It argues that Conrad intended this story as a criticism of Colonialists in Africa as opposed to an exploration of the character and breadth of mankind.7. Ridely, Florence H. “The Ultimate Meaning of ‘Heart of Darkness.’” Nineteenth
Century Fiction. Vol 18. No 1, 1963. 43-53.
This article exposes students to a wide variety of interpretations of the novel. The article would be a great pre-reading for an essay on the meaning of the Heart of Darkness.8. Stephens, Rosemary. “Students, Mr. Conrad.” The English Journal. Vol 57. No 2,
1968. 188-190.
This is a unique article in that it provides a summary of how to introduce Conrad and Heart of Darkness to students. Written by a professor at the University of Mississippi, this article provides outlines of successful activities for teaching Conrad to students.9. Straus, Nina Pelikan. “The Exclusion of the Intended from Secret Sharing in Conrad’s
Heart of Darkness.” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction. Vol 20. No 2, Twentieth Anniversary Issue II 1987, 123-137.
In teaching the many literary criticisms, this article will expose students to a feminist reading of the novel.
10. Wyatt, Ian. “Marlow, Henry James and Heart of Darkness.” Nineteenth-century
Fiction. Vol. 33. No 2, 1978. 159-174.
This article provides readers with an analysis of Conrad’s narrative technique and more specifically evaluates the Marlow and his value to the story. This article would be helpful in teaching point-of-view, as well as character analysis..
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Reading Resources and Unit Guide for this Novel